Badumna longinqua
Grey or Brown House Spider Identification Australia
A brown-grey Badumna spider with banded legs that lives in a fuzzy lace web with a funnel-like retreat on bark, foliage or a building.
Usually low riskPeople often search for Badumna longinqua as the grey house spider, although the Australian Museum favours Brown House Spider for this species. It is a smaller, browner close relative of the black house spider and the web is usually more useful for identification than colour alone.
Quick identification
- Brownish carapace and grey-brown legs that are often visibly banded
- Compact Badumna build, usually smaller and browner than a black house spider
- Exposed fuzzy or woolly lace web spreading from a crack, hole or silk tube
- Funnel-like entrance leading into a secure retreat
- Common on foliage and bark as well as window frames, walls, fences and other sheltered structures
What to check next
Photograph the spider from above and the whole web from the side, including the retreat entrance. Confirm several features together: a Badumna-shaped spider, brown-grey banded legs and a fuzzy lace web. A dim phone photograph may support only Badumna rather than a confident B. longinqua identification.
When to seek medical help
Badumna longinqua is not one of the Australian spiders highlighted by healthdirect as causing severe envenoming. For a suspected bite, wash the area, apply a wrapped cold pack for local pain and swelling, and monitor symptoms. Seek medical advice if pain is severe, symptoms persist or worsen, swelling or itching increases, or you are concerned. Call Triple Zero (000) for breathing difficulty, collapse or other signs of anaphylaxis.
Where it is usually seen
Foliage, tree trunks and bark, plus protected crevices on window frames, walls, fences, sheds and house exteriors. Its presence on a building does not make it an indoor-only species; foliage webs are an especially useful clue when separating it from the larger black house spider.