Spiders 

 Spiders are one of the most common household pests one can encounter. There are many different types found in PA, most are completely harmless but can cause high levels of stress to many people with their presence. Nearly all spiders have jaws and fangs to deliver venom. However, most spider bites have little or no effect on humans, often because their fangs are too small to penetrate the skin. Exceptions can include people with compromised immune systems or other medical conditions that leave them vulnerable.

Daddy Long-legs

 Daddy Long-Legs have extremely long legs and are found throughout the year. Although these spiders can develop large populations in protected locations, they are not known to be in any way harmful. This spider is commonly found in cellars, warehouses, garages, and any dark, quiet, protected spots. They are not known to bite people.

Wolf Spiders

 Parson Spiders and Wolf Spiders are mostly ground dwelling spiders that primarily come out to hunt at night. They are somewhat large with hairy bodies and will bite if trapped against a person’s skin or clothing, the bite is often quite painful initially but will subside unless the person bitten is allergic to their venom. 

Garden Spiders

 Garden Spiders or Yellow Garden Spiders can be some of the largest and most colorful of the spiders commonly encountered in Pennsylvania. They are found in gardens, tall weeds, and sunny areas with foliage or other supporting structures on which they build the large orb webs. Yellow garden spiders are found throughout most of the United States.

Grass Spiders

 Grass spiders are very common in Pennsylvania and can be recognized by the large, somewhat concave, mostly horizontal, web with a tunnel located off to the one side. The webs are found low on grass, weeds, and ground covers. Their body is dark yellow to brown with a pair of darker bands that extend back from their eyes, and another pair of very thin lines located one on each side of the carapace. The abdomen part is generally darker than the carapace and has a lighter band of coloring.

Jumping Spiders

 Jumping spiders can be seen around many homes and the outdoors, though it is often overlooked due to its small size. The jumping spiders, as a rule, are relatively small, compact hunting spiders with darker bodies. They have very good eyesight and can pounce on their victims from a considerable distance. The chances of being bitten by this type of spider are quite slim. 

Brown Recluse 

 Brown Recluse Spiders are a chocolate brown color, and their bodies are about 9 millimeters in length with long legs and a violin-shaped marking starting high on the body. The bite of the brown recluse spider is often not immediately painful, although a slight stinging sensation may be felt. The principal concern is the necrotic properties of the venom, which causes it to destroy the tissue around the area where it is injected.  Affected tissue in the area becomes gangrenous, turns black, and eventually falls off, leaving a depression in the skin. Healing is slow and scar tissue often results.

Black Widows

 Black widows are notorious spiders identified by the colored, hourglass-shaped mark on their abdomens.  Female widow spiders have unusually large venom glands and their bite can be particularly harmful to large vertebrates, including humans. Only the bites of the females are dangerous to humans. Despite their notoriety, their bites rarely cause death or produce serious complications.