2 Spiders to Look Out For This Fall

Spiders are a common pest problem here in the Las Vegas area throughout the entire year. However, they are more abundant in the late summer and fall months. Spiders usually hatch in the springtime. By the time August and September roll around, they can seem to be in full force! Most spiders get into homes to look for food, water, and shelter. Thankfully, most spiders in your home are typically harmless and will avoid you altogether. The same cannot be said for the black widow and brown recluse spiders, which are known to be more aggressive and can administer a nasty bite when threatened. For this reason alone, it’s important to learn how to identify these spiders.

Dangerous Spiders in Las Vegas

The black widow and brown recluse spiders are dangerous any time of year, but are often seeing in or around your home in the late summer/early fall. Due to the fact that these spiders can sting when threatened, it’s important to know how to identify them:

  1. Brown recluse spiders. These spiders have a darker brown violin-shaped mark on their brown bodies. They build loose, dome-shaped webs for shelter. A brown recluse bite is known to be very painful.
  2. Black widows. These spiders have a characteristic red hourglass shape on its body. They build sticky, tangled cobwebs in garages, sheds, and near the ground. They can bite when they feel threatened.

Keeping Spiders Out in the Fall

Spiders can get into your home any time. But because their populations are so large this time of year, you likely are noticing more of them in your home. Some of Western Exterminator’s best tips for preventing spiders include:

  • Trimming your lawn and bushes. Overgrown bushes, shrubs, piles of wood, and more can attract spiders to your property and eventually indoors.
  • Cleaning your home on a regular basis. Doing so can prevent insects that spiders like to prey on and eliminate hiding spots for pests.
  • Sealing any cracks and crevices. Inspect the inside and outside of your property for tiny spots that may be inviting spiders in, and seal properly.
  • Installing or repairing screens on doors and windows. Holes or crevices in screens will easily invite spiders (and other pests) inside.
  • Inspecting boxes and used furniture prior to bringing them inside. Adult spiders or egg sacs could be nestled in old unopened boxes.

What to Do About Fall Pest Infestations

If you have spiders or any other bugs inside your home this time of year, it can be hard to know how to get rid of them! A professional spider control company such as Rentokil can help control current infestations as well as prevent future ones.

Insect of the Week ~ The Black Widow Spider

Black widow spiders get their names from the belief that the female devours her partner after sex. But this gruesome ritual doesn’t always happen after mating. The males of the species are thought to be harmless, it’s the mature female whose bite can cause severe illness.

The black widow avoids light and is usually found in dry, undisturbed places outdoors. Their favorite places are in man-made outdoor structures such as block walls, sprinkler valve boxes, sheds, and under porches, patio furniture, decks or eaves. Indoors, they can be found in undisturbed corners of garages or basements.

Like other spiders, the black widow is not aggressive unless disturbed or when guarding her egg sac. But that’s the catch. Because she is so reclusive, hidden away in dark corners and under objects, it’s easy to accidentally “disturb” her.

A black widow spider web is messy and unorganized, like a cobweb. The strands will not come together to form a definitive pattern. Due to the overlapping strands a black widow spider web is very strong and hard to pull apart. Any webs of this variety around your home most likely belong to black widows.