Common House Spider | Parasteatoda tepidariorum

Similar to the long-bodied cellar spider, it has been in North America for centuries, spreading throughout the continent.

It is in the same family as the widow spiders so it has a similar globular abdomen and hangs upside down in its web. The common house spider is colored in splotchy patches of tans and browns. It also makes the haphazard tangle of silk similar to widow spiders, leaving cobwebs in windows to collect dust after it leaves or dies.

In locations where it has access to external material, it will collect a few small leaves and incorporate them into a silken retreat with an open bottom in which it hides during the day. Gently squeezing the retreat from the top will cause the spider to escape or drop out of the bottom. The common house spider makes an egg sac that looks like a dirty tannish-brown ball. Control measures used for widow spiders should eliminate these spiders as well.