Oct 27, 2021 | Pest Control
Nothing says “Halloween” like spotting a few cobwebs around the house! While it’s always fun to see cobweb decorations during this time of year, it’s not as fun having to deal with them year-round. Since the temperatures have cooled off, many spiders are looking indoors to inhabit a warmer environment. It’s important to understand common types of spiders in order to provide the best treatment if they’ve infested your home.
Brown Recluse
The brown recluse spider is light to dark brown, with a signature brown violin shape on its backs. If threatened, these spiders will bite, which can be painful and leave an open sore. If bitten, some can experience fever, restlessness, and difficulty sleeping. Brown recluse spiders can be found in debris and woodpiles. If they’ve snuck inside your home, they can often be found under furniture, inside storage items, in baseboards, closets, and crawlspaces.
Wolf Spider
Wolf spiders are dark brown with paler stripes or markings and long, spiny legs. These spiders are large and hairy across their bodies. While these spiders will bite, it’s rare that they do and are not a significant threat to humans. Inside homes, wolf spiders tend to stay near or on the floor, especially along walls and under furniture where they chase their prey instead of capturing them in their webs. If outside, they like to inhabit firewood piles, leaves, yard debris, and stones.
Common House Spider
House spiders can vary in color but are usually yellow to brown with elongated abdomens. Although not a threat to humans, they are a nuisance to have in the home as they can produce and leave behind webs throughout the house. They can often be found in ceiling corners, under furniture, and inside closets, basements, garages, and crawlspaces. If outside, you will commonly find them spinning webs around windows, under eaves, and near light sources that attract food.
By recognizing each spider species and knowing where they most often inhabit, you can utilize the correct preventative measures to eliminate the chance of an infestation. Check out some of these easy do-it-yourself spider prevention tips:
- Keep garages, attics, and basements clutter-free.
- Avoid leaving clothes and shoes on the floor.
- Seal any cracks and crevices around the home.
- Call a professional pest control company. They will perform an inspection and provide you with the correct treatment and prevention plan for any spiders seen throughout your property.
Sep 22, 2021 | Pest Control
Orb weaver spider is the collective name for a group of spiders in the family Araneidae. This diverse group of arachnids are famous for the large, Halloween-inspired webs they create. Are orb weavers venomous? Should we be concerned when we encounter one in our yard or garden? The short answer to these questions is yes, they are venomous but no, they aren’t dangerous to humans. Let’s take a closer look at this fascinating species of spider.
Orb weavers are large spiders that are most commonly seen in late summer and early fall. They eat small insects like flies, moths, wasps, mosquitoes, and beetles. Around your home, orb weavers can often be found near outdoor lights, in tall grass and weeds, on tree branches, fences, walls, and bushes. There are 180 species of orb weaver spiders in North America alone. They are found throughout the world on every continent except Antarctica. Many species of orb weavers are bright yellow or orange in color while others are a dull gray or brown.
Orb weavers are not hunters or wanderers. They are typically nocturnal spiders and will build or repair their webs at night. Many species will tear down and eat their webs at dawn to both consume the dew that catches on them for hydration and to keep larger animals like birds from tearing down their webs. Orb weaver webs are large, circular grid webs that look like the spokes of a wagon wheel connected by concentric circular strands. These webs can measure up to 3 feet in diameter. These spiders will sit in their webs and wait for prey. Once captured, they will bite and paralyze their victim and warp them in silk to consume later.
While orb weaver spiders can bite and are venomous, they are not considered a threat to humans. In fact, they are beneficial to have around your home as they eat other nuisance pests and help keep their populations under control. These spiders are very docile and non-aggressive. They will usually flee when threatened but will bite if necessary. The bite of an orb weaver has been compared to a bee sting.
While they don’t threaten humans or structures, they can be unsightly and their webs can be a hindrance if built in a high traffic area. If you have a problem with spiders or any other pests, contact your local pest control company for assistance with pest control and prevention.
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Aug 24, 2021 | Pest Control
Creepy and crawly, spiders can easily sneak into homes without you noticing. Most spiders that homeowners come across are harmless; but if you don’t take precautions, you can find them infesting your home. Below are some easy, do-it-yourself tips for spider prevention.
Clean Up Clutter
Spiders tend to look for dark, secluded areas to inhabit. You can often find them in rooms that have clutter, such as basements and attics. To keep these pests from infesting, keep garages, sheds, attics, basements, and other areas that aren’t utilized very often clean and clear of clutter.
In your regularly used rooms, be mindful of leaving clothes or clutter around the house. Try to avoid leaving clothes and shoes on the floor and instead, consider storing them in plastic bins. Shake out any clothing left on the floor and in the hamper.
Repair and Seal
The smallest gap or hole can allow spiders right into your home. Look around the inside and outside of your home and search for any open holes or gaps. Inspect your window screens, doors, and siding, as these are places that can provide openings leading inside.
If you find openings, seal them as soon as possible to eliminate the chance of these pests from entering. Make sure to inspect your house seasonally and provide any repairs.
Check Before Entering
Packages, secondhand furniture, and even groceries provide a perfect gateway inside homes for spiders. These pests will often hitch a ride on these items without you noticing. Make sure to inspect all packages delivered to your porch or steps, groceries as you unload them, boxes of decorations brought in from storage, and used appliances and furniture bought secondhand.
Spotting spiders can be difficult, but once you see them or suspect that you have a problem, it’s best to call your local pest control company to help eliminate and prevent them. A service professional will inspect the exterior and interior of the home to identify and provide you with the best plan of action to treat them.
Nov 15, 2019 | Pest Control
According to popular belief, the granddaddy long leg is the most poisonous spider in the world. While the origins of this myth are unknown, we do know one thing for certain: granddaddy long legs are not spiders and they aren’t poisonous (or venomous for that matter).
Granddaddy long legs, also known as harvestmen, are often mistaken for spiders because of their spider-like appearance and movements. While they do have some spidery characteristics, they are not, in fact, spiders. They are classified as arachnids like spiders because of their 8 legs and movements similar to their spider cousins. Other arachnids that aren’t spiders include ticks, mites, and scorpions. Despite their appearance, granddaddy long legs are actually more like scorpions than spiders. Spiders have 8 eyes while granddaddy long legs only have 2. Spiders also have a distinct waist separating their thorax/head from their abdomen while granddaddy long legs have one fused cavity containing their head, thorax, and abdomen. Finally, spiders produce silk and spin webs. Granddaddy long legs do not produce silk so they can’t make webs.
Poisonous and venomous are often confused, especially when it comes to pests. Poisonous creatures cause harm through touching or ingesting. Venomous creatures cause harm through injection of venom. As far as humans are concerned, granddaddy long legs are neither poisonous or venomous.
Granddaddy long legs do have fang-like mouth parts (also known as chelicerae) that they use to grasp and chew food but they are not used to bite humans nor inject venom. These arachnids have developed some rather unique methods of defense from predators. First, they have a set of stink glands that they deploy to help ward off predators. They also have been known to curl up and play dead when disturbed. The most unique defense mechanism, however, is their ability to shed their legs when grabbed (also known as autotomy). Unfortunately, once they shed an appendage they are unable to grow it back.
Because they pose no threat to humans (and, in fact, feed on other smaller insects that may be in and around your home), you don’t necessarily need to get rid of them should you stumble across one. They prefer dark, moist environments and are often found in crawl spaces, basements, and garages. The best way to get rid of a granddaddy long leg is to sweep or vacuum it up.
Because what attracts granddaddy long legs are smaller pests they can prey on, seeing a large number of them in your home can indicate another pest control issue. If you suspect you have a pest problem, contact a professional pest control company who can help with pest and spider identification and the best course of treatment and future prevention.
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Sep 18, 2019 | Pest Control
As you break out your fall decorations, you may have noticed an abundance of spider webs or had a spider run across your hand; now the house must burn! WAIT – before you jump to meme-worthy conclusions, spiders do act as nature’s form of pest control; however, having them in your home is not ideal. Follow these tips to prevent spider encounters in your home so that you can enjoy hanging up fake cobwebs without stumbling upon a real one.
CLUTTER-FREE AND CAUTIOUS
- Store all belongings that are in the attic and basement in plastic containers with a lid.
- Shake clothing when removing from a clothes bin and shake shoes that have been sitting out.
SEAL THEM OUT
- Replace any damaged window screens and weather-stripping.
- Seal any existing cracks found with silicone-based caulk.
PLAY IT SAFE
- When bringing in packages that have been on the ground outside of your home, use caution as spiders may have crawled on the package, allowing transportation inside.
- Call a professional pest control company. If you think you have a spider infestation, an inspection will help with spider identification and a proper course of treatment.
