I live in the suburbs outside Chicago if that helps. I really appreciate the response! I used to kill every spider all the time but now after living in the woods and being surrounded by disgusting bugs I have grown to respect them for helping with the bugs. I also like that they don’t seem to infest like ants or termites they seem to be here and there but not like 8000 of them so I like that.
So true about the car accidents. I have always been so terrified of spiders but it’s slowly getting better. I have seen horrible things about the black widow and brown recluse which both terrify me beyond belief enough to the point that if I saw one in my house I’d full out move!
Suburbs of Chicago, that spider should be perfectly safe. (The hobo's more in the Pacific Northwest and Great Basin areas, and, again, it doesn't seem to actually pose a threat either, but I know there had been some anecdotes.) Black widows are extremely easy to identify, and in general will keep to their webs as well; they'll generally be outside, at the base of a wall or the like, and are far more likely to flee than bite, in my own experience. Brown recluses are also pretty easy to identify, once you can identify the fiddle shape on their back.
I'm really sorry that you have to live with that fear. It's miserable to be scared. Thanks for working through your fear and trying to educate yourself before panicking. Maybe by the time your baby is old enough to learn, you'll be able to teach him not to be afraid of spiders and to appreciate them instead.
That’s sweet of you! Thank you and thanks to you all I actually am more afraid of the ants and things that swarm now. I really dislike bugs and I appreciate that the spiders are actually helping me byeating them! I wish I was brave enough to toss bugs in a web because I’d love to help the spider while in turn it’s helping me!
Tbh feeding the spider would make it less eager to eat the wild insects in your home.
Oh yeah, black widows were everywhere in a city where I used to live, around central New Mexico; they're pretty prevalent around where I live and work now, too. It's definitely a respectful relationship; I've had to relocate them from poor location choices, but usually I just leave them alone if they aren't in the way. Pretty sure all North American species have the telltale red hourglass on the underside of their abdomen; they generally hang upside-down, so it's pretty easy to spot from above. It's also hard to mistake their body shape and classic thick, strong cobwebs.
Good to know! Thank you! Will do!
While I don't necessarily disagree, and certainly can't disagree with the point that there are many spiders that demonstrate the same marking, as a recovering arachnophobe myself, I know the feeling of seeing literally any brown spider and thinking it might be a brown recluse. To me, it's far better to narrow it down, especially if every potential encounter could spawn a fight-or-flight response.