black widow spider

As Richmond homeowners, we take a lot of pride in where we live. When we get around people from other towns, they quickly realize that we probably show a little too much pride in where we come from. Maybe that’s why we put so much time and effort into our home and properties. But taking pride in your house means keeping pests out, which is a real task in our neck of the woods. The more effectively you can control the pests in your Richmond home, the more you might realize that it will help with your spider issues as well.

The Spiders Of Richmond

There are a variety of spiders that invade Virginia homes. They range in size and color, from the small brown, hairy wolf spider to the large, intimidating, yellow grass spider. However, for the most part, spiders aren’t really a threat to adults, children, or pets. Other than making their webs in the most unsightly and inconvenient places in your house, most spiders don’t pose a threat. In fact, many people enjoy having spiders on their property as they are a natural form of pest control, as the primary food of spiders is other insects.

Two kinds of spiders that you definitely don’t want on your property, however, are black widows and brown recluse spiders. The black widow is famous for its bulbous black body with the dark red hourglass shape on its abdomen, and their bite almost always requires medical attention to avoid damage to the victim’s nervous system. A brown recluse spider will have skinny legs that are nearly see-through and a dark violin shape on its back. They are commonly confused with wolf spiders, but they are not nearly as hairy. A brown recluse bite also requires medical attention to avoid severe skin damage.

Prevention Techniques For Spider Control

The best way to limit a spider’s desire to invade your home is to simply limit its food supply. This means general pest control practices:

Get rid of the food or store it properly and promptly. If pests can get into your food stores, they’ll find any way possible to stay in your house for a long time. You should also do the dishes regularly. Dishes piling up in the sink will attract bugs quickly.
Keep your home free of clutter. Open areas in which pests feel exposed make them very uncomfortable, but clutter provides enough cover for them to move around. A clutter-free room will be a pest-free room.
Sweep away webs quickly. This practice will limit the number of pests that get caught up in the webs, and it will frustrate spiders, encouraging them to move to another property.
Control moisture issues. By limiting humidity in the crawlspaces and checking for leaking pipes, you can keep the environment dry, which is a pest deterrent. You should also limit standing water out in the yard in birdbaths or flower-pots.

If spiders do want to get into your house, they have to find a way in. You can limit these entry points by carefully monitoring all potential areas that spiders may find. This includes under doors, which need to have weather-stripping, and around windows, which should be caulked securely. You’ll also want to keep an eye on your screens. Any screened-in porch areas or screen doors need to be properly monitored for larger-than-intended holes.

Where To Go For Help With Spider Control For Your Richmond Home

While these help technique, do-it-yourself pest control never comes with any sort of guarantee. If you want results you can trust, contact the friendly, knowledgeable pest professionals at Pestmaster® Services for more advice or assistance. They can institute prevention and control plans for your property and provide excellent customer service. Call the Pros at Pestmaster® Services today and chase the spiders away!