Effective Spider Control: Strategies For A Web-Free Home In The Bay Area

When you notice a problem at work, with a project, or around the house, you know you need a strategy to fix it. You must work through a task list to ensure you address all facets of the situation to get the desired outcome. 

If you wake up one morning and walk into a newly-created spider web, notice numerous webbing on window and door frames, or witness spiders running across the floor or along baseboards, you know you need a spider removal plan. 

The first part of your plan must be to secure spider control near you from Bay Pest. After 35 years of working in pest control, our founder launched Bay Pest in 1979. Over the last 40-plus years, we have earned an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau and gained a reputation for putting our customers first. Unlike other pest control companies that only offer estimates over the phone, we will inspect your home to provide an accurate estimate of our guaranteed services. We not only offer general pest control, but we also offer specialized services, like spider control in the Bay Area. 

We know you found this article searching for answers, so please keep reading to learn about spiders and what you can do to end spider infestations on your property.

The Role of Spiders In The Ecosystem: Benefits And Drawbacks

Spiders are more than a feature in a haunted house. These arachnids do not exist as a prop for horror movies but play a necessary part in the ecosystem. What is the ecosystem? It is a word that describes the interconnection between organisms and their environment. Spiders share in this union with their physical environment in two ways: prey and predator. 

Most of us think spiders are predators because we see insects caught in their webs. Of course, scary movies take the predator function to extremes by portraying spiders as overgrown hairy beasts chasing people; however, their role as hunters maintains the pest population and reduces crop damage. 

Spiders control the pest population by hunting insects, small animals, and, in some cases, other spiders. Spiders are arachnids, and unlike insects, they possess spinnerets that enable them to create silky webs. Most people are familiar with the large, circular webs of orb weaver spiders in gardens, tall grasses, and forests. When these spiders invade a house, you will notice the sticky snares between posts on the porch and the upper corners. Another spider species, the house spider, also creates webs to capture prey; however, they are not as large or pretty as orb weaver spiders. These species build webs in areas with active air currents because light attracts insects, so they often construct their webs near lights or windows. 

While many insects fly, others do not, but that does not mean they are not prey for spiders. Some spiders (e.g., wolf and jumping) do not create webs; they chase and overpower their prey. Other spiders (e.g., black widow spiders) capture prey in messy, irregular snares built on the ground level. 

Did you know the most dangerous animal on earth is the mosquito? In addition to other diseases, these flying insects can spread the West Nile virus to humans. Fortunately, spiders eat mosquitoes, thus reducing their population and chances of transmitting the West Nile virus and other diseases. Spiders also mitigate crop damage by eating beetles, grasshoppers, and caterpillar populations. 

Another benefit of spiders in the Bay Area is they are accidental pollinators. Spiders often chase their prey amongst flowering plants, and as they move through the flowers, they transfer pollen grains from one plant to another. 

Spiders are predators but also prey for other animals in the ecosystem. For example, many bird species (e.g., blackbirds, bluebirds, and crows) and bats eat spiders and their offspring. Although spiders eat insects, one insect, the wasp, gets revenge on spiders. When a spider captures a wasp, the wasp temporarily paralyzes the spider and embeds an egg on its back. Although the wasp eventually dies in the spider's web, its implanted egg lives. When the larva emerges from the egg, it feeds on the spider's body fluid until it matures. When it is strong, the maturing wasp injects its spider host with venom. The toxin causes the spider to spin a twisted web that it then uses as a cocoon while it continues developing. Once the cocoon is complete, the wasp kills the spider. 

There are a few drawbacks of spiders in the ecosystem. For many, the main problem is the unsettling feeling of walking into a spider web while walking through the yard or working in the garden. Some spiders (e.g., the yellow garden spider) lay eggs on plants or wrap them with their webs, hindering their growth and production. 

While spiders benefit the ecosystem outside our homes, they are a problem when they invade our Bay Area homes. The best way to control California spiders around your house so they don't enter your home is to use Bay Pest. Our service technicians will deweb your home and create a barrier around your home to deter spiders from being a problem. 

Spider Bite Symptoms: Warning Signs To Watch For

Despite their portrayal in horror movies, spiders are not aggressive towards humans. Spiders will usually run from a human unless they are guarding their eggs or must act in self-defense. Spider bites occur when someone squeezes them as they put on a piece of clothing where a spider is hiding or an individual reaches into a dark corner where a spider has its nest full of eggs.  

Most spider bites cause temporary pain akin to a bee sting. For example, wolf spiders are among the most common species in the Bay Area. These spiders rarely bite, but if they do, the wound may temporarily swell and become red, but the symptoms subside in about 24 hours. The same reaction may occur when house spiders, another common spider in our area, bite. Although rare, fever, nausea, and other flu-like symptoms may occur— especially in individuals with allergy sensitivities. 

Fortunately for Californians, we have only one venomous spider that can cause serious problems. Unlike other states that battle brown recluse spiders and black widows, we only have to concern ourselves with black widow spiders. Black widows have a 1 1/2 to 1 3/8-inch black body with two reddish-orange triangle patterns on the bottom of their abdomens. The triangles merge to form the characteristic "hourglass," which identifies this species. 

Despite what their name suggests, a bite from a black widow is rarely, if ever, fatal for humans. These spiders are so-called because the females are known to occasionally, but not always, eat the males after mating. Black widows live on the ground level in dark, secluded areas and hang upside down in their web while waiting for prey. They try to avoid humans but will bite in self-defense if pressed into a corner or when they have egg sacs in their silky snares.

If a black widow bites, the pain is immediately felt, increases over the next three hours, and the wound site remains sore for up to three days. In addition to the initial discomfort, some people experience increased blood pressure, fever, sweating, and nausea from the toxin. Although fatalities are rare, seek immediate medical attention to avoid further complications. 

Bay Pest protects your family from potentially serious bites by eliminating venomous spiders in California inside your home. 

Preventing Spiders In Your Home: Tips And Tricks

You want to avoid a repeat infestation once a service technician from Bay Pest removes spiders from your home. To maximize the protection we provide, we recommend implementing these suggestions to prevent spiders in your home:

• Replace outdoor lights with bug or LED lights.
• Minimize outdoor lighting use at night.
• Remove debris, junk, and overgrown vegetation from the lawn.
• Relocate firewood 20 feet from the home and elevate it.
• Prune tree branches and shrubs away from the house.
• Deweb the exterior of the house.
• Seal foundation and roofline cracks to prevent entry.
• Repair leaking plumbing fixtures.
• Eliminate any unused cardboard boxes and debris in the garage.
• Install door sweeps under the exterior doors.
• Repair holes in window and door screens.

Remember, insects are prey for spiders, so when you eliminate insect attractants from your property, you deter spiders from following insects into your Bay Area home. 

When a Bay Pest service technician inspects your home for California common house spiders, we can provide additional suggestions for your situation. 

Professional Spider Control: Expert Solutions For A Web-Free Home

When you contact us for Bay Area spider control, we send a trained service technician to inspect your home. During the investigation, we will work to identify entry points, attractants, spider hot spots, and the spider species invading your house. Upon gathering the data, we will create a strategic plan that targets the offending spider species. 

Our spider removal process involves dewebbing the exterior and creating a barrier around the house. The treatment products not only eliminate the spider population but are also effective against insects that attract spiders to your home. When you utilize a reoccurring spider control plan, we keep the barrier around your house strong, which ensures a spider-free living environment inside your home. 

Contact Bay Pest today to learn more about our spider control services and to schedule your free, no-obligation inspection.