They enter homes through exterior cracks and holes and can live inside wall voids. This pest selects web sites at random and when a web does not produce prey, it is abandoned. House spiders are susceptible to moisture, which ultimately leads to a high mortality. Their body is approximately three-eighths of an inch in length and is brown in color. Maybe the most infamous of all spiders, this creature earned its name from the popular belief that a female eats the male after mating, an act that rarely occurs.
Males are half the size of females.
The female's abdomen is black on the under side with a red hourglass shaped marking. Males do not have such markings. These spiders spin irregular webs and hang in an inverted position to catch prey. Only a female black widow bite should merit concern. Termites Coptotermes, alate Also known as swarmers, these winged Formosan termites are larger than other native subterranean termites.