The following are the main poisonous spiders in the continental US Please note, all spiders are venomous to a certain extent, so a ferret may be at risk from a spider that is not listed The full text can be found at http://vector.ifas.ufl.edu/chapter_07.htm#two 1 Black Widow, Nationwide- Black spider with red "hourglass" shaped marking on abdomen 2 Brown Widow, Southern Texas and most of peninsular Florida- various shades of brown banded legs, orange hourglass. This is the most prevalent widow in houses 3 Red Widow, Selected isolated habitats of central & southern Florida 4 Brown Recluse Spider,Oval abdomen, abdomen is uniformly tan to brown without markings, dark "fiddle" shaped mark is obvious, the broad base begins at the eyes and the narrow "neck" of the fiddle ends at the abdomen. Long legs with 2nd pair longer than first- central Texas north to Oklahoma, Kansas & Iowa & south through Illinois, N & S Carolina, NW Georgia and Alabama. May also be found in adjacent states and where transported by luggage and household furnishings 5 Tarantula, Kept as pets, some species are venomous. Not usually a threat to humans. 6 Yellow house spider, range unstated, assume nationwide- 1/4 inch long, legs and thorax darker than abdomen, reported as yellow, white or greenish. Cannot pierce skin of everyone, probably more dangerous to ferrets than humans. Michael "Mick"Schmid Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati (When All Else Fails, Play Dead) Bee-Jay Landscaping Expect The Best! God Bless The U.S.A. 716-860-1266 Depew NY [log in to unmask] [Posted in FML issue 3560]