Hobo Spiders In Portland

Portland is known for its rain, clouds, food carts, hipster smash and all, but a lesser-known fact is that Portland has HOBO SPIDERS(aka Tegenaria Agrestis). Poisonous flesh rotting Hobo friggen Spiders. In your house. On your bed. In your cereal. Kidding. Maybe?

They are indeed here and in the numbers. For the most part, all sources do report the Hobo Spider as being highly poisonous but there are a few sites claiming the spiders poise no actual threat to humans. I myself know someone who has been bitten by one and has a big scar from where it rotted her flesh for many months so I’m going with the poisonous scenario and not taking any chances.

Hobo spider bite?
Some experts say that spiders rarely ever bite humans. They will even go as far as to say the human only gets bitten once or twice in a lifetime. I don’t buy it because I’ve been bitten far more than that for sure.
The argument is that spiders only bite in self defense. And even now some say the Hobo is not even poisonous to humans.

The reported symptoms of a bite from this specific arachnid don’t seem like much at all at first. In fact, for the first few days of the bite, you may have just a small mosquito-like bite and be unaware of the fact that it was a venomous spider that bit you. After a few days, the symptoms are a necrotic wound(rotting flesh) over a period of a few weeks. Another reported symptom is an incurable headache(aspirin won’t work) that can last up to 7 days. Not too bad right?
Whatever you do, do not Google Hobo Spider Bites. I will not post a photo here because it is disgusting and nightmare-inducing.

When Is Spider Season? Bigger Spiders This Year?

Because we had such an early and warmer summer we can expect to see more spiders and bigger spiders come Fall here in Oregon. The majority of them stay outside eating other insects most of the summer but once the temperatures start to fall, after a longer warmer season with a lot more food, they will start to come inside of your homes. They come in the Autumn in search for mates which is why they are always roaming your floors at night.
The male Hobo only lives for a few months in the summer and gets eaten by the female after mating in the fall. The female can live up to 2 years. They are located all throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Hobo’s Habitats – The Funnel Web
This is a nocturnal spider that lives in dark corners, holes, planters, woodpiles, cracks, etc. It’s what is known as a ground spider and spins thick funnel webs on the ground. Because they’re night insects they’re often discovered wandering in homes at night or once the light is turned on as they scatter back to hard to reach darker places. They’re very fast and this makes them really hard to catch or kill. These ground spiders run along the floors, baseboards, wall corners, etc and have a hard time climbing some walls. This is why they are usually found stuck in a sink or a bathtub with no way out. Put that faucet on full blast hot!

Natural Ways To Eliminate Hobo Spiders? —>

If you’re anything like me, then you want these things gone, fast. There is no room in my home for poisonous spiders. Or any spiders for that mater. But even more so, if you’re like me then you also do not want to use poison, insect bombs, pesticides, toxic chemicals, etc. Or maybe you have an indoor cat and can’t don’t want it playing in the chemicals. Or one of those baby things that some humans have.

These Spider Traps work perfectly. In fact, a little too good. I am horrified at the number of creepy crawlers that I have caught in my bedroom alone.
The spider traps are poison-free! They are just really sticky surfaces that catch the spiders. After a lot of research, they truly were the best option and I am glad I went with them.
In order to be effective at trapping the spiders you must place them along walls and in corners. They really do work.

Some say that eucalyptus leaves, peppermint oil, and orange oil will repel the spiders keeping them out. You would want to put this in those dark corners and closets where a spider would normally weave a web. You would also put this at the doors and windows to keep the new ones from invading. I have not tried this yet but plan on eventually buying some essential oils on Amazon.

Identification: Giant House Spider Versus Hobo Spider

There is a very similar looking arachnid beast you may find in your home here in Oregon. The Giant House Spider aka Eratigena Atrica. I know, it’s horrifying. Look at how massive those things are. I’ve caught many myself in those traps.
Both spiders hail from European lands and look very similar. Which is why they are the most submitted spider for identification in Oregon. Usually, even just a photo won’t cut it and a professional arachnologist must look at the specimen under a magnifying glass. But a full-grown giant will clearly not be a Hobo. It’s when they’re young adults and around the same size that identifying them and distinguishing the difference between the two is nearly impossible.

If you managed to catch a spider in your house with the Hobo Spider Traps I mentioned, then you can submit it to the State of Oregon Department of Agriculture for identification.

The good news! Finally! While the Giant House Spider is creepy as all hell, it actually battles the Hobo Spider and dominates it so if you have these monsters running around your house, they are fighting off the smaller toxic spiders. It is said they are not known for having a venomous bite and they are often handled by humans as you can see on Youtube. But I can’t help it, they must be eliminated from my house. I can’t share a bed with that thing. Like the Hobo they also have a hard time climbing walls/surfaces and are often found stuck in sinks and bathtubs.

Here is a list of the most common spiders in Oregon.
Tips to get rid of spiders.

The Black Widow

Yes, another dangerous spider here in Oregon. Luckily they are a lot more rare up here in Portland and live mostly in Southwestern and Eastern Oregon.
But they are a thing and they live in dark cool places, corners, under your bed, in your shoe, etc.

Since you read all that, here’s a reward.
Hilarious.