Wondering if you can give me an id on these spiders

Asked October 4, 2017, 3:54 PM EDT

Here are some photos for you. Please note. All the photos were the same color but the one that appears to be darker black or grey is just in bad light.
The backstory:

I killed a big spider in May with orangey brown legs, [ the big one is in the 3rd photo, and on the legs, in the photo they look black, but you can see it's the shadow... in real life they were more orangey brown..]

Just at the end of August and a couple times in September, I saw four or five smaller versions of the same spider in my studio living area. Finally managed to take one outside, and shake the sweater it was in off , and capture a photo of it while on the ground. They're not the best photos ever but my hands were shaking a little bit. I am allergic to fire ants and I swell up a lot when they bite me so... I am scared they are recluse and I live in a house where a lot of people have come and gone over the years.

Again: The third photo is a big spider I killed in May that appeared to have a mandolin on its back, not a violin...but... It probably doesn't matter.
Anyway I heard about you from a pest control guy in the city, Ed is his name. Nice guy. I appreciate your help.
Exterminator Ed says if you think they are recluse he doesn't want to do them and be held liable if he doesn't get all of them.

Baltimore Maryland insect id spider rule out brown recluse

1 Response

Our entomologist looked at your photos and doesn't think the first two spiders are the same as the third.
The third she thinks looks like a much larger wolf spider. They are predators of other insects and don't bother people unless manhandled.
The first two photos are too out of focus to identify accurately. Most brown recluse (which are not normally found here) are of an even, light brown coloration.
Take a look at this page for what they look like and how to determine if a spider is a recluse: http://spiders.ucr.edu/recluseid.html

We'd suggest getting some sticky boards- insect catchers and lay them in dark, seldom disturb areas like in closets and under your beds to try and catch them. They are called recluses because they prefer those areas. It would be unusual to find one in a sweater.