The recluse is also not a large spider, not by a long shot.
The average person more often than not, will misidentify harmless spiders for recluse.
You don't mention your city, but recluse are only found in the south midwest US.
No spider wants to bite you, but many can if they are trapped/smacked against the skin, blindly put finger into webs where they are hiding. The recluse, even the black widow, can crawl on you without incident, but I don't suggest handling them. Leave that to people that know what they are doing.
I have a very harmless house spider about that is often mistaken for recluse:(I keep them for pets)
I would want to see a photo before I tried to identify your spiders, but I have to say that I'd be a bit skeptical that your spiders are actually Recluses. Apart from the fact that most people don't really know what a Recluse looks like (although they figure it's probably brown, like thousands of other spiders), finding one Recluse out on a porch would be interesting; finding a couple would be very interesting. Recluses can be very common where they are common, but usually that's in fairly undisturbed, quiet, dim places. Porches aren't where I would normally look for them, although anything's possible.
First, you need to be aware that there are many spiders that people THINK are brown recluse, but aren't. Your statement that there were two "very large" ones on your porch makes me suspect that you might have misidentified them. Here is what I found online regarding that.
QUOTE:
It's NOT a Brown Recluse IF any of the following are true:
1) It's really BIG:
A spider's body is in two main parts. The size of the body, not including legs, of a recluse is smaller than a dime.
2) It's really HAIRY:
Brown recluses have only very fine hairs that are invisible to the naked eye.
3) It JUMPS:
Jumping spiders live up to their name, and some other spiders including wolf spiders occasionally jump, but recluses don't.
4) I found it in a WEB
Brown recluses don't spin a web to catch prey; they spin silk retreats and egg cases, but don't form a typical recognizable web.
5) It has DISTINCT MARKINGS VISIBLE TO THE NAKED EYE, such as stripes, diamonds, chevrons, spots, etc. that are easily seen.
Brown recluses have no markings on their legs or abdomen (the largest part of the spider's body). The "violin" is very small and located on the front half of the body. The violin is also indistinct in some, especially young spiders. They're really rather dull looking.
ENDQUOTE
Recluse spiders really are not "very large". Check the following link for spiders most commonly mistaken for brown recluse:
http://brown-recluse-spider.ascendedheal...
Another issue is that you found 2 of them. Recluse spiders are just that - recluses. In other words, solitary:
QUOTE:
It is solitary in nature and often hides in dark, secluded places like under porches or deep in closets.
ENDQUOTE
http://www.livescience.com/39996-brown-r...
That said, MOST spiders will not "attack" humans.
They are venomous but they won't bite you unless they mistakenly climb into your clothes and get squished for something like that. I have been bitten once when one climbed up my pant leg and apparently got squished. It wasn't a very pleasant experience but my bite was pretty mild compared to some I have seen. It itched so much. I would much rather get bit by a black widow if I had to choose. They will definitely leave you alone if they get half the chance.
A spider will not bite you if you do not bother it.
The risk is that you might bother it by accident. If a spider gets trapped against your skin under your clothing, it may be forced to bite.
those are some very poisonous spiders 1 bite will do this > http://brown-recluse-spider.ascendedheal...
I'm freaking out a little bit and need some help. For the very first time in my life I came face-to-fact with not one, but two very large brown recluse spiders on my porch. I successfully sprayed both of them with bug spray and while the one of them ran off and fell into the bushes, I stepped on the other one as it walking running toward me. I've always known that my city had brown recluse spiders along with other poisonous spiders but like I said, this was the first time I've actually seen one up close and personal. I would like to know in case this happens again (fingers crossed that it won't), will a spider bite you if you don't bother it. The two spiders didn't move a muscle until I sprayed them. If one of them were sitting on my leg, would it bite me just to bite me? Or would it leave me alone, so long as I didn't make it feel threatened?
