News How to protect yourself from the black widow, America’s most venomous spider Updated: Aug. 08, 2023, 7:58 a.m. | Published: Aug. 08, 2023, 7:47 a.m.

They’re helping you, not hurting you.” Editor’s note: This article was updated at 5:35 p.m. Friday, Nov. 17, 2023, to correct that the red hourglass shape is on black widow spider’s abdomens.

Only two types of spiders in north-central Texas and southwestern Oklahoma have powerful enough venom to be of medical importance. These are the Black Widow and Brown Recluse spiders.

Black widow spiders are active in California. Here’s what the arachnids look like, where to find the pests and what to do if you’re bitten.

Black widows are small to medium-sized spiders with shiny black bodies. The females can easily be spotted by their distinctive red or orange hourglass-shaped marking on the underside of their abdomen.

I reached out to arachnid and pest experts to learn what I could do to get rid of black widow spiders, where they live, and how to know if someone is bitten by one. As spider season ramps up ...

Only two types of spiders in north-central Texas and southwestern Oklahoma have powerful enough venom to be of medical importance. These are the Black Widow and Brown Recluse spiders.

Garcia said Colorado has the Western black widow, which is native to the state. He said encounters with humans are very rare because these spiders are shy and like to be left unbothered.

Western black widow (Latrodectus hesperus): Homes along the west coast are at the highest risk of running into a western black widow spider. These spiders tend to be more common the higher north ...