The answer to the question of how dangerous house spiders are is – not very. Common house spiders can inflict a venomous bite (as can all spiders). However, this bite is unlikely to be any worse than a bee sting for most people. Only people with insect or arachnid venom allergies have anything to worry about. Still, even if they’re not dangerous, nobody wants a house full of spiders. Fortunately, with a few prevention measures, you don’t have to live with a bunch of eight-legged roomies.
99 Common House Spiders On The Wall
It’s not uncommon for you to see an uptick in spider activity during the winter. While spiders don’t need humans to survive the cold, much of their favorite prey items do. If roaches, silverfish, moths, and other spider prey enter your home to escape the rain or the falling temperatures, then spiders will naturally follow them.
However, it can sometimes be difficult to distinguish between house spiders and more dangerous arachnids like brown recluses. If you’re looking at them from a distance, you can quickly tell based on the pattern alone. Brown recluses are pretty plain. They’re lighter brown with a darker brown fiddle marking. They don’t have spots or stripes. Meanwhile, common house spiders are typically brown or gray and have lighter markings. They will also have stripes on their legs, whereas recluses have none.
Like virtually all spiders, common house spiders like to keep a low profile. They prefer to avoid any contact with humans. That’s why you’ll find them in dark corners of your house, like basements, attics, crawlspaces, and even inside cabinets or under furniture. These out-of-the-way spots also happen to be the best places to grab some grub.
Spider Prevention Tips
As discussed, common house spiders are attracted to your Houston home mostly because their prey is. That means if you keep their prey out of your house, it’s a safe bet that spiders won’t be interested in coming around either. The good news is if you’re doing a good job of making your home less attractive to house spiders, you’re making it less attractive to more dangerous recluses and widows too. To keep pests that could attract spiders away, take measures like:
- Store all pantry foods in airtight containers
- Keep trash in tightly covered-cans
- Fix moisture problems like leaky pipes or clogged drainage
- Avoid leaving dirty dishes – including pet food bowls – sitting out
More direct measures to deal with spiders themselves include:
- Remove cobwebs wherever you find them to encourage spiders to move on
- Clear clutter to eliminate spider hiding places
- Install weather stripping in gaps in doors and windows
- Seal all cracks and holes in your home’s siding and foundation
What To Do About Infestation
Most of the time, getting rid of spiders can be a tough job to do independently. Typical things like baits or sticky traps won’t work very well for spiders because they don’t eat anything but live prey, and they don’t move around a whole lot once they find a good spot to weave a web. Foggers and sprays are also not a great idea for spiders because they hide in such deep cover that the spray might not ever reach them. The chemicals in over-the-counter (OTC) sprays could wind up posing more danger to kids or pets than spiders.
Fortunately, there’s a better way. Here at All-Safe Pest & Termite, we’ve got the tools and techniques to get rid of not just the spider infestation but the prey infestation that’s attracting it. So give us a call or visit our contact page to schedule your spider control service today!