Barn Funnel Weaver, Common House Spider
Tegenaria domestica
Agelenidae (Funnel Weavers), Order Araneae
Physical Description
The spider has a somewhat elongated body with a distinct, oval abdomen and a robust cephalothorax. The exoskeleton appears somewhat smooth with fine setae, showing standard agelenid proportions with somewhat flattened bodies adapted for running and fitting into tight crevices.
Size Estimate
Body length is approximately 7 to 10 millimeters, with a leg span of around 20 to 30 millimeters, typical for an adult or sub-adult specimen found around human habitations.
Coloration & Markings
The base coloration is brownish to grayish, featuring distinct mottled patterns on the abdomen, often with darker chevron markings down the center, and characteristic longitudinal striping or patterns on the cephalothorax.
Web Type
Builds a characteristic sheet web that terminates in a tubular retreat or funnel where the spider waits for prey, typically constructed in dark, undisturbed corners, porches, or steps.
Eye Arrangement
Eight eyes arranged in two slightly curved, roughly parallel horizontal rows across the front of the cephalothorax, typical of funnel weavers.
Leg Characteristics
Legs are relatively long, tapered, and spiny, adapted for rapid sprinting across web surfaces rather than jumping, with subtle dark banding visible along the segments.
Venom & Safety Information
Venom Information
Possesses mild neurotoxic and proteolytic venom used primarily to subdue invertebrate prey; it is not potent enough to pose a systemic threat to humans.
Medical Significance
Not medically significant. Bites are extremely rare, usually only occurring if the spider is trapped directly against the skin, resulting in minor localized pain and redness akin to a mild bee sting.
Safety Recommendations
No special safety measures are required as they are harmless. If found indoors, they can be safely relocated outside using a container and a piece of paper rather than killing them.
Habitat & Behavior
Habitat & Range
Found globally in temperate regions, commonly associated with human structures such as houses, barns, sheds, and outdoor steps, preferring sheltered, dark microhabitats.
Behavior & Temperament
Typically reclusive and non-aggressive, fleeing rapidly into its funnel retreat when disturbed, though females guarding egg sacs may stand their ground.
Diet & Prey
Carnivorous, feeding primarily on crawling and flying insects such as flies, mosquitoes, beetles, and other small arthropods that blunder onto the sheet web.
Seasonal Activity
Most active during the warmer spring and summer months, with mature males frequently wandering out in search of females during late summer and autumn.
Description
The Barn Funnel Weaver is a familiar and harmless inhabitant of human structures across the temperate world. Though often mistaken for more dangerous spiders due to its brown coloration and running speed, it plays a beneficial role by keeping household insect populations in check.
Key Features
Distinguished by its distinctive sheet web ending in a funnel-like retreat, mottled brownish coloration with abdominal chevrons, and long, spiny legs adapted for rapid movement.
Similar Species
Can be confused with the Hobgle Spider (Eratigena agrestis) or Wolf Spiders (Lycosidae). Unlike wolf spiders, funnel weavers build distinct sheet webs; separating it from the hobo spider often requires microscopic examination of genitalia.
Life Cycle
Females construct silken egg sacs in hidden areas near the web during late summer or autumn. Spiderlings hatch and disperse, undergoing multiple molts to reach maturity over a one to two-year lifespan.
Ecological Importance
Acts as an effective natural predator of common household and garden insect pests, helping to regulate populations of flies, roaches, and other arthropods.
Conservation Status
Not evaluated by the IUCN, but populations are abundant, stable, and highly adaptable to human-modified environments worldwide.
Interesting Facts
Despite their intimidating appearance and rapid movements when startled, these spiders are completely harmless to humans and domestic pets, actively avoiding human contact whenever possible.
Photography Tips
To photograph safely and clearly, use macro lenses in well-lit conditions, focus on the dorsal patterns of the abdomen and cephalothorax, and shoot from a low angle while the spider rests on its web.
User Notes
Found out on the front step of a suburban house in park city Utah killed with a pool ball
Identified: 2026-08-07T05:57:51.669936