These Are Some of the Largest North American Spiders
If you recently found a huge spider crawling around your home, you might be terrified and curious about how it measures up to other spiders.
Today, we’ll help you get to know the largest North American spiders and highlight the ones that could someday wander onto your property in Birmingham, Alabama (or a nearby city). Keep reading to learn more!
Get to Know the Largest North American Spiders
The Ones You Can Find (or Avoid) in Alabama
In this section, we’ll detail the basic characteristics of the largest North American spiders in the wild in Alabama. The size of each spider we list will be their largest potential length as fully mature adults, including their leg span.
Trichonephilia clapives – Golden Silk Orb-Weaver
Size
Golden Silk Orb-Weavers can grow up to ≤ 6 in. long during their lifetime.
Appearance
These large, 8-legged crawlers have smooth, shiny bodies and legs that have a vivid base color in varied shades—including chartreuse, sunflower yellow, rusty orange, and tan, but they have distinct markings as well.
Their cephalothoraxes are mostly white, and their light legs are covered in dark (black or brown) fluffy bands, creating an eye-catching, striped pattern.
Venomous or Non-Venomous?
They do have a venomous bite, though the pain and symptoms that humans feel from it are mild and short-lived, like those of a bee sting; if a Golden Silk Orb-Weaver spider bites you, the wound will be small, hardly visible, heal quickly, and only require medical attention if you have an allergic reaction to the venom.
Web Construction
Golden Silk Orb-Weaver spiders construct detailed, sturdy traps with their webs that catch any smaller critters that may fly, jump, or glide into them. The spider will wait in anticipation nearby—either on or hanging from the web—for prey to get stuck in the sticky woven contraption; when they catch something in the web, they feast.
Notable Characteristic
Their high-contrast striped leg patterns are a common adaptation among the various types of weaver spider that warns any threatening critters of their venomous bite.
Eratigena atrica – Giant House Spider
Size
Giant House Spiders usually grow to be ~4 inches long.
Appearance
They’re usually a brown, tan, or burnt orange shade and are covered in clusters of wispy hairs.
Venomous or Non-Venomous?
Similarly to the Six Spotted Fishing Spider that we discuss next, a Giant House Spider’s venom imposes mild ill effects unless the person bitten is allergic to it.
Web Construction
Giant House Spiders build webs with concave cone-shaped centers where they can lie in wait for prey and easily trap it.
Notable Characteristic
Unlike most spider species, the males are larger than the females.
Dolomedes triton – Six Spotted Fishing Spider
Size
This water-skating spider can grow up to 2 ½ inches long, roughly as big as a USB flash drive.
Appearance
The furry bodies of Six Spotted Fishing Spiders tend to be a pale shade of tan, brown, or yellow, with a neat white stripe on each side.
Venomous or Non-Venomous?
Although this big spider is venomous, it will cause no more harm than a bee sting unless the person who is bit is allergic.
Web Construction
Female Six Spotted Fishing Spiders use their silky webs to construct a cocoon-like sack where they lay eggs.
Notable Characteristic
These semi-aquatic arachnids can glide on water, and they tend to hunt during the day.
The Ones You Won’t Find in Alabama
If you’re in Alabama, there’s no need to worry about encountering any of the following types of the Largest North American spiders in the wild:
- Johnny Cash Tarantula (Aphonopelma johnnycashi): – ≤ 6 in. long at full maturity.
- Texas Tan Tarantula (Aphonopelma anax): ≤ 6 in. long at full maturity.
- Rose-Haired Tarantula (Grammostola rosea): ≤ 5 in. long at full maturity.
- Rio Grande Gold Tarantula (Aphonopelma moderatum): ≤ 5 in. long at full maturity.
- Oklahoma Brown Tarantula (Aphonopelma hentzi): ~5 in. long at full maturity.
- Arizona Blonde Tarantula (Aphonopelma chalcodes): ≤ 4 in. long at full maturity.
You might notice that all of the spiders in the above list are tarantulas. That’s because tarantulas thrive in arid, desert-type climates, which Alabama is not; you can only find them here as pets.
Your Partner in Birmingham Pest Control
Whether the spiders (or other pests) on your property are mostly harmless nuisances or they pose a serious danger to the people or pets on your property, you need Vulcan Termite and Pest Control!
Here’s why residents of Birmingham and surrounding cities should choose our crew as their trusted pest control partners:
- Whenever you get in touch with our incredible staff, we’ll determine exactly the services your property needs to be pest-free.
- We’ll also gladly perform routine preventative maintenance.
- We have over 40 years of experience serving families in Birmingham
- We have the necessary training, experience, and professional equipment to safely handle a large variety of small critters, including spiders, scorpions, centipedes, insects, and other terrestrial arthropods on your property.
Call (205) 663-4200 or contact us online today, and we’ll gladly perform a FREE evaluation and create and implement an effective strategy using our tried-and-true methods so you and your family can enjoy a pest-free home.