I can't figure out what kind of spider this is....please help!?

Ok here is the top of it%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;%26lt;a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"%26gt;%26lt;img src="http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/... border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"%26gt;%26lt;/a%26gt; and here is the underside of it%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;%26lt;a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"%26gt;%26lt;img src="http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/... border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"%26gt;%26lt;/a%26gt; These aren't the best pictures in the world, but it is orange with black stripes on its legs. I have these on my front and back porch alot around my lights and plants....I think it might just be a garden spider but please help me figure out what it is and if it's poisonous please!

I can't figure out what kind of spider this is....please help!?
This is a female orb weaver, also known as a garden spider. You have no need to fear. They're not venomous to humans or aggressive, plus they're very timid and prefer to stay outdoors. She just looks a little scary right now because she's reached full maturity. This is the time of year when orb weavers breed. The reason why I know it's a female and not a male is because the females have very large abdomens and are are twice as big as the males. She's getting big and fat so she can lay her eggs shortly. They lay their eggs at the end of summer and in the autumn.





The best way to tell if your spider is an orb weaver is by looking at it's web. Orb weavers spin large, flat, spiral webs, usually between trees, bushes, and on porches. If you're familiar with the movie or story of "Charlotte's Web" this is the same type of spider. They're quite useful, actually. They're really good at catching pesky bugs.
Reply:Hm... That doesn't look too dangerous to people. In fact, the first picture almost looked like a darker-colored house spider. Though the second picture looks a lot more menacing, it doesn't look venomous. We've had trouble around our house with Orb Weaver spiders, they get pretty big, and looked similar to that. They weren't dangerous or even... very active at all... but no matter what, it's still a spider, and like all predators, it's harmful in one way or another so you should be very careful.





Spiders can be worrying, but can also be very benefitial to the environment, so it's entirely up to you to spray the area around it or not. Of course, if they come into your house or something if it's too cold, it might be a good idea to get them taken care of. I was sleeping on my couch once, and was woken up by one of those Orb Weavers crawling across my face.
Reply:pppaaaggge not foundddddd
Reply:It is hard to really see the photo. However, there are only 2 venomous spiders in the US, the Brown Recluse and the Black Widow.





Black widows are real easy to recognise, they are the ones that are shiny black with the red hourglass on their abdomen. They like out- of - the- way places.





Brown recluses are named that because they are brown, and reclusive - they like to be under things like sheds, wood, so forth. They will also get in between sheets and bite you if they are common in your are (check with your county ag extention agent).





Neither of the venomous spiders like to be out in the open.





So, I don't think this is a venomous spider. HOWEVER, all spiders CAN bite if disturbed, and some folks are sensitive/allergic to the bites.





Sounds like these beasties are doing you a favor and eating flies, mosquitoes, etc. Unless they are in the way, leave'em alone.





Hope this helps.