Spiders are arachnids that need no introduction. As popular as they are, not many people like spiders, even though many of the species are not dangerous or poisonous. Even though they prefer to live outside, they can make a beeline for your house when they are looking for food or shelter or, in the case of male spiders, a mate. 

Spiders are mostly useful to you in your house, except for a few very dangerous species. But mostly, they help you to keep the population of other pests that call your house home down. These could include beetles, roaches, and even mosquitos. But then we still don’t want them in our houses anyway, so how do you know if you are dealing with an infestation?  

HOW TO IDENTIFY A SPIDER INFESTATION 

Appearance – Common house spiders range in size between 5-8 mm long, and are most times brown or gray with stripes along their bodies. These arachnids have lots of common attributes including their eight legs and two distinct body regions, which are different from the three of insects. These regions are known as the cephalothorax – it contains the eyes, mouthparts, legs, and the abdomen. 

Behavior – Spiders are well known for their unusual reproductive process; the female house spider can lay as many as 250 eggs into a sac of silk. During a lifetime, female spiders can produce more than 4,000 eggs. So, if you have an infestation, you will probably see spiders and cobwebs everywhere in your house, or maybe one would have bitten you. Spiders rarely bite, though, they only do so when they feel threatened like getting suddenly crushed or agitated by a human. 

WHY YOU MIGHT HAVE SPIDERS 

If you have discovered a spider infestation in your house, there are probably a few reasons why that happened, some of these include: 

–       Although some spiders like moisture and tend to congregate in bathrooms, basements, crawl spaces, and other damp parts of buildings. For others, they prefer dry, and warm areas such as subfloor air vents, and the upper corners of rooms and attics.  

–       If your house has multiple entry points, or maybe you have some cracks or openings in walls or by doors, you may be asking spiders into your home.  

–       You might also be inviting a spider infestation if there are any rooms or spaces that do not get much traffic in your house. Those areas may be where spiders will gather to stay safe and out of the way so they can make their webs in peace. 

REASONS TO TREAT YOUR SPIDER PROBLEM IMMEDIATELY 

So, you have an active spider problem in your house, but you are wondering why you should get rid of them. Here are some reasons: 

–       Unfortunately, if you have spiders in your business or home, there is a high chance that you have other insects too. Spiders feed on insects, so this in itself could mean that there is a larger pest issue that you will also have to deal with along with the spiders. 

–       While spider bites are rare, they can cause mild to serious allergic reactions in some people. In extremely rare instances, bites from some specific species of spiders can be fatal. Spiders will not bite you unless you provoke them, but you may inadvertently do that in your sleep if they have decided to come to join you in bed which could prompt a bite. 

–       Additionally, spiders spin ugly webs that make your home or business appear dirty and musty.  

HOW TO HANDLE SPIDER INFESTATION 

To ensure proper spider control, spider control professionals should be employed to stop the reproduction cycle by getting rid of all webs and egg sacs. This is akin to uprooting the tree instead of cutting it off at the stem. Our pest control experts can handle this for your as well as effectively eliminating the other insects in your home that the spiders are probably feeding on.   

TIPS TO PREVENT FURTHER SPIDER INFESTATION  

You should note that getting rid of spiders once does not mean they will stay away forever. Here are some extra steps that you can take to prevent spiders from infesting your home again:

–       Ensure that common entry points, including windows and doors, are all sealed correctly and that cracks inside wall foundations are caulked. Screens can help with this. If you have a pet door, make sure it is properly screened. 

–       Keep your house neat and tidy, the less the clutter and debris around your house, the fewer items for spiders to hide under or behind. 

–       Consider using yellow low sodium lights instead of bright white lights. This is because spiders are usually attracted to sources of light. 

–       If you have vegetation like trees shrubs and other plants around your house, consider removing them or transplanting them. Spiders like vegetation because they can hide under them 

–       A glue trap that is typically used on rodents can also work here. Just place it somewhere that they frequent and you might be able to catch a few of them. Although this will probably not be effective against spiders that make webs and hang on the ceiling most of the time. 

–       For spiders that make webs, a sweep with a broom or vacuum is effective.