Wolf spider against a white background - Keep spiders away from your home with Kona Coast Pest Control in Kailua Kona

Wolf Spider

Actual Size: 1 ½”

Characteristics: Large; black, gray, or brown pattern on the back.

Legs: 8

Habitat: Actively hunt in the open during the day and night, living in leaf litter and grassy areas. Can be found indoors around doors and windows, and inside closets, basements, and garages.

Habits:

  • Do not build webs to capture prey.
  • Rapid, active hunters that patrol the ground for insects day and night.
  • Female spiders keep their spiderlings on their back until they are grown.


Wolf Spiders in Kailua Kona

Since Wolf Spiders do not build webs to capture prey, they are active hunters throughout the day and night. The vision of a Wolf Spider is impressive at night as it maximizes its vision with the use of reflection. The reflective capabilities could be observed if you happened to shine a flashlight at ground level. The green eyes of the Wolf Spider could be observed anywhere between 10-30 feet away. Wolf Spiders can possibly enter the home, but this is not a common behavior.

Wolf Spider Habitat

To catch food, the Wolf Spider hunts the ground for insects and smaller spiders. When some Wolf Spiders live and hunt alone, many will live by the thousands in grassy areas or leaf litter. It is not uncommon for wolf spiders to build small burrows that they defend. The wolf spider is an important member of the ecosystem as it actively eliminates a large portion of other insect pests. Interestingly, the female spiders will keep their young on their backs until they are capable of taking care of themselves.

Wolf Spider Behaviors, Threats, or Dangers

While extremely rare, it is possible for a wolf spider to bite you, and this is likely on the occasion a spider feels provoked or mishandled. Unfortunately, the bite is known to be painful but not dangerous to most healthy adults. It is possible that vulnerable individuals like children, elderly, and compromised adults may have an abnormal reaction.

If you are dealing with wolf spiders in your Kailua Kona property, contact your local spider exterminators.