Spider Control Perth

Spiders are one of the more common creepy crawlies you'll find in houses across Perth.

Most species are harmless, but they're still unsettling to live with, and children especially find these nocturnal pests frightening.

A proper spider control program keeps numbers down for both safety and everyday comfort around the home.

Signs You Have a Spider Problem

Why Choose Rockypest for Spider Control?

How Spider Control Works

Spider Control Pricing

What affects the final price? The right option depends on your home's size and whether you need indoor treatment as well. If ants or cockroaches are also a problem, let us know when you call, we can look at combined treatment options.

Wondering which spider you're actually dealing with? Below is Rockypest's full guide to identifying the spiders most commonly found around Australian homes, including which ones are genuinely dangerous and which are harmless.

Brief Description of Spiders

Spiders are arachnids, not insects, though both belong to the arthropods, animals with hard external skeletons and jointed limbs.

Arachnids have a combined head and thorax, simple eyes, jaws adapted for tearing or piercing prey, a pair of pedipalps, and eight walking legs. Spiders are the only arachnids with special glands in their abdomen that produce silk.

Only a few Australian species, including the Redback Spider and some funnel-web and mouse spider species, can inflict bites that are potentially fatal to humans. There have been no fatalities from Sydney Funnel-web bites since effective antivenom was developed.

Many spiders live alongside people in the nooks and crannies of houses, sheds, and gardens. Most are harmless, and they're good to have around because they eat other insect pests.

You can learn about common Australian spiders in the guide below, or download the free Australian Spiders PDF eBook.

Jump to a Spider

St Andrew's Cross Spider

Identification: Named for the brilliant zigzag threads of bluish-white silk that form a partial or complete cross through the centre of its orb web. Males are smaller than females and are cream and brown coloured.

Habitat: Builds moderate-sized orb webs on low shrubby plant life, occupied day and night. The purpose of the cross-shaped web decoration is still debated, theories include reinforcing the web, avoiding predators, or attracting prey with reflected UV light.

Diet: Feeds on bees, moths, butterflies, bugs, and flies, usually wrapping prey in silk before feeding.

Behaviour: When threatened, it shakes its web to blur its outline and confuse attackers.

Mating: Mating occurs from summer to autumn. The female hangs her pear-shaped egg sac among leaves where it's disguised.

Garden Orb Weaver (Araneus Diadematus)

Identification: Stout, reddish-brown or grey spiders with a fat, leaf-shaped pattern on their abdomen, often with two noticeable humps toward the front and occasionally a dorsal stripe.

Habitat: Builds large, powerful vertical orb webs in the morning between shrubs and trees, then takes the web down again at daybreak. Rests head-down at the centre of the web waiting for prey.

Diet: Rushes out when an insect hits the web, wraps it in silk, then delivers venom before feeding.

Lifecycle: Females live about twelve months. Spiderlings hatch in autumn and disperse by ballooning on silk threads, building miniature webs to wait out winter.

Danger to humans: Not eager to bite. When they do, symptoms are usually mild, pain, swelling, and numbness, occasionally dizziness or nausea. Seek medical attention if symptoms continue.

Araneus Orb Weaver

Habitat: Found in lawns, gardens, farms, orchards, and urban and suburban areas, including riparian corridors and woodland borders. Webs are often attached to buildings in suburban areas.

Diet: Preys on jumping or flying insects intercepted by its vertical orb web. The spider eats its web most nights and reuses the extracted protein to build a fresh one.

Lifecycle: Females spin egg sacs in autumn or late summer, then die. Each sac holds 100 to 800 yellowish eggs, and spiderlings stay clumped together for a day or two before some balloon away on air currents.

Golden Orb Weaver (Araneidae, genus Nephila)

Identification: Big spiders with silvery-grey to brownish plum coloured bodies and yellowish banded legs. Males are much smaller and reddish-brown to brown.

Habitat and diet: Builds large, semi-permanent orb webs with a golden sheen, staying in the web night and day. Prey includes cicadas, flies, beetles, locusts, and wood moths, and occasionally small birds or bats caught in the sturdy web.

Lifecycle: Males live around the female's web for a mating opportunity. After mating, the female wraps her eggs in golden silk hidden within curled leaves or twigs.

Danger to humans: Seldom bites. When it does, symptoms are mild, localised pain, swelling, and numbness, occasionally dizziness or nausea. Seek medical attention if symptoms continue.

Brown House Spider

Identification: Glossy, slim legs with a bigger, egg-shaped abdomen. Colour ranges from reddish or brownish plum to satiny black. Similar in appearance to the Redback Spider.

Habitat: Builds a tangled, sticky web (a glue-footed web) in dark, undisturbed areas near a reliable source of prey.

Lifecycle: Males, sometimes called Cupboard Spiders, live only a month or two, while females can live for close to two years. After mating, the male is usually eaten by the larger female.

Danger to humans: Stings are infrequent and were historically not considered dangerous, but recent cases have caused severe symptoms, occasionally treated with Redback antivenom. A cold pack usually helps with pain and swelling.

Bird Dropping Spider

Identification: Also known as the Orchard Spider. Its size, colouring, and resting position mimic bird droppings, an effective disguise against predators and prey alike.

Habitat and diet: Found through southern and eastern Australia, often in suburban gardens but easily overlooked. Feeds mainly on male moths, luring them in with deceptive tactics before trapping them with its powerful front legs.

Reproduction: Egg sacs are large, marbled brown balls around 12mm across, housing more than 200 eggs.

Danger to humans: Not considered dangerous. No first aid is generally needed, though a cold pack can ease any discomfort.

Daddy-Long-Legs

Identification: Easily recognised by exceptionally long, lanky legs and a small body, usually cream or light brown. Originally from Europe, introduced accidentally into Australia.

Habitat: Common in urban areas, especially houses, building thin, twisted webs in sheltered spots like under furniture, behind doors, in ceiling corners, sheds, garages, and under decks. If disturbed, it spins rapidly in its web to blur into a defensive blur.

Diet: Feeds on other spiders and insects, including the occasional Redback Spider.

Danger to humans: Despite a popular myth calling it the most toxic spider in the world, there's no scientific evidence to support this. Reputable sources, including the University of California, Riverside, consider it not harmful to humans in most cases.

Jewel Spider

Identification: Has six triangular spines on its abdomen. Black cephalothorax and legs are orange, with a glossy black abdomen marked in white and yellow.

Habitat and diet: Lives in shrubby woodlands and feeds on insects. Its webs are often joined together into one large structure, which can catch out unwary bushwalkers.

Danger to humans: Seldom bites.

Huntsman Spider

Identification: Big, long-legged spiders, mainly grey to brown, sometimes with banded legs. Leg joints twist to spread sideways like a crab, letting them fit into tight spaces.

Habitat: Found throughout Australia, often at the back of trees and commonly in houses and cars, particularly on the sun visor or dashboard.

Lifecycle: Females carry over 200 eggs in a flat, oval sac, guarding them under bark or rock for around three weeks without eating. Most Huntsman species live about two years.

Danger to humans: Pain may be relieved with a cold pack. Seek medical help if symptoms persist.

Flower Spider (Crab Spider)

Identification: Broad, often colourful abdomen, smooth bodies, and short, unequal legs. All four leg pairs arch forward crab-like, giving it the alternate name Crab Spider. Males are smaller than females.

Habitat and diet: Lives on flowers and leaves, using camouflage and a sit-and-wait strategy to catch butterflies, bees, flies, and beetles with its spiny front legs.

Behaviour: Some species match the colour of the flowers they live on and can slowly shift colour to suit their surroundings. They shelter under leaves or petals at night.

Danger to humans: Not dangerous to people.

Jumping Spider

Identification: Usually modest in size but hard to miss thanks to their big eyes, impressive jumping ability, and often dazzling colours. Excellent eyesight lets them stalk and calculate distance before pouncing on prey.

Habitat: Found Australia-wide, in all sorts of sunny plantations and gardens.

Behaviour: Males are often more colourful or hairy than females and use elaborate courtship displays, which is how they earned the nickname "peacock spiders."

Trapdoor Spider

Identification: Short, blunt spinnerets. Brown Trapdoor Spiders are dull brown with a "dusty" cover of lighter golden hairs and light bars across the abdomen. Usually shy, though males may react if threatened.

Similar species: Often confused with Funnel-web Spiders and Mouse Spiders.

Lifecycle: Females shield their eggs in a burrow for several months. Trapdoors can take several years to reach adulthood and may live between 5 and 20 years.

Ecological role: Brown Trapdoor Spiders likely help control garden pests in urban areas and are best left alone.

Danger to humans: Frequently mistaken for Funnel-web Spiders, but Brown Trapdoor bites aren't dangerous. There's been only one recorded case of serious effects from a Trapdoor Spider bite. Seek medical attention if symptoms continue.

Eastern Mouse Spider

Identification: Found along Australia's east coast and frequently mistaken for funnel-web spiders. Its fangs cross over each other, unlike a funnel-web's, which stay parallel. Females are all black, males have distinct colouring. Named for the way it digs its burrow, much like a mouse.

Diet: Mostly insects, though other small creatures may be taken if the opportunity arises.

Danger to humans: Unlike the funnel-web, causes no severe reaction typically, and mouse spiders aren't aggressive toward people. Funnel-web antivenom has proven effective for treating severe stings when needed.

Red Headed Mouse Spider

Identification: Smooth, shiny carapace with a steep, wide head and large jaws. Females are large and stout with a dark body and reddish jaw, males have slimmer legs, a bright reddish head, and a gunmetal blue to black abdomen.

Habitat: Found in open woodland and semiarid shrubland, digging burrows with single or double trapdoors up to 30cm deep. Females rarely leave their burrows.

Lifecycle: Males leave their burrows in search of a mate. The female lays 60 or more eggs, and the young stay with her through summer before dispersing in autumn.

Danger to humans: Females produce venom that's likely as dangerous as that of the Sydney Funnel-web. Some severe cases have been recorded, alongside milder ones. Funnel-web antivenom has proven effective in almost all cases and is the standard treatment, especially in children, using a pressure bandage over the bite.

Black House Spider (Badumna Longinquus)

Identification: Smaller species with a black carapace and grey-brown legs. Its funnel-shaped web is often mistaken for a Funnel-web Spider's, though the two spiders aren't otherwise similar.

Habitat: Found on tree trunks, logs, stone walls, and buildings, including window frames and wall crevices, where it builds webs to catch prey. Indoors, it targets insects drawn to lamps and windows.

Lifecycle: The female builds several white silk egg sacs within her web and stays with the eggs until they hatch. Spiders live for about two years.

Danger to humans: Shy and seldom stings. Bites are usually painless and sometimes cause mild swelling. Rare cases have involved sweating, vomiting, nausea, or dizziness. A cold pack usually relieves pain, seek medical attention if symptoms continue.

Wolf Spider

Identification: Body colours are usually drab, with yellow, brown, black, grey, and white markings, some inland species have a glowing salmon pink underside.

Habitat: Found across a wide range of environments from dry inland shrublands to alpine meadows and wet coastal areas, with several species common in suburban gardens.

Lifecycle: The female carries her egg sac attached to her spinnerets, then carries the spiderlings on her back after they hatch until they're ready to disperse. Wolf Spiders live for up to two years.

Danger to humans: Symptoms are usually mild, localised pain or itchiness. Swelling, nausea, dizziness, or a fast pulse are uncommon. Seek medical attention if symptoms continue.

Redback Spider

Identification: A close relative of the American Black Widow. Females are black, sometimes brownish, with an orange stripe on the upper abdomen, juveniles have extra white markings. Males have less distinct reddish markings on a lighter body.

Habitat: Found Australia-wide, wherever there's shelter, food, and a warm environment, particularly common in urban and disturbed areas. Webs are built in dry, sheltered sites like logs, among stone, shrubs, junk piles, sheds, or under outdoor toilets.

Diet: Mostly insects, but also king crickets, male trapdoor spiders, and small lizards that become entangled in the web.

Lifecycle: A mated female can store sperm for years, fertilising several batches of up to 250 eggs each. Males live around six to seven months, females may live two to three years.

Danger to humans: One bite is enough to send someone to the hospital emergency room. This is a medically significant bite, seek medical attention immediately.

Brown Widow

Identification: A mottled mix of brown and tan with black accents. Mature females have three angled stripes on each flank and a dorsal stripe, each angled stripe topped with a black square mark. Its hourglass marking is usually orange rather than the bright red of a Black Widow.

Identifying feature: Distinguishing a Brown Widow from an immature Black Widow takes some expertise, but the Brown Widow's egg sac, covered in distinctive silk spicules, is easily recognisable.

Habitat: Builds webs in woody plants with branches, and in secluded, secure spots around houses.

Danger to humans: Symptoms are usually similar to other common house spiders, likely because the Brown Widow can't inject as much venom as its larger relatives. One recent, verified case caused more severe symptoms requiring hospitalisation. A cold pack can help, see a doctor if symptoms persist.

Sydney Funnel-Web Spider

Identification: Glossy, dark brown to black spiders with finger-like spinnerets at the end of the abdomen. Males have a mating spur on their second pair of legs and show aggressive behaviour if threatened, rearing up to display their fangs.

Habitat: Found in forested and urban areas of eastern Australia. They sometimes fall into swimming pools, where they can survive for hours, and occasionally wander into homes.

Diet: Burrows under rocks and logs, rushing out to catch small lizards, cockroaches, beetles, or snails that cross trip lines laid outside the burrow.

Behaviour: Not quick to bite, and don't pursue people or seek out houses to live in, common myths about aggressive hunting behaviour aren't accurate.

Danger to humans: The venom contains a neurotoxin that affects the human nervous system and, in the worst untreated cases, can be fatal. There have been no deaths recorded since effective antivenom was developed.

White Tailed Spider

Identification: Dark reddish to grey, cylindrical body with deep orange-brown banded legs. The grey abdomen has two faint white spots and a white spot at the tip. Found across southern Australia, including Western Australia, Tasmania, and eastern states.

Habitat: A vagrant hunter living beneath stone and bark, in leaf litter and logs, in houses, gardens, and bushland. Most active at night, hunting other spiders, its favourite food.

Danger to humans: Bites can cause severe pain followed by itching and swelling. There are unconfirmed reports of local ulceration or blistering, though the evidence suggests this is not a common outcome. Seek medical attention if a bite causes ongoing or worsening symptoms.

Related Pest Control Services

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does spider control cost in Perth?

Spider control with Rockypest starts from $240 for outside-only treatment on a single-storey home, up to $360 for inside and outside treatment on a two-storey property. Every treatment includes a 3-month warranty.

Are the spiders in Perth dangerous?

Most spiders found around Perth homes, like Black House Spiders and Huntsman Spiders, are harmless and rarely bite. The main one to watch for is the Redback Spider, whose bite is medically significant and needs urgent attention.

Are funnel-web spiders found in Perth?

No. True Sydney Funnel-web Spiders are restricted to eastern Australia and have never been recorded in Western Australia. Spiders often mistaken for them in Perth are usually Black House Spiders or native Black Wishbone Spiders, both considered harmless.

Will spider control stop spiders getting in altogether?

Treatment significantly reduces numbers and makes your property far less attractive to spiders, but it's not a permanent seal against every spider entering. Regular treatment keeps numbers down over time.

Do you treat Redback spiders specifically?

Yes, our spider control treatment covers Redback Spiders along with the other common household species. If you've spotted a Redback nest or an active problem area, let us know when you call so we can focus treatment there.

How often should I get spider treatment?

Every treatment comes with a 3-month warranty, and many customers book on a regular schedule to keep numbers down year-round, particularly over the warmer months when spider activity picks up.