Venomous spiders infest Nebraska apartment, tenant says

Published July 26, 2012


A Nebraska man says he's been moving warily around his apartment, keeping watch for dangerous spiders that have moved in.

Dylan Baumann said he's been catching brown recluse spiders in his Omaha apartment for four months.


Experts say the dangerously venomous brown recluse spiders aren't aggressive, but their bites can result in painful wounds. Fatal bites to humans are extremely rare.

An exterminator visited Baumann’s apartment six times, but the spiders are reclusive and manage to hide deeper in the walls, he told

"I’ve learned a lot about them," Baumann said. "When you live with something, you want to find out as much as you can about it."

Baumann said brown recluse spiders are pitiful climbers. If they try to scale a wall, they reach about 4 feet and fall. His bed has metal legs that prove insurmountable to these spiders. His bed is the only safe sanctuary in his apartment.

Dennis Ferraro of the Douglas County Extension Office said the higher number of spiders and insects, in general, likely was a result of a relatively mild winter and higher-than-normal summer temperatures.

Baumann said he planned to move out of the apartment in September, but he’s staying in the same complex. Until then, he's taking precautions such as shaking out his clothes and shoes before putting them on.
