There’s no point in sugar coating it… spiders are the worst. Granted, most bugs are unsettling. But between their eight legs, unnatural lateral movement, and eight eyes, spiders take the cake for most shivers down the spine.

Most of us may instinctively dislike spiders’ appearances, but they’re more than just unsightly. Spiders can be dangerous… and they invade our homes every day.

We all want to guard our loved ones from potential threats. In this case, those threats could be from certain spiders. To help you keep your family protected, we’re looking at five common spiders in the United States.

1. Wolf Spiders

Did you get a good look at the above photo?

Did you do a double-take?

Unfortunately, you saw correctly… there’s a swarm of mini spiders living on that big, hairy spider’s back.

It’s arguably one of the more disturbing sights in nature.

For a short while, newly hatched wolf spiders live on their mother’s abdomen. Honestly, if it didn’t literally look like the embodiment of a nightmare, it’d be kind of sweet.

Wolf spiders don’t spin webs, instead taking after their namesake by hunting. Consequently, they’re often seen fearlessly out in the open around plants, undisturbed storage, and windows. Regularly cleaning and maintaining a pest control service will minimize the wolf spiders’ food supply—thus keeping them at bay.

We recommend steering clear of these aggressive terrors. Although rare and benign, their bites hurt… a lot.

2. Common House Spiders

Have you ever knocked down a spider web inside your home only to notice a new one appear in its place a couple days later?

If so, you likely have the common house spider to thank.

As their oh-so-exciting name suggests, common house spiders are the spiders most often found squatting within your home’s sacred walls. When it comes to these brown-and-white striped invaders, the only consolation is that their bites aren’t painful or dangerous.

Quite frankly, we’re offended that they bite at all—talk about the worst houseguests of all time.

3. Brown Recluses

Eradicating brown recluses is especially challenging. These hearty troublemakers can survive months without food or water in extreme temperatures. And their peculiarities don’t end there. Similarly to snakes, brown recluses molt their skins—a unique trait in the spider world.

Despite their unusual extracurriculars, brown recluses look pretty drab. Their dull brown color and nocturnal hunting habits make them unassuming and less-often seen.

However, an allergic reaction to them is anything but drab. While most bites leave nothing more than fleeting small red bumps, some people develop necrotic lesions that stick around for months before leaving permanent scars.

For people with preexisting conditions, infected lesions can be particularly dangerous. There are even documented cases of amputations resulting from brown recluse bites.

4. Long-bodied Cellar Spiders

All this spider talk freaking you out?

Well you can breathe easy on this one… long-bodied cellar spiders aren’t known to bite!

Cellar spiders have long, thin abdomens and matching long, thin legs. Chances are they’re camped out in your garage, basement, or (who knew?) cellar. Take a trip to the nearest dark, secluded indoor space near you and you’ll likely find them there all year long.

Actually, these guys are really interesting. When frightened, cellar spiders vibrate in their webs so rapidly that predators can’t see them. It’s a pretty fresh approach. We’re almost inclined to like them—until we remember that they’re still spiders.

5. Black Widow

Black widows actually don’t deserve all the heat they take.

Despite their infamy for supposed deadliness, they’re not a threat to most people. In fact, most black widow bites are nothing more than mildly irritating, but there are exceptions. If you think you’ve been bitten, be alert for muscle aches, nausea, or difficulty breathing—any of these symptoms could signify a serious allergic response. If you experience some of these symptoms following an insect bite, please consider seeking help from a medical professional ASAP.

Usually, the worst thing about black widows is simply the females’ habit of sometimes eating their mates.

Okay… so that’s actually pretty bad. At least if you’re a male black widow spider.

 

On top of being invasive, potentially dangerous, and downright hair-raising, spiders are really hard to eradicate.

When it comes to pest control, the most effective spider treatments enter their systems via inhalation. However, spider anatomy makes this a little more difficult. Spiders draw breath from the top of their abdomens, and their relatively long legs put significant distance between their lungs and pest control products. That’s why the elimination process can be more drawn out compared to other pests. Fortunately, repeated exposure gets the job done eventually.

Another complication for spider eradication is that eliminating one spider population doesn’t protect against future infestations, since spiders literally use the wind to float to new environments. Continuous treatments are necessary to keep spider settlements from getting out of hand. Our services included custom treatment plans based on the type and level of spider activity. It may take a little time, but anything beats you fighting a losing battle against growing populations and seemingly immortal webs. If you have any questions or want help getting rid of your spiders, just give us a call!

Sources:

https://www.pestworld.org/news-hub/pest-articles/spiders-101/

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/group/ black-widow-spiders/

http://www.uky.edu/Ag/CritterFiles/casefile/spiders/wolf/wolf.htm

https://www.pestworld.org/pest-guide/spiders/house-spiders/

https://entomology.ca.uky.edu/ef631

https://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/longbodied-cellar-spider

https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/18/health/spider-bite-leg-amputation/index.html