What kind of spider is hairless, black, and has a small red line on its back?

Question

i live in texas and i found it in my house. i caught it in a cup and it sprayed some white stuff. It has a small abdomen so i dont really think its a black widow...what could it be??

Answer 1

yeah, black widows have the hourglass on the UNDERSIDE of their abdomens, but some males (and smaller females) don't really have an hourglass, just markings.

you probably do have a widow there.  I live in Texas and they're quite common (I also study and raise arachnids)

in all actuality though, do you want to mess with it and risk testing if it's a widow or not?   the most effective way to kill a spider (or their egg sac) is to catch it like you did, then freeze it for a few hours.  

Answer 2

Not a black widow, it would have an hour glass shape on it. It's  probably just a house spider.

Answer 3

Learn to ID spiders, here -

http://bugguide.net/node/view/1954

http://www.arachnology.be/pages/Pictures...

http://www.spideridentification.org/

Answer 4

From what I'm reading, black widows have variations in the red markings and some have smaller abdomens.