The spider hunts at night and eats species including silverfish and cockroaches, and they usually target smaller insects.

[4] The webs of Mediterranean recluse spiders spin function as a daytime hiding spot and provide seclusion for the egg sacs.

[5] It is native to the Mediterranean area and western Asia, including parts of Europe and Northern Africa, and prefers warm temperatures and generally dry weather.

[6] This species has been introduced to Madagascar, southeast Asia from India to Japan, Australia, and numerous Atlantic and Pacific islands (including four in the Hawaiian archipelago) and in North America, it has been recorded in over 20 of the United States, widely scattered from California to Florida and north to Michigan, as well as Ontario, Canada.

[2] During a routine building pest check-in in 2021, spiders of this species were found in the basement of the University of Michigan's Shapiro Undergraduate Library, which led to its closure for two days.

L. rufescens is an active hunter and will set out at night to capture and kill a variety of arthropods that are susceptible to their venom rather than catching them in a web.

[9] Males are more prolific hunters than female individuals partly due to their simultaneous search for a potential mate.

Many of these efforts may include regular pest control and vacuuming of dead insects, sanitizing, removal of spider webs, and the use of glue traps and insecticides.