Hobo Spider Identification: Chevrons, Legs, Look-Alikes

A hobo spider is a plain brown funnel-web spider, 7-14 mm in body length (Wikipedia), with legs that have no dark bands. Utah State University Extension lists the features:

• Size: females 9.5-16.5 mm (3/8-5/8 inch), males 7-13.5 mm (9/32-9/16 inch). UC IPM gives 1/2 to 5/8 inch for adults.
• Colour: brown front body with darker markings and brown legs.
• Legs: no dark bands. USU calls this the trait that separates hobo spiders from many similar-looking spiders.
• Abdomen: yellowish chevron (V-shaped) markings on a grey background, subtle without magnification. Wikipedia says the chevrons point toward the head.
• Underside: a light stripe running down the middle of the sternum, and no pair of distinct dark stripes along the top of the front body (Wikipedia).
• Eyes: eight, in two rows of four (UC IPM).
• Web: almost always hidden under objects and not noticeably funnel-shaped (UC IPM), unlike the open funnel webs of grass spiders.

The features that settle it are microscopic. USU notes that male hobo spiders' palps have two prongs where the related domestic house spider has one, and UC IPM says a certain identification needs a qualified arachnologist to examine the reproductive structures.

Range rules out most sightings. The hobo spider is native to Europe and Central Asia and was detected in the Pacific Northwest in 1936 (USU). UC IPM gives its North American range as British Columbia east to Montana, Wyoming and Colorado and south through Oregon and northern Utah, and says it does not live in California, although its range may reach the far north of the state. Wikipedia adds the Great Basin.

If you are outside that range, a brown funnel weaver in your house is almost certainly another species, most often a barn funnel weaver or a grass spider.

• Giant house spider (*Eratigena atrica*): bigger. Females reach about 18.5 mm with a leg span around 45 mm, and males 12-15 mm with leg spans commonly 25-75 mm; it has proportionately longer legs, and Wikipedia gives hobo spiders no more than 14 mm. It has a lighter sternum marking with three light spots on each side.
• Barn funnel weaver or domestic house spider (*Tegenaria domestica*): UC IPM calls it extremely common, 1/4 to 1/2 inch, found throughout California. Males have one palp prong instead of two (USU).
• Grass spiders (*Agelenopsis*): funnel weavers with open sheet-and-funnel webs in grass and shrubs; the Gerald Wegner spider guide notes their long spinnerets.
• Wolf spiders: larger, up to 1 inch, and build no web (USU). See wolf spiders and other spiders.
• Brown recluse: six eyes in pairs and a dark violin mark on the front body (CDC), where the hobo spider has eight eyes and no violin. See brown recluse identification.

UC IPM lists dozens of similar funnel weavers in California alone (2 *Agelenopsis*, 13 *Calilena*, 21 *Hololena*, 4 *Novalena* and 8 *Rualena* species), which is why a photo can narrow the family but rarely proves a hobo spider.

The evidence says rarely, if at all. USU Extension says there is no significant scientific evidence that hobo spiders have a necrotic (flesh-destroying) bite, and that the CDC does not list them among venomous spiders toxic to humans; Wikipedia dates the CDC's change to 2017, after it had published case reports in the 1990s. UC IPM cites a 2004 editorial that found only one verified bite that led to a necrotic lesion, and a 2014 Oregon study with one verified bite whose only symptoms were pain, some redness and twitching. It concludes that definitive proof of whether the hobo spider is dangerous is still lacking.

The Wegner spider guide describes funnel-weaver bites in general as feeling like a pin-prick or bee sting and notes the hobo spider's aggressive reputation is debatable. If a bite is getting worse, spreading or comes with fever, see a doctor, and take a photo of the spider if you can do so safely.

The brown recluse. The CDC's occupational safety page lists the brown recluse and black widows as venomous spiders; brown recluse bites may cause a stinging sensation, localised pain and usually a small white blister, and the CDC advises seeking professional medical attention. The hobo spider has not been on the CDC's venomous list since 2017 (Wikipedia). The two are also easy to tell apart: the brown recluse has six equal-sized eyes and a dark violin-shaped mark (CDC), while the hobo spider has eight eyes and chevrons on the abdomen.

None of the sources we opened names a scent or food that attracts hobo spiders. What brings them into view is the mating season: USU says males search for females from August to October, when they are most often found in homes. Funnel weavers also build close to foundations, in window wells and recessed vents, and indoors in the corners of garages, basements and crawlspaces (Wegner guide).

USU's control list:

• Sticky traps along baseboards.
• Door sweeps and weather stripping; caulk cracks in the foundation.
• Regular vacuuming.
• Pyrethroid or silicate dust in crawl spaces, and exterior treatments from mid-May to mid-June when eggs hatch.

UC IPM adds reducing trash and rubble, and catching individual spiders with a jar and paper. For more on house spiders see spider identification.

Photograph it from above in good light, then the legs close up to show whether they are banded, then the underside if you can trap it in a clear container. Add your location, because range is the strongest clue. InsectLens will usually place it among the funnel weavers; for a confirmed species name, send the photo or specimen to your state extension service.

Research and drafting for this page used AI assistance. Every figure, date and quotation was then checked line by line against the sources listed at the bottom of the page, each of which was opened while writing. Nothing here is a diagnosis or a treatment plan; if a bite, sting or rash worries you, or anyone has trouble breathing or swelling of the face or throat, get medical care straight away.