(Part 2) Top products from r/spiders

I don't know what digital formats may be available, but here are a few good ones:

• Spiders and Their Kin by Herbert and Lorna Levi: This is a good beginner's field guide for common spiders in the U.S.
  
  
• PCT Field Guide for the Management of Urban Spiders by Stoy Hedges and Rick Vetter: Although the intended audience is pest control professionals, this little book has a lot of good information and tries to counter some of the fear-mongering and ignorance that are often encountered in the industry.
  
  
• Spiders of the Carolinas by L. L. Gaddy: This is a good field guide for spiders that are commonly encountered in North and South Carolina. The pictures are good, and there is a nice summary about each spider.
  
  
• Biology of Spiders by Rainer Foelix: This is dense reading, but if you ever wanted to know how spiders work, this book is a good investment.

Cool shot... your camera and technique seem good enough to me. I can say for sure that spider is in the family Agelenidae... maybe Tegenaria domestica? I can't say which species exactly because I can't see the spider's abdomen. Recluses are easily identifiable by their eye arrangement, though, so if you got a photo from the front like this it should be enough to make a fairly confident determination. Still, the best shots for identifying spiders are from directly above.

Now... I probably shouldn't encourage people to catch potentially dangerous spiders unless they really know what they're doing... but if you're willing, I should at least explain how to do it safely. Catching a spider with a clear cup or bowl is pretty safe and easy even if it is a recluse. Basically all spider bites happen when someone crushes the spider against your skin... even if it somehow manages to crawl onto exposed skin, it won't bite you if you stay calm (and wearing long sleeves and gloves should completely remove that possibility). A spider you can see poses no threat to you... it's when they're hiding in your shoes or under your wood pile that you could be exposed to a bite. One technique is to put the cup down in front of the spider and let it crawl into the cup, then turn it over so the opening is facing down, and you have a trapped spider ready to photograph. You might be able to put the cup down right outside its lair and poke it out with a (long) stick straight into the cup.

This is a good overview for recluse identification, as well.

Also, have you thought about picking up a macro reverse ring? They're very cheap... I have this one for my Nikon and it works fine. Basically it's a mount that attaches to the front of your lens so you can put it on the camera backwards, creating a sort of makeshift macro mode. It doesn't give quite the same control as an actual macro lens... there's no aperture adjustment at all, so getting enough light is a big challenge, but I see it used a lot by professionals, including my personal favorite macro photographer.

You're welcome, hope I didn't come off like a jerk lol. Yeah, at 1:1 I imagine you're already cropping a decent amount. Which lens are you using? Consider using a Raynox dcr-250 clip on lens to get more magnification. The thing is really amazing for the price. Here are some pics I took with it on the 100mm 2.8L: https://imgur.com/a/ooDSS. With a 100mm you can get to 2:1. Check out my recent comments for more info if you're interested. Happy shooting!

The identifying features of spiders are more subtle than they are for birds or butterflies - like eye arrangements, length and number of hairs on their legs. Also, consider there are about 900 species of birds in the U.S. vs. about 3,000 spider species. Just trying to help you understand why you're having a hard time finding such a guide.

My favorite spider field guide is the Golden Guide to Spiders and their Kin. Though the book includes spiders worldwide, it focuses on American species, and the description of family features can inform ID anywhere. There is a 1990 edition available in full online. Some of the taxonomic names have changed since then, but you can get the idea. You can't beat it for the money.

I don't have this one, but browsing it, it looks pretty nice.

Otherwise, the technical standard is SONA.

Alternatively, invest in a camera: take pictures and share them with us -- we are always here to help. Bugguide.net has detailed descriptions at almost every taxonomic level.

Aukey. It works very well. I don't need a tripod either, just gotta get close enough and take a dozen or so photos. I even got a photo of a European Paper Wasp sticking its tongue out. ITS TONGUE. I didn't even know they had tongues before today!

I have a photo that's much, much better, but it's probably one of the best photos I've ever taken, and uploading certain things to certain sites gives them ownership, so I'm not doing that until I find a place I can submit it and get some kind of credit.


EDIT: For reference, the lens was probably about 1cm away from the spider.

Yeah as long as your slow then it’s safer and much cooler as you can safely stare them down for science!

Carson BugView Quick-Release Bug Catching Tool and Magnifier for Children and Adults https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000JQ5AZK

Here is a great little (PDF) guide for Ohio that covers a lot of common NE species

The 2 most popular books are these:

Common Spiders of North America (Bradley)

Spiders of North America (Ubick, et al.)

The Bradley book is probably the more accessible of the two.

edit: fixed first link

What worked for me was reading about them. Go to your library, find a really in-depth spider book, and read all of it. You may end up completely fascinated. Here's the one I read.

Also, try observing them. Figure out when they're active, what spots they like to hang out in, what sorts of webs they build, what prey they catch. Taking a scientific interest allows you to see them as more than "scary thing with lots of legs."

It depends on how close you want to get. I was using this add-on lens kit with my cellphone (Nexus 5). I was able to get shots like this and this, which is impressive to me, as the Nexus 5's camera honestly sucks, even after all of the updates it's had.

Same here. I just used my old entomology textboook, Insects: Their Natural History and Diversity, which is one of the best textbooks I've ever bought. They have a limited section on non-insect arthropods and the Dimorphic Jumping Spider was the closest match I could find.

I also moved mobile homes a couple times out in Bedford as a summer job this year and saw a few of these guys. There were False Black Widows all over the place, but I had these spiders and Bold Jumpers crawling over me all day, too.

First, get this book: http://www.amazon.com/Tarantula-Keepers-Guide-Stanley-Schultz/dp/0764100769

Question 1: I have been keeping spiders since I was about 15 (35 years ago!). I currently keep 7 or 8 species. In the last 10 years, I have held or touched tarantulas less than 10 times. They don't enjoy human contact, and it is actually a little dangerous for both parties. For example, new world tarantulas have hairs on their abdomens (urticating hairs) that some people are really sensitive to (including me). I am so sensitive that I have to clean their cages while wearing thick rubber gloves. Another example: if you drop your tarantula (or she/he falls) from a considerable height, there is a really good chance it will rupture its abdomen. Even the slightest wound is going to kill it. It is just best to have them remain terrarium pets.

Question 2: I use long handled tweezers to pick up dead insects and body parts. When I have to clean the entire enclosure (roughly every six months), I use a soft-bristled paint brush to nudge the spider into a smaller container with a lid (I use one of those cheap plastic cages they give you when you buy a mouse at a pet store). I also use a good pair of tongs to pick up their water dish for cleaning. I sterilize it once a week (soaking it in hot water with some chlorine bleach) and keep it filled with fresh water (inexplicably, crickets like to drown themselves in it, so fish them out whenever you see one).

Also, if you want this book: https://www.amazon.com/Field-Guide-Spiders-Australia/dp/064310707X

and Spider in ecological webs for ecology.

Here you go.

I use sticky pads for unwanted creatures.

No pesticides and it doesn't hurt other life.

https://www.amazon.com/Stick---Pest-Glue-Bug-Traps/dp/B00LBJJDFW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1468715729&sr=8-1&keywords=sticky+pads+rodent

I blame this book for the bullshit necrotic white tail myth.