We have been doing a lot of renovating in our back and front yard, where we have a ton (and I mean a ton) of spiders. We have a lot of black widows (and yes they are for sure black widows, we have brown widows as well) even though we have no wood piles, no shed, no piles of junk...none of the "usual" stuff that "experts" say that they love to make their homes in. The black widows here are happy as a clam in your average patio chair that gets sat in daily. I am so desensitized to them at this point that they don't even scare me anymore, but 2 nights ago I experienced the most horrible, disgusting thing ever. I was standing in my kitchen doing the dishes where I noticed two tiny hatchling spiders. They were just sitting there, semi connected to my dish-soap which had just been used earlier in the day so I knew they hadn't been there long. Then I saw, another, the same size drop right down in front of my face from above me. I look up to see my kitchen ceiling covered in tiny dots. I climbed on a chair to see and to my horror there were over 100 just hatched spiders ALL OVER my kitchen ceiling. My husband and I spent the next two hours smashing baby spiders by hand. The worst part of the whole story is that they were black widows. I am (a little too) familiar with all of the stages of the black widow and what they look like as juveniles etc and I know they are black widows. I have continued to find and smash about 20 a day all in the kitchen area. We have not found any in any other area of the house (knock wood) except for the occasional stray. The thing that is concerning me, is that I have no idea where the spider that laid that egg sac could be. Every corner of my house is clean and free of any webs/clutter etc. I have checked behind the fridge, under the sink, behind the stove etc etc... EVERYWHERE a spider could make a home and can't find any evidence of an adult widow or any other spider. My mom suggested we "bomb" the house but I am super weary of chemicals etc. At the same time, however, I am disgusted by this whole thing. I am not sure what I should do. I certainly don't want to go through this again with another batch of spiders but at the same time if I can't find a spider anywhere will a "bug bomb" even reach it? I can't stop feeling things "crawling" on me even though it is my imagination at this point. Uuuugh.
Oh my, I would call a professional exterminator at this point. I mean, bleck, how do you sleep wondering whether they are crawling on you or the kids?!
Sorry, I couldn't take it!
:(
I think I would bomb my house and spray my yard for all kinds of bugs. Maybe you can do it on a Friday and then do a weekend get away to let the house and yard air out.
You win best {Post Title} of the day!!!
The chemicals from bombing are FAR LESS harmful than the bite of even 1 spider. Call a pro, get your house done.
The egg sac was MAYBE in a wall/ceiling corner (spiders do that here all the time. I make my husband get up on a chair and wipe them away with a paper towel. I do bees, he does spiders). He honestly can't see them until he's on a chair with it about a foot from his face (shudder). Apparently, some people can't see white on white.
But PROBABLY... the space in between your walls is loaded to the gills with them. The ones you're seeing out and about are just those that have been pushed out by the other spiders. The babies probably came from the light in your kitchen (out from behind the walls where the adults will eat them, into the 'safer' kitchen). Ditto the 'weaker' spiders out onto counters, chairs, and "in view". You know there are a LOT of them for black widows to be "out and about".
Bomb the suckers. Most home insurance plans covers for a massive infestation as well as hotel stays (becuase from your description, you need to have your home tented, and you'll need to stay elsewhere for a few weeks. The initial bombing and then for the chemicals to become inert. Bonus. Once the chemicals become inert, no worrying about chemicals). Don't take out the furniture, as there are probably spiders in the structure of them, unless your insurance plan covers total replacement value, and you can redo your home..
Ugh. Icky. Shudder.
Wow! At this point, it would be a bug bomb (or whatever else the exterminator advises) all the way for me! I have the heebie jeebies just reading this!
my parents live in Lancaster and have black widows...they use a spider spray - sorry - don't know what it is off the top of my head...
I understand your disgust!! creepies!! :)
My parents don't put anything on the ground.
They have caulked all the floor boards and windows - again - just to ensure that they don't get in the house....
GOOD LUCK!!
My M. had black widows once. She had her house sprayed once and hasnt had an issue in over 9 years. I would do it atleast just once to get rid of the baby makers.
Im with Theresa, the thought of them crawling on me at night would gross me out!
DEFINITELY call a pest control service. They can recommend services that you are comfortable with as far as chemicals, etc.
That makes my skin crawl just reading this! I hate spiders with a passion.
I would call a someone like Orkin, or a bug company and have your house professionally bug bombed. My family and I used to get spiders all the time, and the store bought ones work only for so long. So I would hire someone to come and do it for you. It will work better, and longer.
I really hope you dont end up on that infested show! Lol.
And to me, I would rather use chemicals, and be around that then spiders.
Your moms right, you need to bug bomb. I have lots of black widows and I dont have any of the usual places they love either. The only way to get rid of them inside is to either bug bomb or call an exterminator. You might be able to find one that uses pesticides that arent as harsh. Good luck... I am wishing you a spider free home!
Wow, I thought I was being tortured by my silverfish, I think you've got it worse with those spiders. I could write a novel on silverfish, and my husband thinks I'm CRAZY because I'm always on the prowl for them. My latest move is I've got 2 dehumidifiers running and I bought those plug in 'pest offense' things. At the moment I'm winning my battle but it's only been a couple days. Chemwise was a waste, they dusted with boric acid many times. Well good luck with those baby spiders. Research what temp and humidity level they need to be at to hatch. Break that cycle!! Lol.
I am no fan of chemicals either, but after several natural remedies failed to get rid of our fire ant problem, a chemical is exactly what I used. If it will give you peace of mind then find the least killer with the least amount of chemicals and go with that.
We've got black widows here too, although there's only one here or there in the yard. My problem spiders are the garden variety of Orb weavers. But they bite too and leave huge welts. I already have one child who swells up with each bite so the less he gets bitten the better.
But I've been spraying Ortho's Home Defence for years and now swear buy it. Have to spray it almost monthly during the spring/summer but maybe once in the winter months. But there's no spiders. I spray it, we go outside to play for a bit and by the time we come back inside, the spray is dry and we can be in the house again. The day I see even one spider in the house again I go and respray everything.
I'd also go around and caulk all the little holes and cracks you find in the house (and any outside walls too!), just so you don't get a spider traveling around and put a nest in a hole and you'd never see it. Of course in the kitchen, the spider could be behind the cabinets and since cabinets are usually modular, any tiny space between it and the wall could be "home".
That said.. we used to get ants coming out of the light sockets, so that could be the problem. But since I've been using the Ortho stuff, we haven't had any problems with any creepy crawlies - only the ones that fly in because someone's left the door open. I've never had the same luck with the "bombs".
Time to exterminate!
Call a professional! Unless your kids lick the baseboards right after they spray, everyone will be fine and you will hopefully put a huge dent in your spider population.
When I moved to San Bernardino Co from LA Co I was shocked at the amount of bugs out here. We learned when we first got the house we have to exterminate regularly. We get the inside of the house done maybe 3 times a year, and the outside anywhere from 4-6.
We don't even bother with bug bombs anymore, they are a short term solution for us. The professional service we used sprayed the inside of the house with spray that is not harmful to children or pets after it dries, and my toddler has never had any problems after they spray. I would try calling around and see what the professionals offer regarding the type of chemicals they have.
Good Luck. =)
[Note to self----never ever ever ever move to where Robyn M lives.... Shudder!!] (just kidding, sort of!)
I hate all the chemicals, but for this, I would pay the money, and gladly, because I would be so freaked out & worried about them.... I wish you luck dealing with that horror!!!
