Nov 17, 2023 | Pest Control
Georgia is home to a variety of fascinating arachnids, including the intricate orb weaver spiders. While these eight-legged creatures play a crucial role in controlling insect populations, encountering them in and around your home can be a cause for concern. In this blog post, we’ll delve into the world of orb weavers, exploring how to identify them, where they commonly reside, and essential tips for prevention and control.
Identifying Orb Weaver Spiders: Nature’s Web Artists
Orb weavers, members of the Araneidae family, are renowned for their distinctive circular webs, meticulously crafted to capture unsuspecting prey. Recognizing these spiders is key to effective pest control. Key features include:
- Web Structure: Orb weavers construct spiral-shaped webs with a hub at the center, creating a classic orb shape.
- Coloration: These spiders come in a range of colors, including brown, black, and vibrant yellows and greens. Some species may have intricate patterns on their abdomens.
- Size: Orb weavers can vary in size, with some species having small bodies, while others can reach sizes of up to an inch or more.
Common Habitats of Orb Weavers in Georgia
Orb weavers are adaptable and can be found in a variety of habitats, both natural and man-made. In Georgia, you may encounter them in:
- Gardens and Yards: These spiders often take residence in gardens, where their webs can capture flying insects like mosquitoes and flies.
- Wooded Areas: Orb weavers thrive in wooded environments, using trees and shrubs to anchor their webs.
- Around Buildings: Structures with outdoor lighting can attract insects, providing a perfect hunting ground for orb weavers.
Prevention and Control Strategies
While orb weavers are generally beneficial, their presence near your home may cause discomfort. Here are some practical tips for prevention and control:
- Regular Cleaning: Keep outdoor spaces tidy by removing debris, such as leaves and tall grass, which can attract insects and subsequently orb weavers.
- Seal Entry Points: Ensure windows and doors are properly sealed to prevent spiders from entering your home.
- Outdoor Lighting: Use yellow-toned outdoor lights, which are less attractive to insects and, by extension, orb weavers.
- Professional Pest Control: If orb weavers become a persistent issue, consider seeking the expertise of a professional pest control service. Trained technicians can assess the situation and implement targeted solutions.
If you find yourself caught in the web of orb weaver spiders, don’t hesitate to take action. Our experienced pest control team is here to help. Request a free pest control quote today to safeguard your home from unwanted arachnid visitors. Let us weave a plan to keep your space pest-free and comfortable.
Aug 17, 2023 | Pest Control
The thought of spiders in your home is enough to make anyone feel a little unsettled, but these household pests are actually beneficial to have around. They are a natural form of pest control, keeping other pest populations like mosquitoes and flies under control in and around your home. Although there are a few venomous spiders found in our area, most others are harmless and don’t pose a threat to you or your family. While it’s not realistic to expect to eliminate every spider from your home, you can make it less inviting for them to help keep them out without the use of harsh chemicals or pesticides. Here are 7 natural spider control remedies you can use around your home.
Use Spider-Repellent Plants
There are several plants you can place inside and outside your home to naturally deter spiders from coming around. Lavender, mint, eucalyptus, and citronella are known to deter spiders from building their webs near them. If incorporating these plants into your landscaping isn’t a possibility, you can also spray essential oils with these scents, in addition to peppermint or tea tree oil, anywhere spiders are a problem. You can also crush mint and place it in sachets inside your cabinets or other areas where spider activity is high.
Eliminate Hiding Places
Spiders are masters of hide and seek. They can be found hiding in cracks, crevices, cabinets, knotholes, behind baseboards, inside seldom used items in your home (such as shoes), under rocks, in woodpiles, and under piles of leaves and dirt. By getting rid of these hiding places you can encourage spiders to seek shelter somewhere besides in your home. Move leaves, grass clippings, compost and woodpiles away from your exterior walls. Dust and declutter your home on a regular basis. Frequently dust any areas where cobwebs appear. Organize your storage areas and get rid of any empty boxes.
Get Rid Of Webs
Spiders spin webs to trap their prey as a food source. If you come across spider webs either inside or around your home, remove them as soon as possible. Eventually the spiders will move on and build their webs somewhere else.
Keep Outdoor Lights Off
While spiders aren’t attracted to your outdoor lights, other pests that they feed on are. Mosquitoes, flies, gnats, and other common prey for spiders are drawn to your outdoor lights, providing a literal buffet for a waiting spider. Keep your outdoor lights off as much as possible to help cut down on your outdoor pest populations.
Diatomaceous Earth (DE)
Diatomaceous earth is a crumbly material made of the fossilized remains of an algae called diatom. DE can be sprinkled on the ground around your home and used as an insecticide. DE kills several pests in addition to spiders and can be used around your family and your pets.
Natural Spider Repellent
There are some organic substances that work as natural repellents for spiders. Vinegar is a common one. The acetic acid in vinegar gives a sour taste and odor to spiders who come into contact with it. Mix equal portions of vinegar and water in a spray bottle and spray it around your home, especially in areas where pests may be getting inside. Citrus is also a natural spider deterrent. Keep citrus fruits in a bowl on your kitchen counter and use the leftover peels to rub onto your windowsills and doors to help keep spiders out.
Seal Them Out
Spiders can get in through the tiniest cracks and crevices in your home. Make sure to regularly inspect the exterior of your home and seal any places where pests might be gaining entry inside. Be sure to check doors and windowsills and use caulk or weatherstripping to seal any cracks and openings.
While most spiders don’t cause any problems in your home, they can become a nuisance, especially in your yard or garden. Webs can be built in inconvenient places; they can cover your plants or hide blooms, stunting their growth. If you have a problem with spiders or need some help getting them under control, contact your local pest control company for an evaluation.
Mar 24, 2023 | Pest Control
Orb weavers are a broad family of spiders found throughout the United States and Canada. The orb weaver is known for the large, majestic web it weaves. These webs are commonly found on tree branches, in tall grass, bushes, and around light fixtures. They are often found where abundant food sources are available (in your yard or garden, near lights that are on at night, etc.).
Most orb weavers appear in the spring when their eggs hatch, but they aren’t really noticed until late summer and fall (when the males go out in search of their mates). Female orb weavers hang out in their webs, eating and waiting on a male to come find them. Males are always on the move, rarely building webs, searching for a partner. At the end of fall, females will lay their eggs and then die during the first frost. Males typically die after mating. Because of their structure, orb weaver eggs can survive the cold weather of winter. When the weather warms up in the spring, the eggs hatch, releasing a new brood of orb weaver babies.
These spiders are known to be docile and non-aggressive. They rarely bite and aren’t considered dangerous to humans or pets. In fact, they can be beneficial to have around as they trap and eat other pests that can infest your home.
Prevention is unnecessary with orb weavers unless their web is built in an inconvenient location or a location with high human traffic. They cause no structural damage. You can lessen your chances of encountering orb weavers by:
- Removing their food sources by keeping other pest populations under control around your home
- Sealing any cracks, gaps, and crevices in your home’s exterior
- Removing ground litter
- Trimming grass and bushes
If you have a problem with orb weavers or any other pests, contact your local pest control company.
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Mar 21, 2023 | Pest Control
Spiders are often found in secluded areas where they are rarely disturbed. Your home offers the perfect place to hunker down during the winter and provides them with food, shelter, and even a mate.
Spiders feed off other insects, so they can be beneficial for you over time. If you do begin seeing an influx of other insects, it might mean you have a higher population of spiders as well. Your home offers warmth, which is what these overwintering pests are really in search of once winter hits. They will also enter your home due to how easy it can be for them. Any crack, crevice, or opening is an invitation for these pests to enter your home.
Spiders can be considered a form of natural pest control but can be unsightly if discovered in your home. Check out these tips to keep spiders out of your home:
- Clear Clutter: Messy environments create the perfect oasis for spiders. Be sure to keep clutter at bay to lessen the chances of a hiding spider.
- Seal Doors and Windows: Monitor the exterior of your home for any potential openings and get this fixed as soon as you can. It won’t only keep spiders out, but also any other household pests.
- Trim Bushes: Keeping hedges, tree limbs, or any other plant trimmed away from your home will make it more difficult for these arachnids to gain access to your home.
- Inspect Items: Before bringing any outdoor items inside, inspect them for any hiding pests.
If you suspect a spider problem, then reach out to your local pest control company for a free inspection today!
Feb 21, 2023 | Pest Control
Tennessee Pest Control: Common Spiders
In Tennessee, we have our fair share of spiders we should be wary about. One of those spiders is the feared brown recluse. Luckily for us, most local arachnids don’t want to live in our homes, and they are easily preventable.
These spiders are ¼ to ½ inches in length and are light to dark brown in color. They have a violin-shaped mark behind their heads. They also only have six eyes compared to the usual eight. Like other spiders, they are beneficial in catching other invasive species in your home and keeping their populations down. If they weren’t harmful to humans, then it would all be fantastic.
A single bite from a brown recluse spider can bring on intense pain, swelling, fever, chills, body aches, and an ulcer at the site of the wound. Sometimes their bites can be used as a scare tactic, considered a “dry bite,” and don’t include venom. Don’t ever assume the bite didn’t contain venom and get medical attention right away.
Five Ways to Prevent Spiders in Your Tennessee Home
- Replace old weatherstripping
- Seal gaps, holes, and cracks around the exterior of your home
- Invest in door sweeps for unprotected exterior doors
- Avoid leaving clutter on the floor
- Call a professional pest control company
If you begin seeing an increase in unwanted arachnids, give your local pest control company a call for a free inspection and a pest prevention plan that works!
