However, knowing how to distinguish harmless from dangerous spiders, how to prevent them from entering the home and how to control those that do enter can prevent needless concern and reduce the chances of harm to humans. Although only L. reclusa and L. rufescens have been recorded as venomous to people, it is best to consider all these species as potentially dangerous. The best-known species, the brown recluse spider, Loxosceles reclusa , inhabits many Southern and Midwestern states. Recluse spiders are frequently found in garages, firewood piles, cluttered cellars and stored board piles. They often live around human dwellings, in bathrooms, bedrooms and closets, under furniture, behind baseboards and door facings, or in corners and crevices.
Recluse spiders are most active at night when they hunt.
People are sometimes bitten while asleep, apparently when rolling over on a spider while in bed. Others are bitten when putting on clothes that have hung undisturbed for a long time and where spiders are hiding. As their name implies, recluse spiders are generally shy. They spin nondescript white or grayish webs, where they may hide during the day. They are predators of insects and other arthropods, known to wander around houses looking for prey.