The Ultimate Guide To Effective Spider Control For Elk Grove Homes

When something stains your favorite outfit or a kitchen countertop, you want a product that will remove it. You research and read online reviews hoping to find the product that will effectively remove the stain and restore the shirt or surface to its former glory. When the product arrives, you anxiously apply it and cross your fingers that it works as promised.

Whether it is a problem to solve or a stain to remove, we want an effective solution. We don't want to invest our time, energy, and money in something that cannot deliver results. The same is true for pest control. If we see spiders in our house, we want something done before someone gets bitten. No one wants to go to bed and hopes a spider doesn't crawl across them while they sleep.

If you see spiders in your house, you need pest Control in Elk Grove from a local company that has removed spiders in the area since 1978. The staff at our woman-owned company understands why spider bites are a concern and why they strike terror in the hearts of many. When you partner with Bell Pest Control, you link arms with a team driven by a passion for outstanding pest control.

We understand spiders send shivers down the spine of many, but we know you are reading this article because you need to get rid of spiders in the house. So, please keep reading and learn how to resolve the spider situation effectively.

Habits And Behaviors Of Common Spiders

Before we examine California common house spiders, we want to learn about spiders. Spiders are arachnids; although they may look like insects, there are differences. Unlike insects, spiders do not have antennae, wings or wing pads, or a body with three segments. Instead, spiders have more legs (eight) and only two parts to their body, the cephalothorax and abdomen. The cephalothorax contains the mouthparts, legs, and eyes, while the spiracles, genitals, and anus are in the abdomen region. Insects usually have a cluster of compound eyes, but spiders have eyes in rows of larger and smaller ones.

Let's examine the types of spiders in California that are problematic for most homeowners in our area now that we have a grasp on basics spider anatomy:

Black widow spider
Cellar spider
Wolf spider

If you were to ask people in Elk Grove to name some really scary spiders, the black widow would top the list. A black widow spider is so-called because female black widows occasionally consume the males after mating. Adding to the mystic is their jet black 1 1/2 to 1 3/8 inch body with the two reddish-orange triangles on the underside of the abdomen that resembles an hourglass. Contrary to horror movies, black widow spiders do not hunt people or animals but are timid and avoid humans as much as possible. These spiders build messy webs near the ground in dry, dark locations. Inside the house, black widows live in basements, crawl spaces, and garages in areas with debris. Outside, they live under firewood, stones, and hollow tree stumps.

While the roughly 30 types of black widow spiders have the infamous hourglass marking on their black bodies, cellar spiders are different. Cellar spiders come in two forms; long-bodied and short-bodied. What would you answer if we asked you to guess what kind of habitat these spiders prefer based on their name? You'd be correct if you said they live in humid, damp areas like cellars.

People avoid black widow spiders, but many young boys enjoy messing with a cellar spider known as daddy longlegs. Short-bodied cellar spiders have only a 1/16 inch body, while long-bodied ones may be as long as 5/16 inch, but when you add the 1 3/4 to 1 15/16 legs, these spiders appear larger. The legs on short-bodied cellar spiders are not as long (5/16 to 3/8 inch), but they add significantly to the overall appearance.

If there is a runner-up in the horror movie spider category, it would be a wolf spider. These spiders do not howl at the moon but hunt down their prey like wolves. Unlike black widows, they don't build webs to capture unsuspecting insects, but these fast and hairy spiders chase their prey using their long, spiny legs. Wolf spiders have dark brown bodies with pale yellow stripes. The males are smaller (1/4 to 3/4 inches) than the females (3/8 to 1 3/8 inches). Inside the house, wolf spiders live along the baseboards and underneath furniture. They prefer to live outside under landscape timbers, stones, firewood piles, and leaves.

Whatever spider type is in your house, our continuously trained service technicians from Bell Pest Control can solve your spider problem effectively and efficiently.

Some Spiders Are More Dangerous Than Others

Of the spiders previously mentioned, the black widow is the most venomous spider in California. Contrary to popular opinion and the Department of Etymology at the University of California Riverside, the brown recluse, another venomous spider, is not native to California, and "there are no populations of the brown recluse living in California." Although we don't have to contend with brown recluse spiders, we still have black widow spiders, so let's look at what happens should one bite you.

All spiders have venom glands, but most do not have strong enough mouthparts to bite, except for black widows. A black widow will bite if threatened or squeezed; it is more defensive if it has a silken egg. When a black widow bites, the pain may feel like a pinprick, but it soon increases and may extend to the abdominal muscles. Nausea, vomiting, increased blood pressure, and sweating are other symptoms that last for one to three hours. Pain at the bite site may last for up to three days. Fortunately, no one has died in the United States from a black widow bite in over a decade; however, seek immediate medical attention if you experience these symptoms after a bite.

Wolf spiders can bite but seldom will unless threatened or squeezed. Fortunately, the venom from a wolf spider is not nearly as potent as a black widow and will only produce temporary pain and swelling at the wound site. Perhaps boys like to play with daddy longlegs spiders because they are not known to bite.

Whether or not a spider is venomous doesn't matter to most because we don't want to share our homes with spiders, and the friendly team at Bell Pest Control understands that fact.

Natural Ways To Prevent Spiders In Your Home

While we don't want spiders in our Elk Grove homes, we innately know they benefit the environment; plus, we don't want to harm our planet trying to keep spiders out of our homes. Here are some natural ways to keep spiders away from your house:

Remove debris
Plant spider-repellant plants
Deweb the house
Turn off outdoor lights at night
Create a natural repellant spray
Close trash containers
Repair window and door screens
Install door sweeps under exterior doors
Seal cracks and gaps on foundation walls and the roofline

Let's briefly explain these. Outside, spiders hide under leaves, junk, and other yard debris; inside, they hide in storage boxes, behind jars, underneath piles of old magazines, etc. Keeping the yard free from excess stones, logs, leaves, and wood piles will deter them from staying on your property.

Citronella, mint, lavender, mint, and eucalyptus plants repel spiders. If you cannot plant these plants, spray essential oils with these scents in areas where you see many spiders. Another option is to create a barrier using equal amounts of water and white vinegar or lemon juice.

Insects attract spiders; light, trash, and debris entice insects. Reducing the insect population will decrease your spider population when they don't have an abundance of prey. Furthermore, fixing holes in screens and installing door sweeps on exterior doors helps to keep spiders and insects out of your house.

When a service technician from Bell Pest Control inspects your home for California spiders, we will help identify additional ways to deter a future infestation once we solve your spider problem.

Pro Pest Control Makes For The Best Spider Control

A company like Bell Pest Control does not exist for over four decades without providing effective spider solutions for Elk Grove homeowners. When you contact us, we will dispatch a trained service professional to conduct a thorough inspection of the interior and exterior of your house. Our technician will identify entry points, attractants, and likely nesting locations. We will develop a strategic plan to target the spider species on your property.

Call Bell Pest Control now to learn more about our spider removal programs and how we will stop spiders from infesting your house. Don't spend another day worrying about spiders crawling on you at night or living in fear of receiving a spider bite from a black widow. Let us put our years of experience, proven techniques, and knowledge to work for you.

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