Hobo Spiders

Hobo Spiders

The name "hobo" is linked to the spider’s presumed spread to distant cities via railways. 

Geographic Region

The hobo spider is actually an invasive species from Europe. In North America, the hobo spider lives in the Pacific Northwest, from British Columbia east to Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado, and south through Oregon and northern Utah.

Natural Habitat

Hobo spiders are often found in log piles, rock piles/borders/retaining walls, crevices in soil or concrete, or locations where grass meets a building foundation.  

Weather Conditions

Hobo spiders are most noticeable and active in late summer/early fall. From August through October, hobo spider mating season happens and they are driven indoors.

Behavior

Hobo spiders are driven indoors for spider mating season from August through October.  Males, searching for females, follow pheromone scents given off by female hobo spiders. Houses with old or broken door sweeps, windows/screens, no weather stripping around exterior doors, foundation cracks, etc., are at greater risk for hobo invasion.

The hobo spider is not aggressive, and would rather run away than attack. 

Unique Characteristics

• The hobo spider is a light brown spider, with pale markings, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch in length.
• Hobo spiders build funnel-shaped webs that make it easier to capture their insect prey. 
• It can be difficult to identify hobo spiders with the naked eye, as their webs are almost always hidden under objects and are not noticeably funnel-like.