For over 65 years, we have seen and successfully treated, removed, or eliminated every imaginable pest problem found in our region of Wisconsin and Illinois to the utmost satisfaction of thousands of families and business owners. Batzner has the up-to-date expertise, equipment, and materials that are designed to safely resolve any situation. In fact, our holistic B.A.N. System™ – Balanced As Nature ― is guaranteed to effectively eliminate and exterminate pests at their source and is designed to help prevent future infestations. This presentation will focus specifically on the different types of spiders you may encounter in Wisconsin, and helpful tips on preventing a pest problem. Enjoy! There are more than 500 species of spiders found in Wisconsin. They can be as big as 1.5 inches. The largest species include members of the family Lycosidae: wolf spiders, nursery web spiders, garden spiders, and funnel web spiders.

1. Batzner Pest
Management P resents
Created by: Jennifer Kinzer
Marketing Communications & Social Media Intern, Batzner Pest Management

2. About Batzner Pest Management
For over 65 years, we have seen and successfully treated,
removed, or eliminated every imaginable pest problem
found in our region of Wisconsin and Illinois to the utmost
satisfaction of thousands of families and business owners.
Batzner has the up-to-date expertise, equipment, and
materials that are designed to safely resolve any situation.
In fact, our holistic B.A.N. System™ – Balanced As Nature ―
is guaranteed to effectively eliminate and exterminate
pests at their source and is designed to help prevent future
infestations.
This presentation will focus specifically on the different
types of spiders you may encounter in Wisconsin, and
helpful tips on preventing a pest problem. Enjoy!

3. Creepy spiders of Wisconsin
There are more than 500 species of spiders found
in Wisconsin
They can be as big as 1.5 inches
The largest species include members of the family
Lycosidae: wolf spiders, nursery web spiders,
garden spiders, and funnel web spiders

4. Creepy spiders of Wisconsin
Family: Agelenidae
Common Name: Funnel Weaver
•7 species are found in Wisconsin
•Known for its fast speed
•Stalk prey by building web sheets that
funnel down to a narrow nest
Photo Credits: Peter J. DeVries Madison Wisconsin -
This male was roaming in a Madison bathroom

5. Creepy spiders of Wisconsin
Family: Amaurobiidae
Common Name: Hackledmesh Weaver
•8 eyes similar in size, light in color,
arranged in 2 rows
•Web is an irregular “mesh” with an ill-
defined tube retreat
•Frequently found in damp basements
and other areas of the home in the fall
Contributed by Tony DiTerlizzi
http://bugguide.net/node/view/18684

6. Creepy spiders of Wisconsin
Family: Anyphaenidae
Common Name: Ghost Spider
•Similar in appearance to sac spiders
•2 rows of club-shaped hairs on the bottoms
of their feet
•Lives between the leaves of trees and
bushes
Contributed by Gary R. McClellan
http://bugguide.net/node/view/690091/bgimage

7. Creepy spiders of Wisconsin
Family: Araneidae
Common Name: Orb Weaver
•Lives in forests, gardens, and fields
•Builds spiral wheel-shaped webs
•8 similar eyes, hairy/spiny legs, no
stridulating organs
Contributed by Karl Volkman
http://bugguide.net/node/view/144970

8. Creepy spiders of Wisconsin
Family: Atypidae
Common Name: Purse-web spider
•Belongs to same suborder as
tarantulas, funnel web spiners, and
trap-door spiders
•Uses appendages on its head to kill
pray
•Has a squarish carapace and large,
stout chelicerae; legs are stocky
Alan Cressler
http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/EndangeredResources/SpeciesPhotos.asp?

9. Creepy spiders of Wisconsin
Family: Clubionidae
Common Name: Sac Spider
•Genus name is derived from the
Greek word that means “basket”, and
is the origin of the common name
•Bodies vary in color from brown to
yellow
•Appear under leafs and in the tops of
forest canopies
http://bugguide.net/node/view/7406

10. Creepy spiders of Wisconsin
Family: Dictynidae
Common Name: Meshweb Weaver
•Tiny spider with black & white
hairs covering the abdomen
•Makes an irregular mesh web on
the tips of branches and under
leaves
•Found on ground level or under
ground
© 2005 Charles Schurch Lewallen
http://biokeys.berkeley.edu/inverts/spiders/dictynidae.html

11. Creepy spiders of Wisconsin
Family: Gnaphosidae
Common Name: Ground Spider
•29 species are found in Wisconsin;
2,000 around the world
•Brown to tan in color
•Nocturnal hunter
• Weaves a sac on the ground or
under leaves where it hides during
the day
http://biokeys.berkeley.edu/inverts/spiders/gnaphosidae.html

12. Creepy spiders of Wisconsin
Family: Hahniidae
Common Name: Hahniid
•Spins a sheet-web, which center is pulled
down into a broad, cone-like shape
•Vary in size from 2mm to 10mm
•Can be found in streambeds, roadcuts,
exposed root systems, and under stones
http://biokeys.berkeley.edu/inverts/spiders/hahniidae.html

13. Creepy spiders of Wisconsin
Family: Lycosidae
Common Name: Wolf Spider
•40+ species are found in Wisconsin
•Females can reach up to 1 ½ inches in
body size
•Hunts by digging burrows on the ground
to wait for insects and other prey
B. Newton, 2005
http://www.uky.edu/Ag/CritterFiles/casefile/spiders/wolf/wolf.htm

14. Creepy spiders of Wisconsin
Family: Mimetidae
Common Name: Pirate Spider
•Typically feeds on other spiders
•Usually yellow and brown and 3 to 7
mm long
•Has rows of spine-like hairs on its
long front legs
•Hunts by picking at the strands on
its prey’s web to mimic a trapped
insect; captures and eats prey when
it comes to investigate
http://people.emich.edu/sschrad2/bio580/arachnida.html

15. Creepy spiders of Wisconsin
Family: Nesticidae
Common Name: Cave Cobweb Spider
•Longer than wide with slightly
rounded sides; yellow to grey-ish
white in color
•Found in cool dark places, often in
caves
•Weaves an irregular cobweb
http://www.bio.brandeis.edu/fieldbio/Spiders_Savransky_Suhd_Brondstatter/Pages/Nesticidae_Eidmannella_pallida.html

16. Creepy spiders of Wisconsin
Family: Oxyopidae
Common Name: Lynx Spider
•Lives in tall grasses with a few
inhabiting woody shrubs and trees
•Hunts through ambush and active
hunting tactics to capture prey
•Recognized by the long black spines
on its legs
Joseph Burger, Bugwood.org

17. Creepy spiders of Wisconsin
Family: Philodromidae
Common Name: Running Crab Spider
•Second pair of legs is the longer of the 4
pairs of walking legs
•Dull colored- brown, gray, yellowish or
mottled
•Seldom reach above 10mm in body length
http://biokeys.berkeley.edu/inverts/spiders/philodromidae.html
•Has a leaf-like cardiac mark on the anterior
dorsal abdomen

18. Creepy spiders of Wisconsin
Family: Pholcidae
Common Name: Cellar Spider; daddy-
long-legs
•Bounces on its own web to make itself
harder to see to disorient a predator or
threat
•Brown in color
•7mm to 10mm in size
Photo © Jerome Rovner
http://nature.berkeley.edu/~callobius/cbcstuff/common_spiders/big_spi_q

19. Creepy spiders of Wisconsin
Family: Pisauridae
Common Name: Nursery Web Spider;
Fishing Spider
•Can reach up to 1 inch in body size;
females bigger than males
•Active hunter: capturing insects on
the ground
•Gets mistaken for wolf spider
http://www.entomology.wisc.edu/diaglab/08hilite/07-01.html •Afraid of people; will run

20. Creepy spiders of Wisconsin
Family: Salticidae
Common Name: Jumping Spider
•Most hunt in foliage, but a few hunt on
the ground
•Has well developed eyes; thought to
have best vision among all terrestrial
invertebrates
•Will stalk its prey before pouncing on it
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/notes/Other/note137/Salticidae%20

21. Creepy spiders of Wisconsin
Family: Scytodidae
Common Name: Spitting Spider
•Sprays its prey (small insects) with a
sticky secretion to subdue it; then bites,
injecting fluid that liquifies the internal
components of the prey’s body
•Can be found in woods, under rocks,
stones, and leaf litter, and in cellars
and closets of homes
•Brown, black, and yellow in color
http://www.hsu.edu/pictures.aspx?id=12164

22. Creepy spiders of Wisconsin
Family: Thomisidae
Common Name: Crab Spider
•Ambush predator
•Mostly associated with flowers and
foliage; some are found on the
ground or under bark or stones
•Rear legs much shorter and thinner
than front legs
•Females are large and can match
the color of various flowers
Phil Myers
http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/3209/Thomisidae/pictures/

23. Creepy spiders of Wisconsin
Terrified yet? You don’t have to be.
Spiders are beneficial, as they feed on insects. This makes them
beneficial in helping manage pests.
They are an important biological control of insect pests in gardens, fields,
forests, and homes.
While a few spiders do pack a poisonous bite, most are harmless.
Many people, however, fear spiders, and would like to exterminate them
from in and around their home or building. Check the next slide for tips on
controlling spiders.

24. Creepy spiders of Wisconsin
Controlling spiders:
Remove wood piles, rocks, compost piles, old boards, and other
sheltering sites adjacent to the home or building
Keep spiders from entering a building by caulking cracks and crevices
around the foundation
Make sure all screens and doors are sealed tight
Keep crawl spaces free of debris and limit boxes and other potential
hiding places from basements and other dark storage areas
Regularly vacuum or brush spider webs
Eliminate insects that spiders like to prey on

25. Creepy spiders of Wisconsin
Controlling spiders, cont’d.
Occasional spiders can be removed by hand (wear gloves or grasp the
spider with a tissue) or with a vacuum. Sticky traps can capture spiders
when placed along baseboards or other migration areas.
Where spiders and webbing occur in nuisance numbers on the outside of
buildings they can be washed off with a forceful jet of water.
Reduction of outdoor lighting, or replacing lighting with yellow or sodium
vapor lights that are not attractive to insects, can limit spider web building.
Dark colored siding seems to be less attractive than white siding to the
insects on which spiders feed.

26. Want to learn more
about pests, or pest
management?
Give us a call at 800-878-2110, visit our website, or check out our
Facebook page. We are always happy to help.

27. Creepy spiders of Wisconsin
 References
http://spiders.entomology.wisc.edu/
http://www.uwgb.edu/biodiversity/biota/arthropods/arachnids/
http://spiders.entomology.wisc.edu/Agelenidae/Agelenopis/species.html
http://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/hackledmesh-weavers
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orb-weaver_spider
http://
www.bio.brandeis.edu/fieldbio/Spiders_Savransky_Suhd_Brondstatter/Pages/Nes
http://utahpests.usu.edu/uppdl/htm/top-20-arachnids/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philodromidae
http://www.insectidentification.org/insect-description.asp?identification=Long-
Bodied-Cellar-Spider
http://biokeys.berkeley.edu/inverts/spiders/salticidae.html

28. Creepy spiders of Wisconsin
 References
http://www.hsu.edu/pictures.aspx?id=12164
http://biokeys.berkeley.edu/inverts/spiders/thomisidae.html
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/insect/05512.html