Brown Recluse?

Can anyone tell me if this is a brown recluse or not? I can email this picture also, if someone needs to zoom in. Thanks for your time.

This male (note the enlarged pedipalps) spider most definitely is not a brown recluse; it may be a funnel-web/grass spider (family Agelenidae). See http://tinyurl.com/gtgg and http://tinyurl.com/r8jz5 for articles that explain how to differentiate brown recluse spiders from similar-appearing species.

Forgive me for my ingnorance, but the pedipalps are the pinchers? And this is how you tell it is a male spider? My wife is convinced that this is a brown recluse but I could not find the violin markings on the back but read an article that younger recluse do not show this. I just want to ease my wife's fears. Thanks

The pedipalps are the appendages located behind the mouth at the front of the cephalothorax (the head part). Male pedipalps are larger than the female's because they contain the reproductive organs. In your picture, it is obvious that the pedipalps are enlarged and therefore male. Also the abdomen is noticeably smaller relative to its overall size, a female of the same species would have a significantly larger abdomen. I have to agree suunto, this spider doesn't even really look like a brown recluse. The banding on the legs also suggests it's not a brown recluse. The spider pictured is probably this, http://tinyurl.com/cy9mef which is as suunto suggested a funnel web spider or it could be a very juvenile huntsman spider, but they tend to be much larger but the arrangement of the legs it very similar. If you want to know for sure, try to take another picture where we can see the eyes. While the violin pattern is a distinctive feature of the brown recluse, it is not a primary diagnostic quality for this or any other spider for that matter. The arrangement of the eyes will be the best way to make a classification.

Is this spider associated with a web? Brown recluse do not spin webs.

Hi DC7306

We have had a lot of brown recluse in our house before. You can email me the picture if you want (learningcurves@live.com) and I can zoom in for a closer look and maybe I can see it better, but it doesn't look like one to me. Mostly because the violin on the brown recluse are usually quite distinctive. Also the stripes on the legs don't seem right. If you want some good tips on how to deal with them, this article has some specific help:
http://www.gomestic.com/Home/How-to-Protect-Yourself-From-the-Poisonous-Brown-Recluse-Spider.658137

I absolutely hate these spiders!

http://www.termite.com/spider-identification-chart.html

I found this same spider in my home I have two little boys so I too am wanting to know if its dangerous. I was thinking it looks a little like a hobo spider what do you think?
http://www.tandjenterprises.com/images/hobo%20spider%20web%20inside%20big.jpg

try the huntsman spider Heteropoda venatoria
debi