spider ID help, please

October 2, 2020 2:52 AM

could a spider expert help me to identify this, please?

i don't think i've seen one like this before - the body is prob 0.5" long, with very prominent fat round shiny abdomen - whole thing has a reddish-brown colour

doesn't look at all like our usual uk house spiders

thanks!

posted by rd45 to Science & Nature (5 answers total)

Best answer: Looks like a female cupboard spider to me.
posted by parm at 3:11 AM on October 2, 2020 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I can't make out the markings on the abdomen, but from the shape, my best guess is some sort of false widow... which aren't as dangerous as some of the newspapers seem to think they are, although I admit I'd probably want to use a glass to take it outside if it were in my home.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 3:29 AM on October 2, 2020

Response by poster: it lives at the top of the kitchen window, under the blinds - must have been there for while i think, based on size - but it came lower down this morning - i'm not going to get on a ladder and go looking for it, but i think i'll put it out in the garden if it starts to appear regularly

based on those links (incl. size and where it lives) i think maybe noble false widow - no visible markings on the abdomen, just a uniform glossy red-brown as far as i could see
posted by rd45 at 5:58 AM on October 2, 2020

Really hard to tell with all he back light but this reminds me of a Common House Spider.
posted by The Violet Cypher at 10:46 AM on October 2, 2020

If nobody here comes up with a match, the folks in /r/whatsthisbug on Reddit are great at id'ing spiders.
posted by dws at 5:35 PM on October 2, 2020