We have the Brown Recluse here, and I always check the boxes from the attic before I unload for Christmas, Halloween, etc. Doesn't make sense to put your hand where a spider doesn't think it belongs. I got bit bad by a large orb weaver years ago. It was under the arm of my front porch chair. Evidently, it came out and bit me on the side of my right hand. I let out a howl and the cowardly bastidge scurried across the porch. My next door neighbor asked, "Did that thing just bite you?" I was over the porch rail in a hurry, eager to not let this terrorist escape. I found him cowering in a corner of the porch and ground. My size 13 crushed and buried him in one swift motion. I heard the satisfying crunch, he was so damn big. Not a recluse, but one of those fat-assed things that spin the beautiful orbs that I like to set on fire. It left a golf-ball sized lump that itched like hell for the next 3 or 4 days.
My best friend lives in the Cali desert, and he has all the big 3, brown recluse, black widow, and tarantula. While we were visiting this past June, A black widow tried to take a bit out of me via pool float. Evidently they like to spend time in the little holes in the side of his pool. Call me a sis if you want, but I spent a lot of time turning over floats and looking in holes.