Where Does Louisiana’s Brown Recluse Hide and How Do You Get Rid of It?

Quick Take

• Some consider the brown recluse more dangerous than the black widow, though the reason has nothing to do with the strength of its venom. Understand the danger →
• A brown recluse bite is often completely painless, and that painlessness is part of what makes it dangerous. See why painless bites are risky →
• These spiders are likely hiding somewhere in your home right now, and it's probably a spot you reach into without thinking. See where they hide →
• Before you call pest control, there's a common household item that may already be enough to handle a brown recluse problem. Try this household remedy →

The brown recluse (Loxosceles reclusa) is a member of a group of spiders commonly known as the violin or fiddle-back spiders. In the U.S., brown recluse spiders primarily live in the south central and Midwestern regions. But where exactly are they found in Louisiana, and how do you get rid of brown recluses if you find one or more hiding in your home?

How to Identify a Brown Recluse

Brown recluse males are between 0.27 and 0.35 inches in body length. Females are larger, measuring 0.31 to 0.47 inches in body length. Females also have slightly wider and rounder abdomens than males. These spiders can be tan to dark brown in color, and their long, thin legs have no bands or mottling. The legs also lack obvious spines.

Brown recluses have dark brown violin-shaped markings on the cephalothorax (fused head and thorax). The color and shape of the fiddle design may differ slightly, but the neck of the violin always points toward the abdomen. Another identifiable feature is the brown recluse’s eye pattern. Unlike other spiders, the brown recluse has six eyes instead of eight, with spaces between each eye.

The Brown Recluse Spider in Louisiana

Brown recluse spiders in Louisiana are more common in the northern region and are very rare in the southern parts of the state. They can be found both indoors and outdoors in Louisiana, including inside and around homes.

Brown recluses inhabit dry areas, like log piles, rock piles, and caves. However, they also occur around homes, in places like wall voids, crawl spaces, overhangs, leaf litter, brush, and under woodpiles. If they do get into your home, these spiders like to hide in dark, secluded places like closets, dark corners of a basement, inside your shoe or bed, and in areas with a lot of clutter.

Why Is the Brown Recluse So Dangerous?

Some consider the brown recluse more dangerous than the black widow because people are better at identifying the notorious black spider, with its distinctive red hourglass on its abdomen. The brown recluse is often mistaken for harmless house spiders. So, people don’t always realize they should be cautious of this venomous spider.

The bite is relatively painless, but unfortunately, this also means that many people don’t realize they’ve been bitten until much later. Brown recluse bites are also frequently misidentified and are not as common as people think. Symptoms of a brown recluse spider bite include:

• Nausea
• Lesions
• Fever
• Slow-healing wounds
• Infection
• Necrosis (death of cells)

The Brown Recluse Diet

The brown recluse’s diet mainly consists of soft-bodied insects, like cockroaches, crickets, flies, and moths. They can also be cannibalistic and will feed on other brown recluses. These spiders differ from other arachnids, as the webs they build are not for catching prey. They typically line their daytime retreats with webbing, but females also use these webs to form egg sacs.

Brown recluse spiders hunt at night by chasing down their targets. Once the prey is in their clutches, these spiders use their fangs to inject deadly venom into the insect to subdue it. However, like many spider species, brown recluse spiders don’t need to eat every day and can survive long periods without water or food.

How to Get Rid of Brown Recluse Spiders

Brown recluse spiders are efficient hunters, so they keep the insect population in a home under control. However, it’s understandable if you don’t want to share your home with a venomous spider. Before going through all this trouble, you must determine if you have an infestation.

Signs You Have an Infestation

Like most insects, the brown recluse spider seeks shelter in dry, warm, and dark places. Additionally, they need access to food, so naturally, people’s homes are an ideal refuge. Unfortunately, these spiders rarely spin webs and are nocturnal, so they stay out of sight. Therefore, it’s hard to tell they are in your home until an infestation occurs. However, there are signs one can look for:

• It is an immediate red flag if you spot a brown recluse during the day.
• Sheet-like webs in crevices or corners
• Egg sacs two to three inches in diameter, attached to the sheet-like webs.

If you see any of these signs, it could indicate an infestation in progress. But do not panic; there are a few methods for ridding your home of these dangerous spiders.

Ridding Your Home of Brown Recluse Spiders

Firstly, homeowners must never try to solve a brown recluse infestation on their own. While a single bite might not be fatal, multiple bites can cause some serious harm, even death. As a result, contacting a professional pest control service is the best option. However, if you are determined to handle this on your own, there are a few low-risk methods you can use, including:

Diatomaceous Earth

If you have a brown recluse spider infestation, try using diatomaceous earth, which is a powder made from the fossilized remains of tiny aquatic organisms called diatoms. Spread a thin coat of this powder over places these spiders will most likely visit. As the spiders tread over the powder, they are cut by the crystals and eventually dehydrate until they die. While this method takes longer than others, it is safe for humans and pets. However, the spiders must walk over the diatomaceous earth for it to be effective.

Sticky Traps

You can try to control the brown recluse spider population by placing sticky traps along ledges, in the basement, around windows, and in other areas you think these spiders might occur. As the spiders walk over the sticky trap, they get stuck and die from dehydration. This method is only effective if you place the traps in the correct locations, so it’s best to combine sticky traps with other techniques. Furthermore, if you go this route, you need to swap out these traps regularly because a pile of dead brown recluse spiders is dangerous to pets or children. Alternatively, you can place the traps in hard-to-reach areas away from children and pets.

DIY Vinegar Solution

If you want to use a natural pesticide, many people believe in the power of vinegar or apple cider vinegar due to their acidity. All you have to do is spray the webs, egg sacs, or individual spiders with a water and vinegar mix. You can also spray curtains, furniture, and other surfaces in the home to keep these spiders away. But, if you aim to kill individual spiders, you might consider using a heavier concentration of vinegar.

Repellents

Although brown recluse spiders are venomous, most people prefer to repel them instead of killing them. Therefore, essential oils like lemon, mint, and lavender are effective at keeping these spiders at bay. It’s as easy as adding a few drops of essential oil to a spray bottle and spraying areas where the spiders are likely to visit.

Pesticides

If an infestation is too large for natural pesticides, it might be time to use stronger chemical pesticides. In fact, pesticides are usually the most effective way to eliminate a brown recluse infestation. Pesticides come in powders, sprays, and baits. However, these pesticides may have harmful effects on you and your pets, so always check if they are safe to use around children and animals. The best pesticide to use for brown recluse spiders has active ingredients like:

• Bifenthrin
• Cyfluthrin
• Lambda-cyhalothrin
• Deltamethrin

Spraying egg sacs, active webs, and individual spiders with these pesticides is a surefire way to reduce the population in your home.