What's The Deal With Wolf Spiders

Wolf spiders are prevalent in Virginia. They're not exactly cute, but are they dangerous or benign? Are they helpful or harmful?

It's probably safe to say that very few people are excited to run into a spider in their home or yard. Some arachnids are more dangerous, harmful, or destructive than others. Where does the wolf spider fall within that range?

What Do Wolf Spiders Look Like?

Are Wolf Spiders Harmful?

How Do I Keep Wolf Spiders At Bay?

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What Do Wolf Spiders Look Like?

Wolf spiders are usually a darker brown with light brown or yellowish markings. They have no antennae, but their eight legs are long and fairly needle-shaped. Wolf spiders can vary in size, the females being larger than the males, with bodies ranging from about 1/4 inch to over 1 inch, not including leg span. There are species that grow to have almost a 5-inch leg span, but (fortunately!) we don't encounter those in Virginia.

Though you wouldn't want to get close enough to notice, wolf spiders have a distinctive eight-eye pattern: a pair of medium-sized eyes above a pair of large eyes, both set above a row of four smaller eyes. Their eyesight helps them hunt in the dark, as wolf spiders are primarily nocturnal.

Wolf spiders get their name from the way they hunt. Uniquely, they do not use a web to catch prey, but chase them down (like a wolf). As such, they are extremely fast when on the move. They can reach speeds of more than 3 feet per second! However, unlike wolves that hunt in packs, wolf spiders tend to be solitary- hunting and hiding on their own.

Another interesting fact about wolf spiders: The females will create a silk egg sac that they carry around with them. In the event they have to drop their egg sac to escape a predator, they will go back and search for the sac, or even pick up another abandoned egg sac to care for. Once the spiders hatch, they will ride around on their mother's back for several days before they go off on their own. Males will usually only live up to a year but females can live for several years.

Are Wolf Spiders Harmful?

Though wolf spiders are often mistaken for the very harmful brown recluse spiders, they are not on the same end of the danger-scale. While wolf spiders are venomous, they are not aggressive and will only bite when threatened or accidentally handled. While the venom isn't deadly or even very dangerous to humans (in the absence of an allergy), a wolf spider bite will cause redness, pain, and swelling. The symptoms should not require medical attention and they should go away after a few days. Pets generally react the same as humans to a wolf spider bite, though in the rare event your pet ate the spider or has an allergy, reactions could be more severe.

Wolf spiders can actually be helpful when in small numbers. They prey on cockroaches, ants, crickets, and other nuisance pests, providing some level of natural pest control. Seeing a wolf spider running around your garden isn't cause for alarm, unless your yard or home begins to become infested.

How Do I Keep Wolf Spiders At Bay?

Wolf spiders are more a nuisance pest than a dangerous one. The main thing would be to keep them out of your home and away from your skin.

As wolf spiders like to hide during the day, people often come upon them unaware. Inside your home, wolf spiders are likely in lower levels such as basements, garages, and crawl spaces. You're more likely to startle one in you pantry or storage room than out in the open. They can also be found near access points, such windows and doors, or near house plants. Be aware when moving items in these spaces and try to stay away from an accidental encounter. The best thing to do is seal up cracks, gaps, and other entry points to prevent them from coming into your house to hunt prey. If you do find that you are seeing wolf spiders with any sort of regularity inside your home, professional pest control services should be employed to prevent a large infestation.

In outdoor spaces, be careful when working around wood piles, timbers, and general garden debris (and always check for spiders before moving things indoors). When working in the yard or garden, be careful when moving rocks, cleaning up fallen leaves, or weeding around short plants. Since wolf spiders can be beneficial natural predators for vegetation-destroying pests, seeing some wolf spiders in your yard is not a cause for concern. If you find you have an infestation of wolf spiders, or are constantly battling bites while you're in your outside spaces, contact a professional pest control company to get the populations under control.

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For more information on local Virginia pests, check out our pest library and other blog posts