• The web can be a clue as to what type of spider you have.web image by Sergey Dyadechkin from Fotolia.com
  
  According to the Spiders of Texas website, Texas has 1,003 species of spiders, and many more have not yet been discovered. While many spiders can be found throughout the state's varied environments from arid deserts to humid swamps, a few common arachnids can be found in homes around the state.
  
  

Recluse Spiders

• Recluse spiders, like the name implies, are anything but social and highly venomous creatures. They do not have a web and instead are nocturnal hunters. Besides finding lounging spiders in the cracks and crevices of houses or in dark cluttered areas like closets, one telltale sign is egg cases. These small puffs of webbing are found stuck to baseboards along the floor and should be carefully removed before they are allowed to hatch. The spider itself is brown and typically about 3/8 of an inch in diameter with long slender legs extending out. A telltale lighter brown violin shape on the abdomen sets this arachnid apart from most other brown house spiders.
  
  

Black Widows

• Black widows are another venomous spider with a potentially deadly bite for elderly and young people. The web of a black widow is quite extraordinary with no visible pattern as present with traditional spider webs. The web is also highly sticky and difficult to tear down. The black widow lives mostly in dark and secluded areas, but can also be found in closets, shelves and anywhere it can catch insects. While the black widow is known for its black shiny coloring and bright red hourglass shape on the abdomen, they range in colors of brown with yellow and orange stripes depending on age. The brighter coloring is more common in southwestern Texas through the Rio Grande Valley.
  
  

Southern House Spider

• Resembling the brown recluse, the male of this species has brown or khaki coloring and a violin shape on the abdomen. The house spider's violin is considerably more slender than that of the brown recluse while the house spider is bigger in size than the recluse. Another marked difference in the two is that the house spider has eight eyes while the recluse has six.
  
  

Daddy Long-Legs Spider

• As the name implies, these spiders have long legs and a relatively smaller body. Daddy long-legs make their home in webs usually found along the ceiling and near light fixtures to catch as many insects as possible. Contrary to some urban myths, the spider is not venomous and there are no reported cases of the venom harming humans. The spider has a small body with thread-like legs. Its thin limbs can cause it to be misidentified with both the harvestmen insect and the crane fly.