Phoenix's Best Kept Secret To Effective Spider Control

It's no fun to walk into a room and see a spider sitting on the floor or climbing up a wall. Your home is your fortress of solitude, but how much solitude can you get with creepy arachnids sharing your space with you? Not much; that's how much. So, what is the secret to effective spider control? How can you make the interior of your home a spider-free zone? Today, we're going to give you an overview of the problem.

This guide from the experts at Overson Pest Control discusses the most common house spiders in Phoenix, gives tips to help you manage them, and provides general information about spider pests that will help alleviate some of your fears if you have them. We'll also tell you what complete spider control looks like and where to go for spider control near you if you live in Phoenix. Let's get started!

How To Identify House Spiders

There are a few common spiders in our area. It is helpful to know these spiders as you'll likely encounter them in your home or on your property. Here is a description of each, along with a few facts you should know about these pests.

House spider:

Any spider that breaks into and sets up shop in your home is called a house spider, but one spider species is called The American house spider or common house spider. As you can imagine, they are common spiders in the United States. An American house spider is between 3/16 and 5/16 of an inch, with females somewhat larger than males. They are brown and have a bulbous abdomen. You'll find them creating lots of light webs around your home.

Daddy Long Legs:

Are daddy long legs spiders? The answer is no. The proper daddy long legs is an arachnid, but not a true spider. It is in a classification of arachnids known as harvestmen, opiliones, or daddy long legs. The spiders that go by the common name "daddy long legs'' in our area are more accurately called long-bodied cellar spiders. They are pale yellow to light brown or gray, range from 1/4 to 3/8 of an inch, and have long bodies and legs. You'll find these critters making lots of webs in your garage and secluded attic spaces.

Wolf Spider:

There are several wolf spider species. They are recognizable by their furry bodies, but they are not the only furry spiders in Phoenix. Wolf spiders, as the name implies, are hunters. They don't make webs to catch prey. They hunt for their food, and they do so at night.

Black Widow Spider:

Black widows need little introduction. We're sure you've heard of them. They are medically important spiders because they have strong venom. Adult female black widow spiders have a black coloration with a red hourglass marking on the bottom of the abdomen. You may see this hourglass on these critters as they hang upside down in their webs. Look for their tangled webs made of strong fibers to detect them in your home.

Brown Recluse Spider:

The brown recluse is another well-known spider in Phoenix. It is a small brown spider that is visibly hairless. On its tiny boy is a dark brown violin marking. Like the wolf spider, a brown recluse will not create a web to catch prey. But you may find its webbing near the floors inside your home, particularly in secluded spaces. They spin webs to protect their hiding places. Their webs are tangled but not made of strong fibers like the web of a black widow.

These are the spiders that may appear inside your Phoenix home. If this creates anxiety for you, we hope to help reduce your fears by sharing a few helpful facts about spiders.

Most Spiders Are More Of A Nuisance Than A Danger

People often ask, are all spiders venomous? The answer to this question can help you gain a better understanding of what you can expect from the spiders inside your home:

• All spiders have venom. However, having venom does not mean an animal is venomous. The term "venomous" refers to an animal venom that is toxic to humans.
• Most spiders that get into homes have non-toxic venom. For example, a bite from a house spider or wolf spider won't amount to much more than a red bump, similar to what you would get with most insect bites.
• Not all spiders can bite. Some have weak fangs and cannot administer their venom to a human. They are considered harmless spiders.
• Only two spiders present a medical concern to humans and are considered venomous. They are the widow and recluse.
• Widow and recluse spiders are both reclusive. They stay far from human activity if possible. When they get into homes, they remain in dark corners and hiding places. If you're cautious in these areas or when getting boxes out of storage, you're not likely to have one of these spiders bite you.
• A black widow spider is known to dry bite. What this means is it will bite without injecting venom. If you get a dry bite, you'll feel a pinprick but have few symptoms afterward.

We hope these facts help to reduce your fear of spiders. But we do recommend that you seek the assistance of a licensed pest professional if you detect widow or recluse spiders in your home. It is best to err on the side of caution.

How Do You Get Rid Of A Spider Infestation By Yourself?

It is difficult to keep spiders out of your house entirely. The more control you apply, the better the results. Some of the things you can do to stop spider infiltration are things you can do yourself. Here are our best suggestions:

• Remove clutter near your exterior, particularly organic clutter, such as branches, plant debris, scrap wood, grass clippings, and leaves.
• Trim bushes and shrubs. Doing so will reduce humid hiding places for the bugs spiders eat.
• Clean gutters, remove weeds, and cut the grass to further reduce hiding areas for insects that spiders to eat.
• Remove spider webs around the exterior of your home and crush any egg sacs you find. Spider egg sacs are paper-like structures that can contain hundreds of eggs.
• Keep exterior lights off to reduce insect activity. In areas where security is a concern, replace white lights with yellow lights. Insects are not attracted to yellow light.
• Use a caulking gun to create a complete seal around frames and to seal certain gaps in your exterior walls and foundation.
• Replace weatherproofing materials that have worn out.
• Use expanding foam to fill in large wood cavities or seal gaps around pipes.

You can get quite a bit of control if you don't mind rolling your sleeves up and doing a little work. But, as you can see, spider management is a bit arduous. To take some of the work off your plate and for added protection, contact a licensed pest control service provider like Overson Pest Control.

Complete Spider Control For Phoenix Properties

Most of the spiders that get into your Phoenix home (or business) will only present a nuisance. But there are two that are worth keeping an eye on. So, why not control all of the spiders on your property? The best way to do that is with expert help. If you're in Phoenix, contact Overson Pest Control for year-round pest control service. A year-round pest control service protects your property against the never-ending spider pressures in your yard.

When you contact Overson Pest Control for spider control in Phoenix, what can you expect? There are many ways we help you keep spiders from finding their way inside your home. Here are a few:

• We inspect your property to look for spider activity and conducive conditions. If certain spiders are detected, we'll apply targeted control methods to collect them.
• We apply treatments to your property to reduce the crawling and flying pests that spiders eat. There is no better way to minimize spider food than with routine and appropriate treatments.
• We apply a liquid treatment to your exterior to keep pests from entering your home. We may also use a product within voids for even more protection.
• We use professional-grade materials to seal certain entry points pests may use to enter your home. We'll let you know if you have a vulnerability so you can act.
• We use a spider web removal tool to collect spider webs around your exterior and dispose of any egg sacs we collect.

These and other services protect your exterior against unwanted spider guests. And, of course, while we're keeping spiders out, we're keeping a long list of other pests out as well.

Get started with a year-round pest control service plan for your Phoenix home. Navigate to our contact page and fill out the short form to tell us what you're experiencing and what services you need. Or you can reach out to us directly by phone or text. Whatever works best for you. There is no time like the present to get your pest protection in place.