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Archive for the ‘Spiders’ Category

Why Spiders Feel Welcome In Your Home

Most spiders are not really a pest, they are a nuisance. They are not dangerous to humans, do not carry diseases and do not cause damage to the home. However, they are unsightly, and their webs make for poor decoration. Naturally, we do not want them in our homes. In this article, we’re going to cover the factors that will draw them inside.

Cracks and gaps in the building’s structure

Spiders are tiny creatures, and this allows them to find many ways to enter a home. They may find small openings, cracks and gaps in doors, walls, windows and air vents, or they may enter the home while hiding in other objects such as storage boxes, plants and firewood. In order to remove this vulnerability from your home, you will have to seal or caulk any of the gaps and openings mentioned above. You also want to make sure that you have mesh screens on larger entry points such as air vents, windows and doors. Doing this will not only prevent spiders from entering, it will also keep the majority of other pests at bay as well.

Weather changes

Spiders can be very versatile, and of the 46,000 species in the world, you will find spiders everywhere from the tropics to the arctic. However, for US spiders, weather changes, when temperatures get too high or too low, may force the spiders to seek shelter, whether it’s to cool off or warm up. This may lead them into our homes. Unfortunately, there isn’t much we can do to ameliorate these factors, except making sure that there are no easy entry points into the home.

The presence of food sources

Spiders prefer to eat other insects, and they will be on the lookout for any location where they are plentiful, so if you have insects in your home, the spiders will follow them inside. In order to prevent this from happening, you want to make sure that you remove the reason for the insects being in your home in the first place. Make sure that you keep your food covered, and that there is no excess moisture inside the home. Once the insects leave, the spiders will have no reason to be inside either.

These tips are great if you want to prevent a spider infestation, but if you have an infestation in the home already, then you will need the help of a pro to get rid of it. Contact us today for pest control services.

Did You Know That Spiders Eat Snakes?

Both spiders and snakes can be terrifying, but the snake seems to have an edge, if only for its size. However, spiders routinely get the upper-hand, with snake-eating spiders being present all over the world, with many species that are capable of killing and eating the reptiles.

The extent to which spiders eat snakes was previously unknown to researchers, until Martin Nyffeler from the University of Basel in Switzerland performed a study which included going though every piece of news coverage, scientific literature, information on social media sites and old issues of National Geographic that he could find along with his colleague from the University of Georgia, Whitfield Gibbons. In this search, the two have uncovered 300 cases of spiders killing snakes, with 40 species of spiders and 90 species of snakes taking part in the action.

Some of the snake-eating spider species are what you might expect. Tarantulas are large and venomous enough so that shouldn’t come as a surprise. However, they were not the best at this gruesome activity. Instead, it was a spider family that is known as the Theridiis, one member of which is very familiar to everyone: the black widow. Even more interestingly, most reports of spiders killing and eating snakes did not happen in some jungle in the tropics, but all over North America.

To put things into perspective, and help give you an image of just how effective spiders are at being predators, if you would gather all of them up and weigh them, they would clock in at about 25 million tons, but they are responsible for the killing of 400 to 800 million tons of prey each year.

So let’s get back to snakes. Most of the snakes that were preyed on by the spiders were small, measuring about 10 inches in length. Still, even these small snakes were many times the size of the spiders that were preying on them, which had an average body length of around half an inch.

The hunting process itself is quite fascinating. The spiders will build very tough webs, extending them to the ground, and snakes will get caught up in them. Once the snake is trapped, the spider will bite the snake, paralyzing it, and then it will wrap it in silk and take it somewhere safe to eat it. The spider will liquefy the insides of the snake, just like it would with an insect, and then it will eat it over a span of days and maybe even weeks.

This is why you don’t want any spiders in your home, especially if they are venomous. Contact us today if you spot any black widows, brown recluses, or any other spider species that you would like to get rid of in the home.

How To Recognize Black Widow Webs And Egg Sacs Within Structures, And What Residents Need To Know About Black Widow Spiderlings

When it comes to dangerous spiders in the United States, black widows have long been the most notorious species. Reports describing dangerous, and even fatal, black widow bites started during the late 19th century when scientific documentation and record keeping was becoming more commonplace. Today, the black widow bite remains the most common cause of medically significant spider bite symptoms in the country, and these intimidating arachnids can be found in most areas in the US. Black widows belongs to the Latrodectus spider genus, which is comprised of more than two dozen urban-dwelling and highly venomous spider species worldwide.

Five Latrodectus species can be found in the US, two of which are documented in Louisiana where they are not infrequently reported as pests within homes and other structures. One of these species, commonly known as the brown widow, has recently been introduced into Louisiana. This alien spider species has been proliferating and spreading rapidly throughout the state, and their bites have been documented as causing serious medical symptoms. However, Latrodectus mactans, or the southern black widow, is responsible for the majority of medically significant spider envenomations in the country, and surprisingly, freshly hatched baby spiderlings of this species are not necessarily harmless either.

Black widows are often found in homes, but they are most frequently encountered in low-traffic indoor areas, such as garages, storage closets, sheds, barns, crawl spaces, cellars, basements and sometimes attic spaces. The southern black widow’s presence within a home can be recognized by the presence of tattered webs that usually measure 35 cm in both length and width, but they can be much larger. These webs are almost always located at elevated positions between 8 and 12 feet from the floor in dark corners and around ceiling rafters.

Southern black widow eggs sacs can be recognized for their grey and spherical appearance, and are generally around 9.5 mm in diameter with a conspicuous notch on the top. Each egg sac contains an average of 255 cream or yellow-colored eggs, and each female is usually in possession of 10 egg sacs. These eggs sacs can be constructed by females in as little as an hour within a home, and the spiderlings that hatch are particularly poisonous. However, due to their lack of developed mouthparts, spiderlings are only dangerous when ingested, but pets may die after consuming a spiderling.

Have you ever encountered an indoor spider egg sac? If so, did you learn which species the egg sac belonged to?

Two Brown Recluse Spider Species Commonly Infest Homes And Buildings In Louisiana

Black widow and brown recluse spiders are currently recognized as being the only two groups of spiders in the United States that have the potential to inflict medically significant bites to humans. However, both black widows and brown recluse spiders are not each their own species; instead, each of these spiders consists of numerous species that span the entire US. For example, widow spider species include northern, southern and western black widows, just to name a few. But their currently exists 11 documented native recluse species as well as two non-native recluse species in the US. The name “brown recluse” is often applied to all recluse species, but in truth, the term “brown recluse” is a common nickname for only one recluse species, L. reclusa. The state of Louisiana is home to two recluse species, one of which is native, the other of which is non-native. These two species are the brown recluse and the Mediterranean recluse, respectively.

Both the brown recluse and the mediterranean recluse are, as you can guess, brown-colored species that exist almost exclusively in the northern half of Louisiana. However, the mediterranean recluse, which is not as abundant as its native counterpart, has been found in New Orleans, and experts believe that this species dwells in isolated pockets throughout the state. Given the Mediterranean recluse’s tolerance of hot coastal habitats, it was not surprising to find this species in the south of the state, especially in urban environments where it arrived via cargo shipments from Europe. The brown recluse invades homes in northern Louisiana frequently, and the Mediterranean recluse is almost always found near or within homes and buildings. Despite their commonality within homes and buildings, the rate of medically significant brown recluse envenomations are surprisingly low in the state. Pest controllers in Louisiana combat indoor infestations of recluse spiders often, but they urge residents not to be alarmed the spider’s indoor presence, as they are generally shy creatures that only enter homes by accident due to their habit of wandering long distances in search of food.

Have you ever encountered a brown recluse species in your home?

Controlling Dangerous Spider Species

There are plenty of spider species in the US that can infest your home, but most of them are harmless. Of course, we don’t want any of them in, but two in particular can be dangerous – the black widow and the brown recluse.

The black widow

The black widow is one of the most famous spider species out there. The female black widow is about half of an inch in length, shiny black in coloration, and with a red hourglass pattern on its abdomen. The good news is that the black widow is a timid spider, and will only bite if it feels threatened. The bad news is that the bite releases a nerve toxin with rapid onset, and the spider can feel threatened when you reach into an area where it is hidden or when you lift an object and reveal it. A bite will require medical attention.

The brown recluse

The brown recluse does not stand out as much as the black widow and it is often confused with other species. It has a dark cream to dark brown coloration, with a violin-shaped marking near its head. The brown recluse is a nocturnal spider, usually hiding in dark, concealed places during the day. It is also a shy species that prefers retreat to confrontation. However bites usually occur when someone invades their space by accident and corners the spider, or while sleeping and rolling over the spider. The bite of the brown recluse also requires medical attention.

Controlling the black widow and brown recluse

Because these two species can be dangerous, it is recommended that pest control is performed by a specialist in the case of an infestation. The specialist will search for the spiders in cracks, corners and dark, hidden areas of the home, usually in closets, behind furniture, crawl spaces, attics and basements. Glue traps may also be used in areas that are prone to spider infestations. The specialist will then move on to insecticides. Some insecticides are more effective than others, with spiders being able to resist a lot of the commercial options out there. In the case where dusts are used instead of sprays, the pest control professional will lay a barely visible layer, otherwise the spiders will avoid the area. If you currently suspect that you have a dangerous spider infestation, contact us right away.

Archive for the ‘Spiders’ Category

Why Spiders Feel Welcome In Your Home

Did You Know That Spiders Eat Snakes?

How To Recognize Black Widow Webs And Egg Sacs Within Structures, And What Residents Need To Know About Black Widow Spiderlings

Two Brown Recluse Spider Species Commonly Infest Homes And Buildings In Louisiana

Controlling Dangerous Spider Species

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