Spiders are terrifying to the average person.
The way they move, the fact that they have more eyes than any non-alien life form, and the potential bite is enough to make anyone scream.
The truth of the matter is…the spider is a very beneficial creature. They eat other bugs that may not be so beneficial or just straight up pesky. So leaving them alone in your yard is the nice thing to do so they can continue controlling other pests. I’m not saying you should never smash one or spray it with the hose if one catches you off guard, but chances are, they’re not going to hurt you at all. There are so few species in our geographical area that could be potentially harmful. Your average house spider or garden spider may do a pretty good job of hurting flies, but they’re more afraid of you squashing them. Trust me!
When they start invading your living spaces though, there are several things you can do on your own to aide in an integrated spider extermination process.
- Eliminate spider harborage (reduce clutter, relocate wood piles away from house, fold up and store tarps, etc.)
- Make your house less attractive by eliminating food sources (spiders eat other bugs, so a general pest treatment will reduce insects in general, and therefore spider populations)
- Remove webs when you see them
- Vaccuum regularly (spiders can’t survive being sucked up through a vaccuum and neither can their webs)
- Trim back excessive vegetation around your house, making sure nothing touches the structure
- Change lightbulbs to the type that are less attractive to insects of all types
- Seal entrypoints around windows, doors, and the structure of your home
Sometimes, spider populations will come back after you’ve done all you can to prevent them. That’s a really good time to contact a professional to look a bit deeper. It’s easy to miss harborage areas and food sources if you’re not trained to do such things. That’s where Rose Pest Exterminators will come in handy. More often than not, there’s a deeper issue with a different type of pest.
For example, you may have a sudden influx of spiders in your house during rainy seasons. Why? It’s natural to think they just want to get out of the rain and be more comfortable. But, maybe it’s because of an undiscovered fungus gnat population in your gutters. A build up of gunk in your gutters can attract many different pests, including wasps, earwigs, centipedes, carpenter ants, mosquitoes and gnats. Cleaning your gutters is something that should be maintained a couple of times per year to avoid unnecessary expenses in water damage or pest issues.
Another possibility for an increase in spider populations could be a stored product pest issue. Indian Meal Moth webs are often found in ceiling corners and can easily be mistaken for spider webbing.
It looks like this:
Having a stored product pest issue is a pure attraction for spiders. What an excellent food source for them! So how do you get rid of the stored product pest problem to get rid of the spider problem? Check out my stored product pest blog entry for some helpful tips on that issue!
One more thing you should know about spiders….
Spiders are NOT insects. You may have heard that before. It’s true! Spiders and ticks are Arthropods. They belong to the class Arachnid. The main thing that sets spiders apart from insects is the number of legs they have. Insects have six legs. Spiders have eight. Spiders also don’t have antennae or wings like most insects. There are quite a few more anatomical distinctions about spiders that make them what they are, but I highly doubt most of you are ever going to get that close to a spider to notice what I’m talking about. Am I right??
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