The brown recluse spider, identifiable by a violin-shaped marking on its back, is often a concern due to its climbing abilities within homes. Understanding these capabilities is key to managing their presence.
Understanding Brown Recluse Climbing
Brown recluse spiders can climb walls and other vertical surfaces, with their ability depending on the material’s texture. They easily scale rough, textured surfaces like brick, wood, concrete, fabric, and cardboard. Their legs have multi-pronged tarsal claws, allowing them to grip small indentations and irregularities.
However, brown recluse spiders struggle or cannot climb smooth, slick vertical surfaces. Materials such as glass, polished metal, smooth plastic, and glossy walls pose a significant challenge. This limitation stems from their lack of specialized adhesive pads (scopulae) on their feet; they rely solely on their claws for grip. As a result, they are often found trapped in smooth-sided containers like bathtubs, sinks, or glass jars, unable to climb out.
Common Hiding Spots
Brown recluse spiders prefer dark, undisturbed environments, seeking shelter in secluded areas within and around homes. Indoors, common hiding spots include closets, attics, basements, and crawl spaces. They often hide inside boxes, behind furniture, under stored items, or in seldom-used clothing and shoes.
These spiders are particularly drawn to cardboard, which resembles their natural outdoor habitats. Their preference for cluttered, undisturbed locations offers plenty of textured surfaces and crevices for movement and concealment. Outdoors, they can be found under woodpiles, rocks, and logs.
Limiting Brown Recluse Access
Leveraging the climbing limitations of brown recluse spiders can help prevent their access to living spaces. Sealing entry points around the home is an effective strategy. This includes repairing foundation cracks, sealing gaps around windows and doors, and ensuring utility penetrations are properly closed. Window and door screens should also be in good repair to deny entry.
Reducing clutter, especially in storage areas like basements, attics, and closets, eliminates many potential hiding spots. Storing items in smooth-sided plastic containers with tight-fitting lids creates barriers these spiders struggle to climb. Keeping beds away from walls and ensuring bed linens do not touch the floor also reduces access to sleeping areas, as they find it difficult to climb smooth bed frames. Outdoor maintenance, such as trimming vegetation away from the house and removing debris like woodpiles and leaf litter, further reduces their presence near the home.