Few pests can cause people to shrink away in fear than spiders. There is something about these eight-legged, multi-eyes creatures that make people scream in fear and run from rooms. Before you get too scared, you should know that spiders do not chase people; they avoid humans as much as possible. However, the fact remains that we do not want to share our living spaces with spiders. 

If spiders are inside your house, you need spider control in Sugar Land from All-Safe Pest & Termite. Over the last three decades, our family-owned and operated company has become the largest independent pest control business in the area. We are the recipients of numerous awards by local magazines and are proud to be A+ rated by the Better Business Bureau.

We wrote this article because we know that no one wants to live in fear of spiders inside their home. Please keep reading to learn why spiders are in your home and what you can do to remove them for good.

The Role Spiders Play In Our Ecosystem

When you see a spider climbing up the curtain or running along the baseboards in your Sugar Land house, you may find it hard to imagine that they have a role in our ecosystem other than scaring people. However, like all other animals, spiders serve as predators and prey in these ways: 

• Control pest populations
• Reduce crop damage
• Pollinate flowers
• Serve as a food source 

Let's briefly examine each of these actions to give us a better understanding of the part these amazing arachnids play in our world. 

You've probably had the unfortunate experience of walking into a massive spider web while walking the woods, working in the garden, or hunting for items in the attic. The feeling of sticky silk is unpleasant; it is also alarming because you've probably seen many spider webs with insects helplessly trapped. 

Spiders are not insects but are arachnids, and there is a difference. Whereas insects have six legs, spiders have eight; insects have two compound eyes, and spiders have two or three rows of simple eyes. Insects have a three-part body, and arachnids have only two body segments. However, the most noticeable feature is the ability of spiders to create webs. 

Most spiders in Sugar Land use their webs to capture prey, others use them as retreats, and still others do not spin silky traps at all. Outside the home, most of us are familiar with the large, circular webs created by orb weaver spiders in gardens, tall grasses, and the woods to capture insects. Inside our Sugar Land homes, many of us have had encounters with house spider webs in the upper corners of doors, windows, and the ceiling. Of course, there are other spiders (e.g., black widow spiders) that spin their snares on the ground level. Those spiders that do not create webs (e.g., jumping and wolf spiders) capture their prey by chasing them down. 

If you wonder what spiders eat, they consume insects, small animals (e.g., bats), and other spiders. One pest we are glad spiders consume is mosquitoes, which is a good thing since it helps reduce the chances of contracting the West Nile virus and other mosquito-borne illnesses. Spiders also control crop damage by eating beetles, grasshoppers, and caterpillar populations. According to researchers, one spider can devour 2,000 insects annually. 

Why are many people scared of spiders? One reason is likely due to their quick, erratic movements. Their eight thin or hairy legs carry them over different terrains, including plants. While we often think of bees as pollinators that transport pollen grains of the male anther to the female stigma in another plant of the same species, spiders are pollinators too — especially those spiders that do not spin webs but chase down their prey. As wolf spiders and jumping spiders forage around plants, pollen grains stick to their bodies, and they transfer them to neighboring plants. 

While spiders eat insects, there are some insects (i.e., wasps), birds, and bats that consume spiders. Blackbirds, bluebirds, and crows are bird species that capture and consume spiders, particularly baby spiders. While there are bat-eating spiders, bats return the favor by eating spiders; however, spiders consist of only a fraction of a bat's diet.

The honor of the most horrific death an insect can encounter goes to wasps. At first, it appears the spider has the upper hand when it catches a wasp in its web; however, when it goes in for the kill, the wasp repeatedly stings it and paralyzes the creature. Unbeknownst to the paralyzed spider, the wasp places an egg on its back. Later, when the egg hatches, the emerging larva drains fluid from the spider's body for nourishment. Once the larva matures, it injects the spider with venom, which causes it to spin a twisted web that serves as a cocoon for the spider. The wasp kills the spider and resides inside the cocoon until it emerges as an adult. 

Spiders play a significant role in the ecosystem outside our homes, but they have no place behind closed doors. All-Safe Pest & Termite provides the best home defense for spiders. Our trained technicians have the tools, equipment, and experience to remove spiders from your home. 

Reasons For Spiders In The Home

A spider infestation may indicate an insect problem in your house since insects are their primary food source. House spiders, jumping spiders, black widows, and brown recluse spiders enjoy eating cockroaches. Although no one wants these spiders living in their Sugar Land homes, a cockroach infestation is a worse problem. Spiders avoid humans, are not aggressive, and most species stay tucked away in their dark corners; cockroaches move throughout a house, contaminating surfaces through their feces, saliva, and disease-causing organisms falling from their leg spines and bodies. In addition to spreading disease, a cockroach infestation can trigger allergic reactions and asthma attacks. 

Another cause of a high spider population is mosquitoes. House and orb weaver spiders create webs in areas like porches and upper corners of window and door frames to capture flying prey attracted to the outdoor lights or are coasting on air currents. Spiders often snag swarming reproductive ants, termites, mosquitoes, and flies.

Of course, not all insects fly, but don't worry because other species build their webs on ground level or chase down insects. Black widow spiders, lynx spiders, and jumping spiders consume ants and cockroaches as they move along the ground. 

A high insect population in or around your Sugar Land house is not always the cause of a spider infestation inside your home. Sometimes, spiders enter houses due to drastic weather changes to find food, water, and shelter. Most spider species thrive in warm, moist areas, and when moisture is lacking outdoors, they enter homes through foundation and roofline cracks. Once inside, they make the crawl space, basement, or areas with leaking plumbing fixtures as home base. While we don't want spiders inside the house, this can benefit homeowners because they prey on silverfish, earwigs, centipedes, and termites in those locations. 

When you see different spiders in your Sugar Land home, call All-Safe Pest & Termite because you may have more than a spider issue. 

Spider Prevention Tips That Work

When spiders invade your house, anxiety levels increase. You may no longer feel free to walk barefoot from the bedroom to the kitchen, or you hold your breath as you turn on the light in the middle of the night, hoping you don't see spiders running across the vanity.

To alleviate spider-induced stress, here are several tips to keep spiders away from your Sugar Land house:

• Remove debris and junk from the yard
• Prune tree branches and shrubs away from the home
• Provide drainage to ditches, puddles, and gutter 
• Relocate firewood 20 feet from the house and elevate it
• Seal cracks in the foundation, roofline, and around frames 
• Use bug or LED lights for outdoor lighting 
• Keep shades closed at night to minimize window light 
• Repair holes in window and door screens
• Install door sweeps on exterior doors 
• Discard unused cardboard boxes and old magazines
• Fix leaking plumbing fixtures 
• Keep outdoor and indoor garbage containers closed 

Implementing these suggestions deters insects from residing on the property and entering the home and discourages spiders from entering your house. 

When an All-Safe Pest & Termite technician arrives to survey your location, we can provide additional suggestions to discourage local spiders from invading your home in the future. 

Why Professional Pest Control Is The Best Spider Control

Although it is tempting to purchase a store-bought product at the first sign of spiders, you will soon be discouraged by the results. Successful spider extermination in Sugar Land requires the knowledge, experience, and the right kind of tools that All-Safe Pest & Termite provides. When one of our highly-trained technicians arrives at your home, we will inspect the property to determine entry points, attractants, hot spots, and the spider species infesting your house. 

Once we gather data, we develop a strategic spider removal plan. We use low-toxicity liquid and dust pest control products to create a barrier around the home, and we deweb the house to remove spiders and destroy their eggs. To monitor the situation between follow-up visits, we use glue boards. If the infestation necessitates an initial interior treatment, we use only EPA-registered, low-risk products. 

Contact us at All-Safe Pest & Termite to learn more about the spider control program and get your free estimate.

Had my initial setup and install today, and everything went very well! Very friendly and knowledgeable staff. Feel so much better after making the switch to All-Safe!!

K. Cloud

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