They’re lurking quietly in the corner of your living room, watching your every move. They’re hiding under the bushes of your lawn. They almost have you surrounded, and unfortunately, there’s little you can do in the way of prevention. They’re an eight-legged problem almost everyone fears at some point. Spiders are very common in Florida, and at some point, you’re probably going to encounter at least two or three either inside the house or outside. Here are a few you might notice.

  • Jumping Spiders: From the family Salticidae, these are sometimes called salticids. They’re among the tiniest spiders, usually somewhere around 15mm in length or smaller. These guys have very different eyes than most species, though. Their eyes appear in three rows. Unlike most, they don’t make webs. They hunt their pretty by day, simply pouncing on them when they find a likely victim. They’re brightly colored, and they tend to hang out around buildings.
  • Crab Spiders: Named because they hold their legs like a crab might, these guys are pretty little too. Some are as small as 5 mm in length, but they can reach up to 10. Like the jumping spiders, they don’t make webs. They hang out on flowers or leaves, waiting for live insect prey to happen by. They have the power to camouflage themselves, too, so they’re hard to notice unless you’re right up on them.
  • Golden Silk Spiders: This type of spider ranges in size, depending on sex. While the females are usually 25 mm to 40 mm in length, males are just 4 mm to 6 mm long. The females are the brighter of the species, and tends to have long hair tufts on her legs. They spin large webs to catch flying prey, and you may see both a male and a female in a web at any given time. They like forest type areas, and tend to be just along the clearing edge of a forest.
  • Spiny Orb-Weaver: This is one of the easiest spiders to spot in Florida. They’re very colorful with white abdomens that are dotted with black spots. They also usually have red spines along the edges of their bodies. They tend to be wider than they are longer, and they, too, spin webs to catch flying insects.
  • Black and Yellow Argiopes: You can’t miss these, as they’re very large in nature. Given enough time, they can be 25 mm in length. They have a silver body with black and yellow markings, and they weave mid-size webs that have a zigzag in the middle.
  • Green Lynx: You may see this one on your lawn, as they tend to hang out in the shrubs and weeds. The female can be up to 20 mm in length, but the males are much smaller. Their bodies are a very light green, and they often have red spots with other white markings. They tend to have long legs that are covered with black spines, and they, too, hunt during the daylight hours without the aid of webs.
  • Wolf Spiders: You almost can’t live in Florida without seeing at least one of these on the ground. They camouflage pretty well, though, you might miss them if you’re not paying attention. They tend to be 35 mm in length, and like many, they don’t spin a web. Instead, they dig a burrow and hide, waiting for prey to come by.
  • Long-Jawed Orb Weavers: Long legs and small bodies characterize these spiders. They tend to cling to a support, like a post on your house, with a tiny third set of legs, holding their other two sets well out in front of them. They spin tiny webs to capture small flying insects, and you’ll most often see these in grass or leaves that borders water.

Spiders are incredibly common throughout Florida, and this is hardly a comprehensive list. While there’s not a lot you can do in terms of prevention, there are several ways you can work to keep them out of your home, but only professional pest control teams have the knowledge, skills, and equipment to help.