With the fall weather upon us, we tend to see more critters and insects hitchhiking their way into our homes. Whether they are poisonous or not, all home owners have their welcoming limitations especially when it comes to SPIDERS!

In Oklahoma, it's important to recognize the brown recluse, commonly referred to as the fiddleback spider, as well as the black widow. 

Female brown recluse spiders may live from one to two years but some have reached ___ to ___ years.  

The black widow is commonly found under eaves, gutters, around trash cans, wood piles, underground water meter casings, crates and stones. Each egg sac contains ___ to ___ eggs.

Dahlia's Answer: Brown Recluse: 4 to 5 years; Black Widow: 25 - 900 eggs 

Learn to Recognize the Brown Recluse and Black Widow Spiders that thrive in Oklahoma 

Growing up in Oklahoma, by a mom who taught science, I was accustomed to opening the freezer in our kitchen to all kinds of interesting bugs, including spiders! My mom made sure that we knew the so-called "GOOD spiders" and "BAD spiders", and especially how to identify the brown recluse/fiddleback and the black widow.

Check out "Spiders: Brown Recluse, Black Widow, and Other Common Spiders" - The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Fact Sheet EPP-7301 by Richard Grantham and Russell Wright, entomologists. They provide us excellent and helpful information as well as photos on these Arachnids.        

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