Where Do Brown Recluses Actually Live in the US?
Brown Recluses live in 19 US states and are confirmed absent from 17 more, based on 6,359 verified iNaturalist and GBIF records. This page covers every state at once instead of one near-identical page per state.
By Tim, founder of Easy Street Markets. I maintain the wildlife database and verify every animal and source myself.
The states with the strongest confirmed populations are Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois and Indiana, and 13 more. These are real, verified iNaturalist and GBIF occurrence records, not modeled range estimates.
Brown Recluses have zero confirmed wild sightings in Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey and North Dakota, or 7 other states, despite tens of thousands of nationwide observation records for the species. That is a real, checked absence, not a missing page.
A small number of states (13) have only a handful of unverified or vagrant records, too few to confirm brown recluses as an established population there.
Confirmed states (19)
- brown recluses in Alabama
- brown recluses in Arkansas
- brown recluses in Colorado
- brown recluses in Georgia
- brown recluses in Illinois
- brown recluses in Indiana
- brown recluses in Iowa
- brown recluses in Kansas
- brown recluses in Kentucky
- brown recluses in Louisiana
- brown recluses in Mississippi
- brown recluses in Missouri
- brown recluses in Nebraska
- brown recluses in North Carolina
- brown recluses in Ohio
- brown recluses in Oklahoma
- brown recluses in Tennessee
- brown recluses in Texas
- brown recluses in Virginia
Not found (17)
- Alaska
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Maine
- Montana
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- North Dakota
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- Utah
- Vermont
- Washington
- West Virginia
Unconfirmed (13)
Only a handful of unverified or vagrant records exist for brown recluses in Arizona, California, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, South Carolina, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Wyoming, too few to confirm an established population.
Frequently asked questions
What states do brown recluses live in?+
Brown Recluses have confirmed wild populations in 19 US states: Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.
Where are brown recluses not found in the US?+
Brown Recluses have no confirmed wild sightings in Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Washington and West Virginia.