Analyze the size of the spider. Most NSW spiders are rather small, but a few are really large. For example, the huntsman spider reaches almost 5 inches long with legs fully extended. Net-casting spiders grow up to 1 inch long, while redbacks reach almost half an inch. St. Andrew's Cross spiders are a little larger than half an inch, and wolf spiders can grow up to three inches long.
Examine the coloring of the spider. The St. Andrew's cross spider is one of the most colorful species in NSW. Males are brown to light brown, while females are red, black, and silver with yellow stripes.
Lynx spiders are also colorful, as they spend most of their time on plants, flowers and shrubbery. They range in color from green and yellow to brown.
Net-casting spiders are reddish-brown to light brown, while wolf spiders are a duller brown to grey or black. Most huntsman spiders are grey to brown, and tend to have banded legs.
Look at the spider's web. Not all NSW spiders spin webs to capture prey, but you can often identify those that do by their spinning style. For example, the St. Andrew's cross spider creates a blueish-white, tightly knitted zig-zag in the shape of a cross. Grey house spiders create messy webs that are normally found under rocks, along fences and walls, or in corners of a room. Garden orb spiders leave a hole in the center of coiled webs that are usually seen at night, near outside light fixtures.
Analyze the spider's habitat and behavior. Many NSW spiders hunt for their food instead of creating webs. Wolf spiders usually travel along the ground in search of their meal, while lynx spiders spend most of their time hunting on plants.
Net-casting spiders are common in shrubbery, and on flat surfaces including walls and ceilings. They carry a rectangular net with them, which they drop on their prey to capture it.
Redback spiders tend to live in basements, attics, rocks, dirtpiles and logs. They resemble the black widow with a red mark on their abdomen (though unlike black widows, male redbacks also have a red marking). Female redback spiders are venomous, and will bite if disturbed.
Huntsman spiders tend to live under tree bark or rocks, or in the crevices of stone walls. Some species carry their egg sacs under their abdomens.
