Avoid Pests: 5 Spring Cleaning Tips

Spring in Las Vegas is short lived and as the weather heats up, many insects and pests wake up from a winter’s nap and are ready to get busy finding food. If your Las Vegas or Henderson home proves to be a good source of food for foraging insects and rodents, they will gladly come invade your living space.

In order to prevent pests from getting into your home this spring, here are some indoor spring cleaning tips to keep your home pest free from the Las Vegas pest control professionals at Western Exterminator:

1. Secure Window Screens

Before opening up windows to let the spring breeze flow in, make sure that all windows are secured with screens that fit properly and have no holes. Windows are an easy way for small flying insects to gain entry, so you want to avoid the small holes and loose fitting screens before the windows go up. Also, make sure that if you are going to keep a door open for some extra air flow, you have a screen door to keep the pests out. Open doors are an open invitation for all size pests.

2. De-clutter Your Home

Clean out storage spaces such as the garage, attic, and outdoor sheds. These are perfect homes for pests any time of the year as they are less frequented by humans. Also, any stacks of newspapers or other items provide a great home for pests such as spiders, so you want to be sure that the clutter is gone.

3. Deep Clean Your Kitchen

A deep clean of your kitchen is another good tip to keep the pests out. If there are spills or open food, cockroaches, ants and rodents are likely to find their way into your home. Spend extra time to get rid of any build-up on areas such as under the fridge or stove, the sides of the stove, and in cupboards. It’s easy to let these hidden places be forgotten, but with any food build-up, the pests will try to take advantage.

4. Sanitize Food Surfaces

Make sure to sanitize and clean your food surfaces regularly to keep pests away. If cockroaches or rodents do happen to get into your home, they will leave counters and other food surfaces contaminated, so it is important that you are on top of keeping these places sanitized to protect yours and your family’s health.

5. Spruce Up The Yard.

Branches, leaves, weeds, and dead plants can attract pests. These areas provide a place for the pest to build a nest, and they might eventually come inside your home since the nests are near the building. Also, make sure to get rid of standing water in the yard, because the water could attract mosquitoes since they lay eggs in standing water.

By following these spring cleaning tips, you will be able to enjoy not only a squeaky clean home, but one that is free of any bugs or critters. Due to the amount of time we spend outside in the spring and with open doors and windows, it becomes very important to stay on top of the spring pest prevention measures.

If you tackle these 5 tips and bugs are still trying to take over your home this spring, contact the experts at Western Exterminator for highly effective residential pest control services designed to fit your home.

Are Daddy Longlegs Dangerous Spiders?

The most persistent myth surrounding “daddy longlegs” is that they are the world’s most venomous spider and we’re only safe from their bite, we are told, because their fangs are too small and weak to break through human skin.

It turns out that the notion is false on both counts. But a little clarification is needed.

In order to understand this notion, it first must be determined what a Daddy Longlegs is.  According to Wikipedia, Daddy Longlegs can be referred to as any one of the following:

  • Opillones – these are an order of arachnids, more commonly known as Harvestmen
  • Pholcidae – an order of spiders more commonly known as Cellar Spiders
  • Crane Fly – a member of the family of insects in the order of Diptera

Daddy Longlegs is just a nickname, so let’s get scientific

As we can see from above, Daddy Longlegs is just a nickname, and can include any one of the above insects, so to understand if Daddy Longlegs are indeed dangerous, we should look at each insect separately to determine the answer to this question.

Opillones – Harvestmendaddy longlegs Opiliones spider control exterminators in Las Vegas Henderson Nevada

Harvestmen can be found on every contentment in the world, excluding Antarctica. There have been over 6,500 different documented species of Harvestmen worldwide, and the true number of different species is thought to exceed 10,000.  Harvestmen have been documented as far back as 400 million years through various fossils, which shows their basic body structure has changed very little since then.

Are Harvestmen venomous?

In short the answer to this question is no. This is a fable that has spread, which states a Harvestmen’s fangs are too short, or too frail to pierce a humans skin, and if these fangs were able to pierce the skin, their venom would be among the most dangerous in the world. Of all the different species of Harvestmen researched, not one of them has venom glands. Harvestmen also do not have hollow fangs to transmit venom, instead Harvestmen use their fangs as grasping claws.

Pholcidae – Cellar Spiders

Pholcidae, often referred to as Cellar Spiders as also commonly known as Daddy Longlegs.  Spiders from this family are fragile, and a range in body size from 2 to 10 mm. Their body can differ in shape depending on the group they belong to.  Legs on these spiders have been documented up to 50mm in length.

Are Cellar Spiders venomous?

Cellar Spiders are spiders, so yes they are venomous.  The real question should be: is the venom toxic enough to affect a human, and what kind of reaction would it produce when compared to other venomous spiders?

In 2004, the Discovery Channel’s television series, Myth Busters aired an episode that tested the urban legend of the Cellar Spiders venom. In this episode, Adam Savage stuck his hand in a container of Cellar Spiders, and noted that he felt a bite that produced a short lived burning sensation, but nothing else. It was also noted during the episode that these spiders’ fangs measured approximately 0.25mm in length, while the average human skin thickness ranges between 0.5 to 4mm in thickness.

Crane Flies

Crane flies resemble an oversized mosquito and are found worldwide.  Crane flies are often referred to a Mosquito Hawks, Mosquito Eaters, Gallnipper, and Gollywhoppers.  They sometimes are also referred to as Daddy Longlegs, because of their long legged appearance.

Are Crane Flies Venomous?

No they’re not, Crane Flies are an invasive flying insect, not a spider.  Crane fly larvae live in the top layers of soil where they feed on roots, root hairs, and crops. The larvae can harm the growth of everything from normal lawns, to agricultural crops.  Other than agricultural losses and damage to ornamental landscape plants, crane flies pose no threat to humans.

Bug of the Week ~ The Diving Bell Spider

The diving bell spider is the only species of spider in the world that spends its entire life underwater.  The spider uses a “diving bell” or bubble of water that actually acts like a lung! You won’t find these arachnids anywhere in the Las Vegas valley. Found in ponds in Europe and Asia, these small spiders have adapted to hunt for insects and crustaceans under the surface, living safe from land-dwelling predators though they aren’t safe from frogs and fish.

Using silk to form a “bell”, the air-breathing spiders trap air in hairs on their abdomen and legs at the surface of the water and fill the bell with the trapped air. They can then live inside the bell, and in fact females live almost their entire lives inside the bell only coming out to snatch prey or to refill their air supply.

 

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.