Local spider information

Spider control in New York

Learn what to look for around your property, explore your city, and ask about an inspection or a quote.

Spiders in New York: what to know

Around New York

Conditions vary across the state. Choose your city below, then describe what’s happening around your home or business.

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 New York: what the public record shows

Before you compare quotes, it helps to know which spiders actually live in New York, 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 species that could make us really sick lives in the Northeast: the black widow spider, and it's rare in New York

The only Northeast spider of real medical concern

Cornell's NYS IPM program puts the entire New York risk on one uncommon species.

Cornell University, New York State IPM Program (Think IPM Blog)

a native species of black widow, the Northern black widow spider, exists as far north as Ontario, Canada. They have been recorded in several Northeastern states

Northern black widow range

It is native here, not an import in a grape shipment — but 'somewhat rare in its native range.'

Cornell University, New York State IPM Program (Think IPM Blog)

we identified a healthy population of Northern black widow spiders living in the corners of greenhouses... Workers reported seeing these spiders for years, yet nobody has ever been bitten

How often widows actually bite

A Staten Island nursery with an established widow population and zero bites over years.

Cornell University, New York State IPM Program (Think IPM Blog)

Spider species recorded in New York

Northern black widow (Latrodectus variolus) — Penn State: 'It is probable that the northern black widow, L. variolus, is also present' in Pennsylvania; UF/IFAS lists it among Florida's four widow species. Hourglass often sp…

When spiders are busiest in New York

Northern widows favor barns, sheds, basements, wood piles and greenhouses year-round; most New York indoor spider sightings are harmless species that wander in as weather cools.

Cornell NYS IPM: the black widow is the only Northeast spider that can make a person seriously ill, and it is rare in New York. 'Too bad so many things get blamed on spiders — insect bites, say, or medical conditions that require intervention.' Most spiders 'couldn't bite us if they wanted to. Their fangs are too small, too weak to break our skin.'

Rules that apply in New York

NYSDEC Pesticide Program

For context, nationally

Throughout North America, but are most common in the southern and western United States — Black widow distribution. CDC/NIOSH
In the midwestern and southern United States — Brown recluse distribution. CDC/NIOSH

Sources: Cornell University, New York State IPM Program (Think IPM Blog); CDC/NIOSH; Southern Black Widow Spider. Figures are quoted as the source prints them. How we check our sources

Explore New York cities

Albany

Humid Continental · urban setting

Spider control in New York

Spiders in New York: what to know

Around New York

What to note

A useful next step

Spiders in New York: what the public record shows

Spider species recorded in New York

When spiders are busiest in New York

Rules that apply in New York

For context, nationally

Explore New York cities

Albany

Binghamton

Buffalo

Freeport

Hempstead

Ithaca

Long Beach

Mount Vernon

New York

Newburgh

New Rochelle

Niagara Falls

Poughkeepsie

Rochester

Rome

Saratoga Springs

Schenectady

Syracuse

Troy

Utica

Valley Stream

White Plains

Yonkers

Amsterdam

Ask about spider control in New York