So my house is infested with spiders

BlackSunshine · 08-04-06, 11:47

...and not just any spiders. Brown Recluse spiders, to be exact. I saw one in my kitchen after being out of town for two weeks. That freaked me out, so I called the bug man and had him come out and spray. He found several (and by several, I mean 10-15) while just here spraying in my small three level, two bedroom, two bathroom condo. He found all but one in the basement, which is unfinished. The other was under my fridge in the kitchen... how he saw it there I do not know. He set up some traps around the house and tonight when I got home from the movie I checked the one he set up behind my bed on the floor and sure enough, there was a dead brown recluse stuck in there. Fortunately, I'm not really scared of them because, as their name implies, they are quite recluse in nature, and really prefer to be left alone, and are not aggressive, but I don't really want them crawling over my bed while I sleep. Their venom can cause quite a ruckus to the human body, although some people can be bitten and never even know it, and have no reaction. Others may lose a limb. My aunt lost a good chunk of her shin from a brown recluse bite.

I'm going to call the bug man again and have him either spray again or do something above and beyond what he did last time he was here. It obviously didn't kill them all, or keep them from getting in.

a.k.a. Patrick · 08-05-06, 12:50

If it was me

Me no likey spiders......

wibblee · 08-05-06, 06:14

It's said that usually an abundance of spiders points to a larger insect problem. ( After all, what are they living off of? ) The fact that they're mainly in your basement might support this. I had a similar problem, but not with spiders quite as dangerous as yours. I took a few cans of low-expansion foam and sealed off every single gap in the basement, and sprinkled some insecticide powder in crawl spaces, between studs, etc. ( it was some natural stuff, I think it was called "insectigone". It's supposed to be safe and effective for quite a while. )

Without taking any measures against the spiders, but by removing points of entry and food, I would say that I've improved the situation by at least 95%. I think if I caulk around the windows, I'll get that last 5%. Good luck!

gusbubba · 08-05-06, 07:50

Man , I feel for you.
I lived in S. Carolina for a while and we were always on the
lookout for those suckers. I've seen the damage they can do.

I'm a complete sissy when it comes to spiders. If I was in your situation,
I'd run from that house like a scalded dog. Good luck.

Joshua312 · 08-05-06, 08:09

I hate spiders!! If I were you I would be sleeping in my car

paradigm · 08-05-06, 09:20

holy cr@p. i would be out of there. i hate spiders and i KNOW they hate me.

i had a Wolf spider that lived on my patio at an apartment i used to have...i have pics...the thing was fricking HUGE. i'll dig 'em up and post them. my apartment complex manager guy saw it and tried to kill it...but it got away.

Scottwax · 08-05-06, 11:39

You wimps!

I once had a customer whose warehouse he kept is race car in (NHRA Comp Eliminator) that was infested with black widows. The exterminators found over 40.

Surfer · 08-05-06, 11:59

Spiders don't bug me, btu if my house had 15+ Brown Recluse I don't think I'd be able to sleep at night

J.J. · 08-05-06, 01:49

The worst thing about BR spiders is that they recluse in warm places (i.e. in your bed sheets is a great place). I recommend peeling your sheets everynight before crawling in. They also like places like linen closets so, the next time you reach for a towel, look, reach and shake it out before drying off. They say just about everyone that lives in warmer climates can find one in common living areas if they really look for them.

I hate spiders! I'm over cringin' at the pics.

Anyone remember back in the day as a kid playin' outside at night and running through a spider-web. AHHH! I used to hate that. I would be freakin' out, slapping my self in the face and head while high steppin' across the lawn.

There is only one thing worse that a spider you see; one you did see and now it's missing!

JJ

BlackSunshine · 08-06-06, 01:12

Yeah now that I have started to actually LOOK for them, I see them a couple times a day. It is said that the average house in the midwest has approximately 20 brown recluse spiders in it at any given time, whether they be in the attic, in the garage, in the kitchen, wherever. Kind of scary actually. They're actually quite small spiders, and they're a light tan color, so they're hard to pick out against carpet. I found three more today. One crawling across the guest bed, one in the guest bathroom, and another in the kitchen that ran under the fridge.

If you ever find a suspicious spider, and it's dead, take a loo at the top of its body. If it has a fiddle on it that is darker in color than the part of the body it is on, it's probably a brown recluse. You can kind of tell in the picture Patrick posted. That is a BR.

kpounds · 08-06-06, 06:28

There's an excellent DIY product called Demon WP Just drop one or two satchets into a 1 gallon sprayer with water. Lots of sellers on Ebay as well as the net.