Spiders are just like people; they just want food, water, and shelter. When they’re in the great outdoors, that’s just fine. However, when they come into your home for their food, water, and shelter, that becomes problematic. That’s when you need to call a professional Los Angeles pest control company like Kat’s Pest Solutions.
Characteristics Of A Spider
There are many different kinds of spiders in the Los Angeles area. However, we’re going to focus on just three: the ones that are medically relevant to humans. That is, the ones whose bites are venomous and can cause physical harm to people.
The three most dangerous spiders in California are the yellow sac spider, the brown widow spider, and the black widow spider. Some common characteristics of these spiders include:
- Eight legs
- Eight eyes arranged in rows
- Two main body parts — the thorax and abdomen
- Two pincer-like venomous “fangs”
- Three pairs of spinnerets
- Spun webs that catch their prey
The black widow spider is shiny and black, with a red hourglass shape on its belly. When it extends its legs, it’s roughly the size of a quarter. It prefers living an undisturbed life, staying away from people. However, if it feels trapped or threatened, especially if it’s just laid eggs in its characteristic egg sac, it will bite.
The black widow spider’s venom can cause fever, increased blood pressure, nausea, pain, and sweating. If you don’t seek immediate medical attention, these symptoms will only worsen. Black widow spider bites can be fatal if you aren’t properly treated for them.
The brown widow is a less-splashy cousin of the black widow. It has a brown body with an orange or red hourglass on its belly. It’s also roughly the size of a quarter with its legs stretched out. Like its darker-colored relatives, it prefers solitude and isn’t aggressive unless it feels threatened.
The brown widow spider’s venom is stronger than the black widow spider’s, but brown widows inject less venom than black widows do. When a brown widow spider bites you, it can cause nausea, muscle rigidity, pain, sweating, and vomiting.
The yellow sac spider is less well-known than the widow spiders, but it’s far more common. It’s yellow to tan, with darker feet and fangs. With its legs outstretched, it’s also roughly the size of a quarter. Its front two legs are much longer than the rest of them. The vast majority of spider bites in the U.S. are from yellow sac spiders. Their venom can cause itchiness, pain, redness, and swelling. Occasionally it will also cause skin lesions to form, where your skin dies in a patch around the spot where you were bitten.
Because these three species are so dangerous, you need to contact Kat’s Pest Solutions if you think you have them living in your home with you.
Spiders Often Follow Pest Prey Into The Home
Spiders go where their food is, which means they’re following insects or other spiders. If you have an infestation of spiders, it’s a safe bet that you have an infestation of something else, as well. Spiders love ants, beetles, cockroaches, flies, and moths.
To know how to get rid of spiders, you first have to ask yourself how to get rid of the insects in your house. Otherwise, the spiders will just come back. However, if you partner with Kat’s Pest Solutions, you can eliminate both populations at once. One of our pest wranglers will come to your house, thoroughly inspect it, and give you our findings, including Integrated Pest Management techniques to prevent more pests from getting into your home.
Prevention Is Key To Effective Spider Control
The best method of getting rid of spiders is knowing how to prevent spiders in the first place. Here are some tips:
- Ensure that your home is clean. Vacuum and dust regularly and get rid of excess clutter, especially in basements and other storage areas you don’t access frequently.
- Keep your yard maintained. Short grass and trimmed-back shrubs, bushes, and hedges provide fewer places for spiders to hide.
- Make sure the screens in your windows and doors are intact.
- Use caulk to seal any cracks or crevices in your foundation, around windows, and around doors. You can also use it on gaps around your roof line, soffits, and eaves.
- Seal the rest of your house using vent covers, chimney caps, and door sweeps.
- Swap out your regular white light bulbs outside for yellow or LED bulbs. White light bulbs attract more insects, thus attracting more spiders, to your home.
The most effective form of spider prevention is to partner with Kat’s Pest Solutions for reliable home pest control to exclude insects and spiders from your home.
The Most Effective Spider Control With Professional Pest Control
If you need to know how to get rid of spiders in your house, the answer is simple. Contact Kat’s Pest Solutions and ask for one of our pest wranglers to come to your home for a free consultation. We’re a local, woman-owned, family-owned and operated company, and we believe that there’s no pest too big and no job too small. We control it all. Reach out today to schedule your consultation.