Arachnophobia (the fear of spiders) is a very common phobia among Americans. While it is true that spiders can be beneficial to households, this is not always the case. It is not uncommon to have “daddy long legs” and other harmless types living in your home; in fact, there is some truth to the old wives tale of a spider being within 8 feet of you at all times. Spiders eat insects and pests that can cause extensive damage to homes, such as mosquitoes, cockroaches, and beetles.
Despite the benefits you can incidentally enjoy from having spiders in the home they are insects and shouldn’t be in the home in the first place. They are not notably dangerous at least not the domestic ones; two spiders in particular to watch out for are the brown recluse and the black widow. The bites from these spiders can cause illness, skin damage, and even death if left untreated. They tend to be concentrated in warmer climates, so people living in the South should keep a watchful eye out in their homes. Spiders, while not particularly aggressive towards humans, are territorial; brown recluses in particular tend to stick to an isolated space. The problem arises when humans unknowingly come into contact with these spiders. Out of pure instinct, the animal will react defensively (due to being threatened).
WHY YOU HAVE SPIDERS AND TIPS TO KEEP SPIDERS OUT OF YOUR HOME
Unlike a ton of other insects spiders don’t thrive off moist dirty habitats, they are found in the open dry and space. If your home has a high measure of humidity, lots of cracks and crevices then you may have just put out an invitation to spiders and they will honor that invitation. A pest control professional will help diminish the spider populations living in your home, but this does not mean the problem won’t reoccur in the future. To prevent this, homeowners should make sure their houses are well sealed. Cracks and crevices around door and window frames let spiders and insects inside. Also, keeping clothes off the floor as well as decreasing the humidity in your house will make the environment less attractive to these pests.
Hiring a pest control company is the best way to rid your home of these types of spiders. The gut reaction most people have to encountering any spider is to kill it. This is not always an effective solution, however, as there are more than likely other spiders living in or around the area in which the original offender was identified. Residents that notice multiple spiders in certain regions of their house should be on alert and call an exterminator, as they will be best suited to handle the problem and give advice on what to do if an infestation is present.
