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We are sure you’ve been in a situation that you are “hunting” an eight-legged creature with a slipper in your hand. It’s a life or death situation!(Well, not really…) Your heart is beating, veins pumped with blood, time is moving slowly and you are clutched in a staring contest with your nemesis – the spider.
All of a sudden you make a move – Splash!
With a pinch of uncertainty, you slowly start to remove the slipper from where the crushed body of the Spider is supposed to be, but you find no sign of it. The little guy just got away and you begin to panic. What are you gonna do? How are you going to sleep when you know it’s crawling somewhere in your house?
All of this can’t be avoided. No matter how much you are trying to keep Spiders away, they are always going to get in.
Although not preventable, you can minimise the chance of getting a spider in your home and having to get rid of it.
Why Spiders are Attracted to Your Home
Spiders love to find places that are close to food sources and serve as a good shelter from the environment. The perfect living conditions may vary a little from species to species. However, we are certain that your home is the perfect place for at least one type of spider.
- Food.
If you find yourself leaving food all around the house then spiders aren’t the only things that will come. Because they won’t eat cheese and vegemite leftovers, they will feed on pests that leftovers attract. - Humidity.
Having higher humidity levels at home means that you might end up with house spiders or cellar spiders in your home. These little guys scout for humid places and will seek prey in them. - How clean you keep your house.
Keeping your living space in good condition and cleaning after yourself is important because it will minimise infestation chance for all types of pests. - Any debris that may be left unattended.
You may be having a breeding ground heaven for spiders and not even know about it. Any construction materials left over, wood piles and backyard are all perfect shelter locations for all types of spiders. - A flourishing garden.
Because we are garden lovers, we can’t speak any bad things about it. However, beautiful, flourishing backyards are all a great addition to a house, but they will come with some pests naturally. It’s all good, because they are good for plants, potentially hunting harmful insects. However, we suggest you keep an eye to check if there aren’t some poisonous species that claimed your backyard for his own.
How Spiders Get Inside
Believe it or not, spiders aren’t the bad guys that are trying to sneak into your home at all costs. Most of them get inside accidentally. They either follow a trail or just find your place to be a good shelter.
Their natural habitat is the outdoors. They thrive in lawns and backyards, so if you find a species different from a house spider in your home, they are most likely there by accident.
Some of the entrances might be cracks or gaps in your home. It’s always a good idea to seal them. This will also prevent some worse pests from getting in and potentially cause an infestation.
Other ways for spiders to get inside is on firewood, plants that you’ve brought in from outside or all types of boxes that you bring in your home.
While inspecting the objects you bring in your house will help you control how many spiders get inside, you’d want to inspect your house too. Often cracks form and are left unattended sometimes months at a time. That’s why it’s important to keep them sealed and to inspect your home on a regular basis.
What To Do if You Find a Spider in Your Home
Your first thought may be to grab and roll a newspaper and hit it as hard as possible. But is the smudge on the wall worth it just to kill a spider? This can potentially ruin the paint, meaning you have to clean it or repaint the spot.
There is a much easier way to remove a spider from your home. If you stumble across a normal house spider, they are completely harmless. Removing them will be an easy thing, so there is no use in killing it. Either vacuum it or pick it with a broom.
If the spider is bigger, or just seems more menacing, it’s important to keep your distance, but try to examine it and identify it. If you ever find yourself face to face with a venomous spider, then you’d want to call an expert that can help you with removing the eight-legged creature from your home.
Common Australian House Spiders
As you may encounter a spider or two in your home, it’s important that you know how to tell if the spider is venomous, or if they are harmless.
Daddy Long Legs Spider
The thin, long-legged spiders are a pretty common sight in most households. Daddy Long Legs spiders love making spider webs around man-made structures like houses, sheds or garages.
The long-legged spiders are not dangerous to humans, and they cause no harm. Daddy Long Legs grow for up to 9 mm in size.
As for their diet, the spiders will help you with keeping the insects in your house under control. They are also known for eating other spiders.
If you decide to kill one, be prepared to face their many children. Often female Daddy Long Legs will carry their eggs on their front legs.
Australian Funnel Web Spider
The huge Funnel Web Spider is nothing short of terrifying. They love maintaining their diet of insects, and sometimes frogs or lizards.
Australian Funnel Web Spiders love humid and slightly colder places. Because of this, you can encounter them in your bathroom.
It’s best to keep your distance because the Australian Funnel Web spider is venomous and a bite can be fatal to humans. There are recorded cases of death just 15 minutes after a bite.
There is no way that you won’t feel a bite. The Funnel Web spider has big fangs, so the bite is painful.
If you don’t know how to catch this spider, then it’s best to call a professional to deal with it.
Brown House Spider
Commonly found in buildings, Brown House spiders can be a common sight in homes. They love living in walls, and backyard sheds.
They may live for several years before dying, and the males will die after just several times mating.
Being a nocturnal spider, the cupboard spider loves feeding with insects and other spiders.
The Brown House spider prefers to build its web close to ground level.
They are venomous, however not deadly. Sometimes the False Black Widow bite may cause blisters around the bite. Any signs and effects of the venom should disappear after 60 hours. If after that there are still some, consider visiting a doctor.
Red Back Spider
The Red Back spider is a distinctive long-legged spider. The spider has a red marking on its back. It can be found in logs, under stones, and if in your home it takes residence on top of shelves, in the attic, floorboard, flower pots and any other similar locations that may provide shelter for this spider.
The Red Back spider eats almost any type of small insect, and may also consume snakes, frogs and small mice.
This spider is highly venomous, and should never be handled by a non-professional. Although there are no deaths directly related to the Red Back spider, nausea, pain around the bitten place and on the limb are known to occur, and persist for around 24 hours.
Signs of Spider Infestation In Your Home
Most likely, the first signs are spider webs all around your property. Spiders are creatures who thrive in dark and moist places.
Many spiders make webs and live on them, however, some species live in burrows. Those are most likely to be found in your garden.
A spider infestation can be spotted from the numerous webs that appear in and around your property. Although, having some spiders in your garden and house can be good for your home, having a lot of them might mean that you have another pest living in your home. Spiders are in your home only because there is prey they can feed upon.
What Chemicals and Repellents To Use Against Spiders
There are numerous sprays and cans out there that you can purchase and try to eradicate the problem.
However, we advise you not to spend your cash on them. Because of the long legs of the spider, their bodies hardly ever touch the ground. The residue will only touch their legs. Unfortunately, that won’t kill them. Instead, you’d have to use direct spraying on the pest, however, that is as effective as hitting it with a newspaper or a slipper if the conditions allow.
It’s always best to consider if it’s easier for you to kill it, or to catch it and throw it in the garden.
The post Beware Spiders! Here’s What Attracts Spiders in Your Home appeared first on Fantastic Pest Control Melbourne Blog.
