Wolf Spider

A wolf spider is a large, hairy, fast-running ground hunter (family Lycosidae), usually brown or gray with darker stripes, that chases down prey instead of catching it in a web. Wolf spiders are common in every US state, look intimidating, and are harmless to people beyond a painful bite if handled.

What does a wolf spider look like?

• Body: robust and hairy, with a long front section (cephalothorax) and an oval abdomen. Colors are earth tones: brown, gray, tan, sometimes almost black, usually with stripes running lengthwise down the back.
• Eyes: eight eyes in three rows. The middle row has two large eyes facing forward, which are the giveaway. At night they reflect a flashlight beam with a green glint, which is how people spot dozens in a lawn.
• Legs: long, sturdy, often banded, built for running.
• Behavior: fast sprints across the floor, then freezing. No web in a corner.

Wolf spider size

Wolf spider size varies a lot. Most species that wander into homes have a body of 1/4–3/4 inch. The Carolina wolf spider (Hogna carolinensis), the largest in North America, reaches about 1 3/8 inches of body length and 3–4 inches across with legs. These "giant wolf spiders" are what usually triggers alarm.

Common US wolf spiders

• Carolina wolf spider (Hogna carolinensis): very large, brown-gray, mostly uniform; burrows in fields and lawns across the US. The state spider of South Carolina.
• Rabid wolf spider (Rabidosa rabida): tan with two dark stripes on the back and a light center stripe; common in the eastern half of the country. The name refers to its frantic movement, not disease.
• Florida wolf spider (Hogna lenta) and Hogna species in the South: large, often seen on porches.
• Thin-legged wolf spiders (Pardosa): small, abundant in gardens and on shorelines.
• "House wolf spider" isn't a single species. It usually means Hogna or Tigrosa species that commonly wander indoors, such as Tigrosa helluo.
• Black wolf spider: dark individuals of several species; still harmless.

Wolf spider with babies

Wolf spiders are unusually good mothers. The female drags a round egg sac attached to her spinnerets, then, after hatching, carries the spiderlings on her back for a week or more. If you swat a female, dozens of babies scatter. That's alarming, but they won't set up in your house; most leave or die without food and moisture. A broom and vacuum handle it better than a shoe.

What do wolf spiders eat?

Insects and other arthropods: crickets, beetles, ants, cockroaches, earwigs, and other spiders. They are beneficial in yards and gardens. Lots of wolf spiders around a house usually means lots of insects for them to eat.

Grass spider vs wolf spider

Grass spiders (Agelenopsis) look similar in color and stripes but build a flat, sheet-like web with a funnel at one end in lawns, hedges, and window wells; they sit in the funnel. Wolf spiders have no catching web, carry their egg sacs, and have those two large front eyes. Grass spiders also have two long finger-like spinnerets at the tail end.

Wolf spider vs brown recluse

A brown recluse is smooth, plain tan with a violin mark and six eyes; wolf spiders are hairy, striped, with eight eyes. See brown recluse.

Are wolf spiders dangerous?

Wolf spiders can bite if picked up or pinned, and larger ones can break skin. Expect pain, redness and swelling similar to a bee sting that fades within a day or two. Their venom isn't considered medically significant. Wash the bite and use a cold pack; see a doctor if you see signs of infection or an allergic reaction. More on wolf spider bites.

Why wolf spiders come indoors

They don't breed indoors. They wander in, usually in late summer and fall, when males are searching for mates and nights cool off, or after heavy rain floods burrows. Garages, basements and ground-floor rooms near doors are the usual spots.

Wolf spiders in Florida and the South

Warm states have the most and the largest wolf spiders. In Florida, the Gulf Coast and Texas they're active nearly all year, with peaks in spring and fall. Lawns are full of them at night; a flashlight held at eye level shows dozens of green eye-shine dots. Indoors, they're typically found after rain, in screened porches, sliding-door tracks and garages. In northern states they're mostly seen from late summer into October and overwinter as juveniles under leaf litter.

What doesn't work

• Foggers and "bug bombs": wolf spiders are wanderers that arrive from outside, so fogging the inside of a house does nothing about the next one coming under the door.
• Peppermint oil and other repellent sprays: they may deter a spider briefly but have no lasting effect; sealing gaps works better.
• Ultrasonic plug-in repellers: university tests haven't shown meaningful effects on spiders or insects.
• Spraying the whole lawn: kills the beneficial spiders that eat lawn pests and rarely reduces the few that come inside.

How to keep wolf spiders out

1. Seal gaps: door sweeps, weatherstripping, and caulk around utility penetrations. A gap you can slide a pencil into is wide enough.
2. Reduce harborage near the foundation: pull mulch, leaf litter, firewood and stones back from the walls; keep grass trimmed.
3. Cut their food supply: switch to yellow LED bug lights, fix moisture problems in basements, and control crickets.
4. Sticky traps along walls in garages and basements catch wanderers.
5. One spider indoors: trap it under a cup and release outside, or vacuum it.
6. Perimeter treatment: if you see many, a labeled residual insecticide (for example, bifenthrin) applied as a narrow band around the foundation can reduce entries.

Call a pest pro only if spiders keep coming in despite sealing; often the real issue is an insect problem they're feeding on. See how to get rid of spiders.