Home Care In Wallingford, CT

The unusual discovery in a Wallingford apartment building has scientists talking. The spiders may have been hiding there for years.

WALLINGFORD, CT — For years, spiders lurking in the basement of a Wallingford apartment building were nothing more than an occasional nuisance. Finding a few eight-legged neighbors in a New England basement is hardly unusual.

But these weren't ordinary basement spiders — they belonged to a venomous species native to the Mediterranean region that had never been documented in Connecticut.

When a pest management professional collected several specimens from the building in December 2025, he was stumped. He brought the spiders to a state entomologist, who enlisted a national expert to help confirm their identity: Mediterranean recluse spiders.

Dr. Gale E. Ridge, an associate scientist and entomologist at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, recognized the specimens as recluse spiders but wasn't certain which species she was looking at.

She sent a photograph of a male spider's reproductive structure to Richard Vetter, a nationally recognized expert on recluse spiders.

"He was back in touch with me in 15 minutes," Ridge said.

The confirmation marked the first documented occurrence of Mediterranean recluse spiders in Connecticut. But the spiders themselves may have been living in the building for much longer, as residents had seen them for years.

Native to southern Europe and northern Africa, Mediterranean recluse spiders are naturally cave-dwelling creatures that prefer dark, secluded environments.

In colder climates, that makes basements, crawl spaces and underground utility tunnels particularly attractive habitats.

The spiders cannot survive outdoors through Connecticut winters, Ridge said, but they can establish themselves inside buildings where temperatures remain relatively stable.

Exactly how the spiders arrived in Wallingford remains unknown. Ridge suspects they may have been transported into the building with furniture or other belongings.

While uncommon, Mediterranean recluse spiders have been documented in 22 states, including in buildings along the East Coast.

Researchers studying federal buildings in Washington, D.C., discovered that the spiders could establish substantial populations in underground spaces without attracting much attention from the people working above them.

"Washington D.C. actually has a lot of them in the government areas," Ridge remarked. "There's so much moving of staff in the state department, in and out of the country with furniture and personal effects, they're brought in that way."

Ridge said that while the discovery was unusual, residents shouldn't be alarmed.

"These spiders generally run from you. They stay very much to themselves," Ridge said, explaining that the nocturnal spiders are shy and typically hide in cracks and crevices, away from people.

Like other recluse spiders, however, Mediterranean recluses possess venom that can cause tissue damage in humans. Serious reactions are possible, although encounters and bites are uncommon.

The spiders generally bite defensively, like when accidentally trapped against someone's skin, rather than actively pursuing people.

Spiders might be scary, but they also play an important role in controlling insect populations. Mediterranean recluses feed on insects including cockroaches and termites, according to Ridge.

"If it wasn't for the activity of spiders and their hunting, we would be about six feet deep in flies worldwide," Ridge said. She generally recommends leaving spiders undisturbed.

The Wallingford discovery may not be the last of its kind. Ridge said she wouldn't be surprised if Mediterranean recluse spiders eventually turned up in other Connecticut buildings.

"It's just a matter of having the right person in the right place," she said.

Anyone who encounters an unfamiliar spider can contact the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station for help identifying it. Ridge recommends submitting clear photographs, particularly images showing the spider's eyes, along with information about where it was found.

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Wallingford is preparing to recount all ballots cast on Election Day after a ballot-counting error was discovered amid unexpectedly high voter turnout.

Wallingford officials are scheduled to conduct a full recount Friday after approximately 100 printed paper ballots were fed into a voting tabulator despite a requirement that they be counted by hand.

According to Wallingford Registrar of Voters Joan Ives-Parisi, all but one of the town's polling locations ran out of traditional ballots Tuesday because of higher-than-expected turnout. Poll workers switched to printed paper ballots, which must be counted by hand.

At one polling location, however, approximately 100 of those ballots were fed into a tabulator.

“Even though it counted them, we want to make sure that it was accurate,” Ives-Parisi said.

After the error was flagged, the Connecticut Secretary of the State's office advised Wallingford officials to conduct a discrepancy recount.

The process will involve recounting all ballots cast in the election, with traditional ballots processed through tabulators and approximately 1,000 printed paper ballots counted by hand.

Ives-Parisi said three teams will be assigned to count the paper ballots simultaneously.

“We will have, setting up three teams of hand counting and that will be done in the same room, and that will be done at the same time,” Ives-Parisi said.

The Secretary of the State's office emphasized the importance of verifying election results in a statement.

“This is exactly why Connecticut uses paper ballots. We don’t guess. We check. We’re committed to ensuring every ballot is counted fairly and accurately," the office said.

Some Wallingford voters welcomed the additional scrutiny.

“I think that’s good for Wallingford to do that,” resident Deborah Mockvolpe said.

John Martin, a law professor at Quinnipiac University, said accurate vote counts are essential to maintaining public confidence in elections.

“We want to make sure people at the end of the day when they show up to the polls that their ballots is counted accurately” Martin said.

Martin also emphasized the importance of having procedures in place to address election errors.

The recount is scheduled for Friday, although officials are still finalizing the location.

CONNECTICUT (WFSB) - The I-Team has been looking into some reported polling issues across the state, including in Wallingford, Madison, and Stamford.

Wallingford recounting votes

In Wallingford, the registrar for the town told the I-Team almost all polling sites ran out of ballots between 4 and 5 p.m.

The town was instructed to print more ballots and count them by hand, however Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas said some of these ballots were fed into a tabulator instead.

Thomas said at 10:20 p.m. on Tuesday that Wallingford must do a “discrepancy” recount.

Thomas explained that “This is exactly why Connecticut uses paper ballots. We don’t guess. We check. We’re committed to ensuring every ballot is counted fairly and accurately.”

“We will be rerunning all of the ballots that went through the tabulators, the regular ballots, through the tabulators again to make sure the count is correct and we’re going to get setting up 3 teams for hand counting and that will be done in the same room , the same time, to make sure all the counts we have on record right now, match those,” said Joan Ives-Parisi, Wallingford Registrar of Voters.

Madison resident attempts to vote twice

In a news conference on Tuesday, the deputy secretary of the state said their office referred a voter in Madison to the State Elections Enforcement Commission, after the person tried to vote more than once to “test the system”.

Stamford candidate crossed out

In Stamford, voters reported receiving ballots with a candidate’s name crossed out.

According to the secretary of the state’s office, a candidate withdrew after the ballots had already been printed, and it was too late for the town to re-print ballots.

CT Statute provides guidance on what to do in that case. It says the town can obscure the name, so it’s no longer visible.

They say it does not affect the tabulator.

Have a poll problem you would like the I-Team to investigate? Text it to 860-205-9821.

Copyright 2026 WFSB. All rights reserved.

The 2026 Connecticut high school football season continues this week. Here's what you need to know heading into and during this weekend's prep football slate in The Constitution State.

Top 25 Scoreboard

MaxPreps State Rankings: OverallThis week's Connecticut MaxPreps computer rankings regardless of division. All teams ranked.

State Stat Leaders

WALLINGFORD, CT — Wallingford's unemployment rate rose to 4.3 percent in September, up from 3.9 percent in August, according to data released Monday by the Connecticut Department of Labor.

The town's rate remained below Connecticut's, which held at 5.1 percent for a second straight month. The state's rate has now topped the national rate of 4.2 percent for nine consecutive months.

Of Wallingford's estimated labor force of 24,150 residents in September, 23,116 were employed and 1,034 were unemployed, the data show. That is 104 more unemployed residents than in August. The August estimates, published last month by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, counted 930 unemployed out of a labor force of 23,866.

Wallingford Compared With Its Neighbors And The State

The town figures come from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics program and are not seasonally adjusted. On that same unadjusted basis, the statewide rate in September was 5.1 percent, with 96,521 of Connecticut's 1,907,124 labor force participants out of work.

Of the state's 169 towns, 69 had a lower rate than Wallingford's 4.3 percent and 92 had a higher one.

Among its neighbors, Wallingford's rate was higher than in Cheshire (4.2 percent), North Branford (4 percent) and Durham (3.3 percent) but lower than in North Haven (4.4 percent), Middlefield (4.5 percent), Hamden (5.7 percent) and Meriden (6 percent).

Statewide, town rates ranged from 2.8 percent in Warren to 8.5 percent in Waterbury.

Wallingford's rate was 3.5 percent in September 2025, so the town's jobless rate is up eight-tenths of a percentage point over the year. Last year, unlike this year, the rate fell from August to September, from 3.7 percent to 3.5 percent.

Wallingford is part of the New Haven labor market area, which added 400 jobs in September, a 0.1 percent increase, to 288,900. The area is essentially unchanged from a year earlier, up 100 jobs.

State Rate Unchanged As Payrolls Reach A Record

Connecticut's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 5.1 percent in September, the same as in August, the department said. A year earlier the rate was 4.2 percent.

The state's employers added 1,400 jobs in September, a 0.1 percent increase, bringing nonfarm employment to 1,731,600. The department said that's a new all-time high. Over the year, the state has gained 15,200 jobs, or 0.9 percent.

Last month's report had put August's job loss at 300. With Monday's revision, the department now says the state lost 600 jobs that month.

Six of the state's 10 major industry sectors added jobs in September. Education and health services led with 2,200, followed by manufacturing with 900 and trade, transportation and utilities with 800.

Professional and business services lost the most, 2,700 jobs. Other services lost 600 and information lost 400. Construction and mining was unchanged.

"Payroll jobs hit a new all-time high in September. Manufacturing has added more jobs than any other industry so far this year and construction remains at its highest level since May 2008," Patrick Flaherty, director of the Office of Research at the Connecticut Department of Labor, said in a statement. "The unemployment rate has been stable since late spring and unemployment insurance claims are below last year's level."

First-time unemployment claims averaged 1,842 a week in September, down 64.9 percent from September 2025, the department said.

Private sector average hourly earnings rose 2.1 percent over the year to $40.06. That trailed inflation: the national consumer price index was up 3.7 percent over the same period.

How September Compares With August

The labor department's monthly comparison of state and national unemployment rates shows Connecticut's seasonally adjusted rate at 5.1 percent in both August and September.

The state's rate climbed through the first half of the year, from 4.5 percent in January to a peak of 5.2 percent in June and July. It then eased to 5.1 percent in August and held there in September.

The national rate moved the other way last month. The U.S. rate rose to 4.2 percent in September from 4.1 percent in August, its first increase since February, according to federal figures in the state's comparison.

As a result, the gap between Connecticut and the nation narrowed to nine-tenths of a percentage point in September, down from a full point in August. The gap was widest in July, at 1.1 points.

Connecticut's rate has been higher than the national rate in every month of 2026, starting in January at 4.5 percent compared with 4.3 percent. A year ago, the state's rate was lower than the nation's: 4.1 percent compared with 4.3 percent in August 2025, and 4.2 percent compared with 4.4 percent in September 2025.

The comparison has no figures for October 2025. They weren't produced because of the 2025 federal government shutdown.

The Numbers At A Glance

State and national rates are seasonally adjusted; town rates are not, so direct comparisons should be made with caution. All figures are preliminary and subject to revision. The department will release its preliminary October report on Thursday, Nov. 19.