LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Spiders: Funnel-Web Spiders
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Funnel-web spiders— Spiders from this group build webs that funnel down into the entrance of their burrow. The spider waits inside the burrow for its next meal, such as a cockroach, to trip over one of the snaglines anchoring the web. The spider feels the vibration and dashes out to grab its prey.
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The aggressive house spider, Tegenaria agrestis, (sometimes called the hobo spider) is a member of the family Agelenidae, commonly called the funnel-web spiders or funnel weavers. These spiders build funnel webs in dark, moist areas, often in basements, and sit in the mouth of the funnel waiting for prey. The funnel opens at both ends, and the web expands outward into a broad, slightly curved sheet. When prey, usually an insect, becomes entangled in the web, vibrations from its struggle alert the spider, which dashes out to bite the prey. The subdued prey is quickly carried into the funnel (Fig. 5).
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Insecticide spraying is not recommended for ground-dwelling spiders. Such sprays may affect other animals. The target spiders often are not killed by the spray. Instead, the chemical may actually make them more active (and therefore more likely to enter homes). Sprays are ... unlikely to give any lasting protection against Funnel-web Spiders. Funnel-webs in burrows close to houses can be attacked individually, by pouring boiling water down the burrows.
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The two other suborders, the Mygalomorphae (trapdoor spiders, funnel-web spiders, tarantulas) and the Araneomorphae ("modern" spiders), are sometimes grouped together as Opisthothelae. The latter account for about 94% of all spider species.
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The most dangerous spiders to humans in North America are the widow spiders (usually known as black widows) (Fig. 1), the brown spiders (... known as the fiddlebacked spiders), the tarantulas, an innocuous-looking sac spider, and a funnel-web spider.
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Funnel-Web Spiders