Are Spiders Helpful or Harmful? Common Spiders in Southern California

ekoterra technician checking on pests
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Regardless of the time of year, cozy inside or playing in the yard. You are bound to see a spider or two. Knowing what spiders are in your yard is a great way to coexist with your tiny house guests. Spiders are doing more work for you then you realize.

  • They eat pest including fleas, mosquitoes, flies and cockroaches.
  • Therefore, they prevent the spread of disease.
  • They also eat bugs in your yard that help keep your plants healthy, such as, aphids and caterpillars.

Common Spiders in Southern California

Black Widow

  • Black bodies with red hourglass on the underside
  • Live in dark, dry corners, crawl spaces, gardens and outbuildings
  • Poisonous
  • Food source: ants, beetles, cockroaches, scorpions and more

American House Spider

  • Brown
  • Small and inconspicuous
  • Eat other spiders and bugs
  • They play dead when feeling threatened and can stay still for a very long time

Wolf Spider

  • Small
  • Burrow underground
  • Nocturnal, only come out at night to hunt for insects and small spiders

Daddy Longlegs

  • Non-poisonous
  • They do not make webs
  • Scavenge for dead insects/animal dropping

Yellow Sac Spider

  • Pale yellow with dark brown on legs and fangs
  • Small
  • They live in gardens, debris/leaves
  • They hunt not trap
  • Mildly poisonous
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