In recent years spider infestations have become a major problem for Texas homeowners. While generally beneficial to your property by keeping the population of other bugs in check, spiders multiply fast, and the only house that looks good covered in spider webs and crawling with eight-legged creepy crawlers belongs to the Adams family.
Dozens of families every year have to upend their lives in an attempt to rid their Conroe houses of spiders. Let's take a look at what spiders you might see in Texas, which spiders are aggressive, which spiders are poisonous and which spiders are non-poisonous.
Once you're a bit more familiar with the habits of our eight-legged invaders, we'll look into how to keep spiders out of your house and, if prevention fails, how to find top-notch pest control in Conroe.
The Two Types Of Dangerous Spiders Found In Conroe
Texas, with its extensive ecosystem, hosts hundreds of species of spiders, but out of all of them, only two that you may encounter are medically dangerous; the black widow and the brown recluse.
Black widows grow up to 1 3/8 inches long and have shiny black bodies and a telltale red hourglass mark on the underside of their abdomen. Black widows get their name from those species that eat the males after mating, though not all species of black widows engage in this.
Black widow spiders spin irregular webs usually placed low in the corner between the floor and wall. They don't use their webs to capture prey but as a retreat when threatened and can usually be found hanging upside down in the middle of them.
If you're bit by a black widow spider, you'll likely experience nausea, muscle cramping, difficulty breathing, elevated heart rate, and a rise in blood pressure. While black widow bites are dangerous and their bites painful, the bites do not usually end in death or severe injury.
Brown recluse spiders are smaller than black widows, usually growing to 1/2 an inch in size. They're light to medium brown, with a characteristic darker violin-shaped mark. In Texas, they're most likely to be found in out-of-the-way areas such as basements, attics, and closets.
When biting down, the brown recluse injects a dangerous neurotoxin that kills the tissue in the area around the bite resulting in an ulcerating sore that takes a very long time to heal and leaves a lot of scar tissue.
In general, a brown recluse is not aggressive but will bite if threatened or cornered. The poison it injects is multiple times stronger than that of a rattlesnake, but thankfully due to the spider's size, only a small amount gets injected.
Both brown recluse and black widow spiders are relatively rare, but if you suspect you've been bit, it's best to seek medical attention immediately. Bring the spider with you, if possible, to accurately identify it for proper treatment.
How Spiders In The House Could Mean A Bigger Problem
Most pests are attracted to your house for food and shelter. Spiders in Conroe are not interested in the food stored in your home and are well adapted to surviving outdoors. If you're seeing spiders establishing themselves in your house, it means their food source is there. Since spiders subside on insects and other spiders, it's a good idea to start looking for signs of a bug infestation the spiders are dining on.
What Attracts Spiders To Come Inside Homes?
Spiders will not bother trying to establish themselves in your house if their food is not easily available, or it'll take too much effort to get in and thrive.
Following these simple tips will make your house unattractive to spiders:
- Get rid of clutter and cut down the vegetation around the outside walls of your home.
- Seal cracks and gaps in outside walls and the foundation.
- Make sure window screens are in good shape.
- Take care of any possible bug control issues in the house to avoid attracting spiders.
If your house is infested with spiders, regardless of your prevention efforts, it's time to get a Conroe spider control professional involved!
The Most Effective Spider Control For Conroe Homes
A pest control professional can determine the spider species you're dealing with by their webs and other signs they leave behind, then clear them out of your house, and destroy the eggs left behind to prevent a reinfestation.
Call Chase Pest & Termite Control today if you see signs of a spider infestation and to learn more about our residential and commercial pest control services in Conroe.