Where Do Black Widow Spiders Live? Range and Hiding Places

Black widow range in North America

Until 1970 all North American black widows were treated as one species. Today arachnologists recognize three, which look very similar but occupy different, partly overlapping regions. Two more widows, the brown and the red, also live in the southern US.

Black widows are absent or scarce in the coldest northern parts of the continent, and Alaska has none. For how the US widows and recluses compare, see venomous spiders in the US.

Southern black widow: the Southeast

The southern black widow (Latrodectus mactans) is the classic black widow of the southeastern states, found from Florida north to about Ohio and west to Texas. It also occurs in Mexico and on Caribbean islands such as Hispaniola. Females usually have a complete red hourglass underneath and often a red spot on top, just above the spinnerets.

It is the widow most often found around homes in the South, in woodpiles, sheds, water meter boxes, rock walls and the undersides of outdoor furniture. In Florida it is the commonest of the state’s four widow species, as described in spiders in Florida.

Northern black widow: the Northeast and Midwest

The northern black widow (Latrodectus variolus) covers the northeastern quarter of the US, from New England and the Mid-Atlantic states west into the Midwest, and reaches north into southern Ontario and Quebec. It also extends south, mainly in wooded areas, as far as northern Florida, overlapping with the southern black widow.

It tends to live in woods and fields rather than around buildings, under stones and logs, in stumps and in stone walls. Its hourglass is usually split into two separate marks, and it often has a row of red spots along the top of the abdomen.

Western black widow: the West and the Prairies

The western black widow (Latrodectus hesperus) lives from Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas west to the Pacific Coast and south into Mexico. In Canada it reaches southern British Columbia, including the Okanagan Valley, and the southern Prairies east to Manitoba.

It is at home in deserts, dry grasslands and rocky hillsides, where it webs in crevices, rodent burrows and rock piles, and in parts of Arizona even among cholla cacti and agaves. It also thrives around buildings, in garages, woodpiles and under decks and outdoor furniture. In Southern California, researchers suspect that the introduced brown widow is displacing it in some neighborhoods.

Where black widows hide: favorite web sites

All black widows choose similar spots: dark, dry, sheltered and undisturbed, usually close to the ground, where crawling insects pass by. Typical places include:

• Outdoors: under stones, logs and loose bark, in woodpiles, hollow stumps, rodent burrows, rock walls, crevices in soil banks and dense, low vegetation
• Around the yard: water and electric meter boxes, plant pots, stacked bricks or lumber, under decks and outdoor furniture
• Outbuildings: sheds, garages, barns, carports and crawl spaces, especially in corners, behind stored items and in rarely moved boxes
• Historically: outdoor toilets, once the classic place for a bite

The web itself is a giveaway. It is an irregular tangle of tough, strong silk, not a neat orb, with a funnel-like retreat in a crevice where the female hides by day. At night she hangs belly-up near the middle of the tangle.

Do black widows live inside houses?

Black widows rarely live in heated living areas. They are far more common in garages, sheds, basements and crawl spaces, and they may move into buildings for shelter in cold weather. In the US, reported bites peak in September and are lowest in January and February, when spiders in colder regions are sheltering and inactive.

Widows also travel by accident. Spiders occasionally turn up far from home in shipments of fruit, especially grapes, or in cargo and furniture. A single stowaway does not mean that the species lives in the area. To avoid the rare bite, wear gloves when moving wood, stones or stored items and shake out shoes and gloves left in sheds. For the real risk, see how dangerous is a black widow?

Widow spiders around the world, including Europe

There are about 35 widow species in the genus Latrodectus, living on every continent except Antarctica, mostly in warm and dry regions.

• Europe: The Mediterranean black widow (Latrodectus tredecimguttatus) lives in dry grasslands, fields and stony places around the Mediterranean, including Spain, southern France, Italy, the Balkans and Greece, and east through Turkey to Central Asia, where it is called the karakurt. It is usually black with about 13 red spots on its back.
• Australia and New Zealand: The redback (Latrodectus hasselti) is common in Australia, often around buildings, and has been introduced to New Zealand and Japan. New Zealand’s native katipo lives in coastal sand dunes.
• Africa: Several widows called button spiders live in southern Africa, and the brown widow probably originated in Africa before spreading around the world.
• South America: Several native widows live there, including Latrodectus corallinus and Latrodectus curacaviensis.

No widows are native to Britain, Ireland or northern Europe. The spider most often mistaken for one there is the noble false widow, a relative from the Atlantic islands now common in southern England and Ireland; see spiders in the UK.