Around Delaware
Conditions vary across the state. Choose your city below, then describe what’s happening around your home or business.
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Local spider information
Spider control in Delaware
Learn what to look for around your property, explore your city, and ask about an inspection or a quote.
Spiders in Delaware: what to know
What to note
Where you see spiders, how long it has been going on, and anything you’ve already tried are the most useful details to mention.
A useful next step
Ask about an inspection, what treatment would involve, and whether follow-up visits are included. You don’t need to identify the problem yourself before getting in touch.
Local research
Spiders in Delaware: what the public record shows
Before you compare quotes, it helps to know which spiders actually live in Delaware, when they are busiest, and what the state figures look like. Everything below links to the agency or university page it came from.
Only one poisonous spider is found in Delaware, the black widow
Venomous spiders in Delaware
University of Delaware Cooperative Extension entomologist Brian Kunkel — no brown recluse on the list.
University of Delaware Cooperative ExtensionMost large, hairy, and scary-looking spiders, such as the wolf spider, will hurt a fly but they won't hurt you
The scary-looking ones
Wolf spiders are Delaware's most-misidentified indoor spider.
University of Delaware Cooperative ExtensionThey are often the most important biological control of pests in the home landscape as well as on cropland
Spiders as pest control
Kunkel: 'Spiders are a sign of a healthy garden.'
University of Delaware Cooperative ExtensionSpider species recorded in Delaware
- Southern black widow (Latrodectus mactans) — 'Found in the southeastern region and has been found as far north as Ohio and as far west as Texas' (UF/IFAS); confirmed in Pennsylvania (Penn State) and one of two dangerous sp…
When spiders are busiest in Delaware
Delaware spiders are most conspicuous in late summer and fall when webs are largest and hunting spiders wander; UD Extension notes spiders are an important winter and spring food source for birds and small mammals.
University of Delaware Cooperative Extension: 'Delaware's native spiders are more friend than foe' and only one venomous spider — the black widow — is found in the state. Planting a variety of plants and minimizing pesticide use encourages spiders as biological control.
Rules that apply in Delaware
For context, nationally
Sources: University of Delaware Cooperative Extension; CDC/NIOSH; EENY 560: Southern Black Widow, Latrodectus mactans. Figures are quoted as the source prints them. How we check our sources
Explore Delaware cities
Dover
Humid Subtropical · suburban setting
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Georgetown
Humid Subtropical · rural setting
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Middletown
Humid Subtropical · suburban setting
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Milford
Humid Subtropical · rural setting
Read the local guide →
Newark
Humid Subtropical · suburban setting
Read the local guide →
Seaford
Humid Subtropical · rural setting
Read the local guide →
Smyrna
Humid Subtropical · rural setting
Read the local guide →
Wilmington
Humid Subtropical · urban setting
Read the local guide →