Spiders in Ghana

What spiders live in Ghana?

Ghana runs from Atlantic coast to Sahel edge in about 700 kilometres, and the spider fauna changes with it. The coastal strip around Accra is dry savanna and scrub; behind it lies the wet forest belt of Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo and the Western Region, with Kakum and Ankasa still holding closed canopy; and the north, around Mole and Tamale, is Guinea savanna that bakes and burns in the dry season. West African spiders are still under-studied — the orb-weaver Bijoaraneus legonensis is named for Legon, the university suburb of Accra where it was found.

Visually, orb-weavers dominate. The tropical tent-web spider Cyrtophora citricola builds dense, permanent sheet-and-scaffold colonies over hedges, cactus and fences, often dozens of webs in one bush. Golden silk orb-weavers sling huge yellow-tinted webs across forest paths and farm tracks, and bark spiders of the genus Caerostris sit camouflaged on branches by day. The orange, ladybird-mimicking Paraplectana walleri is the region's most photogenic oddity.

At close range you are more likely to notice hunters. The gray wall jumping spider, Menemerus bivittatus, patrols sunlit plaster nationwide and is probably the most-seen spider in Ghanaian towns; other jumping spiders, green lynx spiders and flat huntsman spiders fill the same niche. Underground and in tree hollows are the baboon spiders, West Africa's theraphosids.

Which spiders in Ghana are actually dangerous?

Only the widows. Widow spiders of the genus Latrodectus occur across Africa, and in Ghana the one most often found is the brown widow, Latrodectus geometricus — mottled tan to almost black, with an orange hourglass underneath and an unmistakable egg sac covered in silk spikes. Widows build low, untidy tangle webs in sheltered, undisturbed places: under stacked timber and blockwork, in meter boxes, beneath outdoor furniture, in the rim of a disused drum.

A widow bite can cause latrodectism — cramping muscle pain spreading from the bite to the abdomen, back and thighs, with sweating, nausea and restlessness. Brown widow bites are usually milder than those of the black-bodied African widows and often stay local. Either way, this is a treatable condition, managed with pain relief and supportive care, and it needs a clinic rather than panic.

Recluse spiders, Loxosceles, may occur in Ghanaian buildings and stores, but confirmed records are scarce and bites are rarer still. Slow-healing ulcers blamed on spiders in West Africa are far more often bacterial infections, and a doctor should assess them rather than a spider guide.

Baboon spiders deserve their own note, because their reputation outruns the facts. The cobweb family gets the headlines, but the big theraphosids are what people fear on sight. A bite from an arboreal species such as the Togo starburst is genuinely painful and can produce muscle cramping for several days; it is not life-threatening, and there is no antivenom because none is needed. Our guide to the world's most venomous spiders sets that in context.

Ghana's baboon spiders

"Baboon spider" is the African name for a tarantula, from the resemblance of the foot to a baboon's finger. Ghana's best-known species is the Togo starburst, Heteroscodra maculata — a chalky grey-and-black arboreal spider that lives in hollow trunks and under loose bark, fast-moving and highly defensive. The feather-leg baboon spider, Stromatopelma calceatum, shares the same habit and is often found in oil palms. Ground-dwelling relatives of the African red baboon tarantula, genus Hysterocrates, dig deep burrows in forest soil.

All are large, hairy, long-lived and — unlike New World tarantulas — unable to flick irritating hairs, so their defence is to rear up and bite. Photograph them, do not handle them. Their real problem is people: baboon spiders are collected heavily for the pet trade and lose habitat as forest is cleared for cocoa.

Where you meet them in Ghana

Houses and compounds

Ghanaian buildings suit spiders: louvred windows, open eaves and outside kitchens all offer shelter and a steady supply of insects drawn to lights. Expect jumping spiders on sunlit walls, cellar spiders in bathrooms, and tangle webs in ceiling corners. Our house spiders guide covers the indoor group; almost none of it needs treating.

Gardens, farms and hedges

Cocoa, plantain and citrus farms and compound hedges hold the tent-web colonies and the big orb webs. These spiders are working pest control, eating the flies, moths and mosquitoes that matter far more to human health than any spider here.

Forest and savanna

The closed forest of Kakum and Ankasa is where the arboreal baboon spiders, bark spiders and largest orb-weavers live. Northern savanna swaps them for burrowing hunters that shelter from the heat by day and emerge after dark.

When are spiders most obvious in Ghana?

There is no cold season, so spiders are present all year and rainfall drives the numbers. The south has two wet seasons — roughly April to July and September to November — and both bring a surge of insects and a visible explosion of webs. The north has a single rainy season, about May to September.

The harmattan, the dusty dry wind from December to February, is the quiet part of the year: webs collapse, many spiders retreat into burrows, bark crevices and buildings, and this is when large wanderers most often turn up indoors.

Common Spiders in Ghana

• Bum-eyed Spider (Bijoaraneus legonensis)
• Tropical Tent-web Spider (Cyrtophora citricola)
• Darwin’s Bark (Caerostris darwini)

Biggest Spiders in Ghana

• Ornamental baboon spiders/Togo Starburst spiders (Heteroscodra maculate)

Most Venomous Spiders in Ghana

Cobweb Spiders/Tangle Web Spiders (Theridiidae)

Cobweb SpidersBrown Widow (Latrodectus geometricus)Identify the brown widow (Latrodectus geometricus) by its orange hourglass and spiky egg sac, and learn how its bite compares with a black wCobweb SpidersWidow (Latrodectus)A guide to the widow spiders (Latrodectus): how to identify the genus, the species you may meet, the gumfoot web, and how serious a widow bi

Tarantulas

TarantulasKing Baboon Tarantula (Pelinobius muticus)Identify the king baboon tarantula (Pelinobius muticus): rusty colour, deep burrows, its warning hiss, and why an Old World bite hurts far m

Less Venomous Spiders in Ghana

Jumping Spiders

Jumping SpidersGray Wall Jumping (Menemerus bivittatus)Identify the gray wall jumping spider (Menemerus bivittatus): size, the flattened grey-haired body, its walls-and-tree-trunks habitat, and w

Species wrongly listed for Ghana

Two names carried over from older versions of this page belong to other parts of Africa. The king baboon tarantula, Pelinobius muticus, is an East African species of the dry country of Kenya and Tanzania; Ghana's equivalent heavyweights are Heteroscodra maculata and Stromatopelma calceatum. Darwin's bark spider, Caerostris darwini, is endemic to Madagascar — Ghana has other members of the genus, but not that one.

Two more points of accuracy. Widow venom is potent, but calling every cobweb spider in Ghana "highly venomous" is wrong: most Theridiidae here are tiny and harmless. And harvestmen, abundant in damp corners nationwide, are not spiders at all — one oval body, no silk, no venom.

• Wear gloves and boots when you move blockwork, timber stacks or drums that have stood still — that is widow habitat.
• Shake out shoes and folded clothes left outside, especially during the harmattan.
• Screen windows and doors rather than spraying; the spiders are eating your mosquitoes.
• Photograph a baboon spider, do not handle it.

For comparison across the region, see our guides to the spiders of Nigeria and Kenya.