The brown recluse spider, Loxosceles reclusa, often evokes concern due to its venomous bite and secretive habits. Many questions surround this arachnid, including its interaction with water. Understanding the brown recluse’s natural behaviors and preferences provides clarity regarding its presence in various environments.
Brown Recluse and Water
Brown recluse spiders are not aquatic and do not actively seek water. However, they possess physiological adaptations allowing them to survive for a limited time if they accidentally fall in. Their bodies are covered in fine hairs that can trap a layer of air, enabling them to remain submerged for several hours. This trapped air functions as a temporary oxygen supply, preventing immediate drowning.
While not swimmers in the traditional sense, brown recluse spiders can float or move across the water surface if necessary. Incidental encounters with water, such as falling into a sink, bathtub, or pool, typically lead to short-term survival rather than active navigation. Their presence in standing water is usually accidental, as they prefer dry conditions.
Preferred Habitats of the Brown Recluse
Brown recluse spiders thrive in dry, undisturbed environments. Outdoors, they commonly inhabit woodpiles, beneath rocks and logs, under loose tree bark, and within brush or leaf litter. They also find shelter in less frequented spots like caves. These natural settings offer warmth and protection.
Indoors, brown recluse spiders adapt to human dwellings, seeking similar dry, dark, and secluded spaces. Common indoor hiding spots include cluttered storage areas, closets, basements, and attics. They often hide in boxes, shoes, stored clothing, and seldom-used furniture, preferring materials like cardboard that mimic decaying wood. These environments provide ideal conditions for their irregular “retreat” webs, used for resting and egg sacs rather than hunting prey.
Identifying and Avoiding Brown Recluse Spiders
Identifying a brown recluse spider involves recognizing distinct features. The most recognized characteristic is the dark, violin-shaped marking on its cephalothorax, with the neck pointing towards the abdomen. However, this marking can vary in intensity, be difficult to discern in younger spiders, and other spiders can have similar patterns. A more definitive identification relies on its eye arrangement: brown recluses have six eyes arranged in three pairs (dyads) in a semicircle, unlike most spiders that have eight eyes. They typically have uniformly colored bodies and legs, without stripes or bands, and their legs are covered in fine hairs rather than spines.
To reduce the likelihood of encountering brown recluse spiders, practical prevention strategies are effective. Maintaining a tidy home by regularly decluttering storage areas, basements, and attics eliminates potential hiding spots. Shaking out clothing, shoes, towels, and bedding before use is a simple measure, particularly for items stored in undisturbed locations. Storing seldom-used items in sealed plastic containers can deter them.
Sealing cracks and crevices in foundations, around doors, windows, and utility pipes prevents entry into the home. Outdoors, keeping woodpiles, leaf litter, and other debris away from the house perimeter reduces their outdoor harborage and attraction.