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Some thoughts on spiders . . .

Started 1 year ago by DP
Latest reply from Tish

DP
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(Ahem . . .)

Argh! Spiders!

Um. What I really mean to say is . . .

Argh!! Spiders!!

Oh. Heh heh.

Did I say that already?

Well how about this . . .

Spiders !!!! Argh !!!!

Posted 1 year ago #
velo_nut
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I'll take spiders any day over these damn Odorous Ants!!!

Posted 1 year ago #
hopey
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A couple years ago I researched online how to keep spiders away. It turns out that spiders "taste" through their feet. Spiders also really do not like the taste of Pledge lemon furniture polish. If you are having trouble with spiders in doorways, try spraying or wiping Pledge furniture polish on the door jambs. The spiders will stay away. It worked for me!

I've also been successful "relocating" spiders that persist in building webs across walkways between bushes or whatever. Use a stick to collect them and their web, and then put the stick in/near a different part of the yard, and they'll build there instead.

Posted 1 year ago #
SarahScoot
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Weird timing (or completely appropriate timing, maybe): in the past week, I have come across three house spiders in my condo. I've lived here since January and previously never saw a spider; must be that time of year.
Also, house spiders - even the giant variety - are harmless unless threatened, at which point they may bite. They *do* eat harmful bugs and even some harmful spiders. If you can live with them, great, it's good for your home.
Don't kid yourself by thinking that throwing a house spider outside instead of killing it is humane; house spiders do not live outdoors, and will usually die anyway. If you really can't live with house spiders, just kill them (or rehome with someone who likes spiders? :-) ). I'll admit that I'm uneasy with spiders in my home, especially since I don't have other bugs, so I either capture and set free in the building hallway, or kill (and then feel guilty, of course!).

Posted 1 year ago #
SarahScoot
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Regarding Hopey's post: essential oils work great for this purpose. Citrus, cinnamon, and peppermint all work great, smell great, and are non-toxic.

Posted 1 year ago #
hopey
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Cool, I thought it was something specific to the furniture polish. I wonder if the citrus-oil-based room freshener spray would work just as well, then.

Posted 1 year ago #
JoB
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so how do i keep them out of my tub?
for the past week there have been spiders in my tub every morning...
and yes.. i am absolutely sure they aren't the same spider coming back...

Posted 1 year ago #
JanS
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maybe they're coming up the drain? close it overnite? wild guess on my part :)

Posted 1 year ago #
anonyme
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The spider that most people find in their homes or trapped in their bathtubs at this time of year is Tegenaria gigantea. This is mating season, and a significant number of the specimens found will be males in search of females. They're in your house all the time, but keep to themselves the rest of the year. While tossing them outside is not the best thing you can do, I think it's preferable to killing them.

These spiders do NOT come up through the drains. Tegenaria, unlike some other species, are unable to climb up the smooth enamel surface of the tub. They wander (or fall) in and then can't climb back out.

Posted 1 year ago #
hammerhead
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God does everyone want to kill everything if it bothers them. I do my best not kill them, I just put them outside. When I clean my clients house I do that too. It is kinda funny actually.

They do much more good than harm.

Posted 1 year ago #
Gina
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Spiders make wonderful cat toys.

Posted 1 year ago #
JayDee
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In my house, there is a simple rule for spider longevity: Do not be seen. Otherwise I don't actively hunt them out (the garage is a different story). The world's species diversity will not suffer from my small amount of attrition.

Posted 1 year ago #
JoB
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When clothed.. i relocate them.
but don't generally bathe in my clothes so if they jump at me... they get smacked..

Posted 1 year ago #
KBear
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"I do my best not kill them, I just put them outside."

Don't bother. As Sarah pointed out, house spiders can't live outside, so if you do put them outside, you ARE killing them.

Posted 1 year ago #
AlkiCabCompany
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maybe if you put them outside they will find their way to another house to go into. It's worth a try. Or maybe they can come back in my house..and just hide from me better next time.

Posted 1 year ago #
Lucian
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Strange but relevant video:

http://wimp.com/whatthe

Posted 1 year ago #
jwws
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My garden is full of the critters. Their webs look beautiful first thing in the morning after the irrigation has watered them - not so much when I walk into them and invariably get spider web in my face or spider in my hair! My lab loves to eat them while my golden just plays with them.

Posted 1 year ago #
hollyplace
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Spiders on Drugs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHzdsFiBbFc

Posted 1 year ago #
datamuse
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I just saw Tegenaria at my work. That's a first. He'll be lucky if the janitor doesn't mop him up the next time she comes through...

Posted 1 year ago #
Jasperblu
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For those who are adverse to "relocating" spiders outside, or to flushing them down the toilet (as I'm usually wont to do)... just GOOGLE the following:

tegenaria gigantea bite

I have a 4 year old in the house. I'm NOT interested in any kind of spider bites. Regardless of the species or how nice they are to keep other bugs in my house under control. If I see them, they need to go.

Posted 1 year ago #
Jasperblu
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Also very interesting (re: "Hobo" Spiders, aka tengenaria agrestis spiders)... scroll down about 1/2 way on this page link:

http://www.bulkmsm.com/research/spider/Australia/page7.htm

[snip]
Necrotic Arachnidism -- Pacific Northwest, 1988-1996

Although spider bites are common in many parts of the United States, most domestic spiders are not substantially venomous to man. The best known exceptions are widow spiders (Latrodectus spp., including the black widow L. mactans) and brown spiders (Loxesceles spp., particularly the brown recluse, Lox. reclusa). However, cases of arachnid envenomation from the hobo spider (Tegenaria agrestis) are being reported increasingly in the Pacific Northwest. This report summarizes investigations of three cases of T. agrestis bites among persons in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington; spider bites reported to U.S. poison-control centers during 1994; and emphasizes the need for physicians in the northwestern United States to consider this species as a cause of toxic arachnidism.

[end snip]

EEEEEK. Now I think they really need to go bye bye. Let the birds have them for dinner. Thanks very much.

Posted 1 year ago #
anonyme
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There is (and has been for quite some time) considerable debate over envenomation by Tegenaria agrestis. BTW, if you're reading something that refers to hobo spiders as the "aggressive" house spider, you can be fairly certain that the author does not know what they're talking about. The root of the word refers to agriculture, not aggression. Hobo spiders were once a species found only in the countryside, but are gradually becoming urbanized. Even so, there is no hard evidence indicating that this is a species of concern. There is plenty of unwarranted hysteria surrounding spiders without adding to the mythology. Anyone interested should check out Rod Crawford's website on spider myths.

I have handled many thousands of spiders (used to raise them, including tarantulas & black widows) and have been bitten only once - while pulling weeds. Most house spiders are never even seen until mating season, but trust me - you'd miss them if they were gone. You have no idea how many thousands of biting,annoying,food invading,clothing/carpet/fabric-destroying bugs they save you from all year long.

Posted 1 year ago #
KBear
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"just GOOGLE the following:
tegenaria gigantea bite"

I did. It said they pose no threat to humans. You are confusing the giant house spider (tegenaria gigantea) with the hobo spider (tegenaria agrestis). And according to the article below (as well as the one you posted), having the giant house spiders around prevents the hobo spiders from becoming established. SO, YOU WANT HOBO SPIDERS? You can make room for them by killing off your giant house spiders!

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2012744868_spidey28m.html

Posted 1 year ago #
DM
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Tis the season for a neighborhood wide game of "Spider Identification Bingo"!

Posted 1 year ago #
Jasperblu
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Sorry for the erroneous post regarding spider bites... also, I come from the desert southwest originally, where we DO have venomous spiders.

I don't really want any spiders in the house. And like I said, if I don't see them, I don't care. Once I see them, they go into the toilet or outside. The end. Regardless of their species. I am not afraid of them, so I suppose that's half the battle. But I don't like being bitten (have been), and don't plan to make it easier for them to do so by just letting them take over my house.

Thanks for the correct info re: the giant house spiders vs. Hobo spiders.

Posted 1 year ago #
EmmyJane
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I come from an area with TONS of hobos and those are the most terrifying spiders ever. They will actually run AT you, and move very quickly. The only good news about them is that they don't climb so well.

Does anyone have advice about spider-proofing a house? I know you can't get there completely, but what are some of the sneaky ways they get in? We have tons in our house and I want to stop their migration inward. :-)

Posted 1 year ago #
anonyme
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EmmyJane: it would be difficult (more like impossible) to identify a hobo spider without doing a microscopic identification of the genitalia. And the idea that spiders "run at you" is another total MYTH. Well, with the possible exceptions of one South American and one Australian species...but not a concern of ours in the PNW. For the most part spiders are oblivious to our existence, except for a change in light or vibration in the general area. You cannot spider-proof a house, nor is there any such thing as a "migration inward". The Seattle Times had an article on spiders this past weekend that answers many of these questions.

Sorry EmmyJ, I'm not trying to bust your chops, it's just that spiders were my field of study for many years & I kinda know what I'm talking about. I'm sure that if this thread persists, every urban myth and fear in regard to spiders will surface -- and there are plenty of them.

BTW, the staple of most spiders diets are other spiders.

Posted 1 year ago #
datamuse
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I leave the spiders alone, they leave me alone. Win win.

My cat doesn't bother with them anymore, either. He's so old that he'll watch them but he isn't interested in playing with them.

Posted 1 year ago #
AlkiCabCompany
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or we can make it a drinking game, DM. Every time you see a tegenaria gigantea take a drink. Every time you see a tegenaria agrestis take two drinks. Every time you see a black widow drink the whole bottle.

Posted 1 year ago #
EmmyJane
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Anonyme- OH SNAP! While I appreciate that spiders were your field of study, and this technically may make you an expert, I think that my 27 years of fearing spiders far surpases your expertise. Plus, I find myself often closely examining the epigyum and palps (thank you wikipedia) of spiders to positively identify them, thank you.

I wasn't referring to the PNW- I was referring to Pocatello, Idaho where I grew up (do you know if they have the South American and Australian species there?) I once heard there was the largest concentration of hobo spiders ANYWHERE between there and another nearby town and ever since I've been repeating this fact. I've said it enough times that I insist it must be true, but I can't find a concentration map using google so I can't back it up with facts, which are pretty much useless anyways.

No but seriously, thanks for the info and I don't mind if you bust my spider myths (although very bold with the Rottweiler avitar, very bold...) I'm well aware I'm not going to spider proof my house, but if you could direct your expertise in my direction to give me some tips I'd appreciate it. :-)

Posted 1 year ago #
EmmyJane
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PS- What do you mean "there's no such thing as a migration inward"?

Posted 1 year ago #
datamuse
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@Alki: hah, I participated in the drinking game without realizing it! There was a big ol' Tegenaria on the wall of my office this evening, and now I'm having whiskey!

(I was practicing my fiddle. He didn't move the entire time. Perhaps he enjoyed the music.)

Posted 1 year ago #
westseattledood
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What about diatomaceous earth? It slices up the outer shell (exoskeleton?) of creepers and crawlers. Sprinkled into cracks and crevices, in dark corners, etc., (where they are travelling laterally, even horizontally and vertically, but never migrating inward;)) it seems to work really well in my garage and basement knee walls, but you wouldn't want the stuff where it will blow around too much. That's probably not a great idea for any mammalian lungs.

Unless maybe if it is food grade diatomaceous earth. That's a safe option for nearby two and four-legged creatures, but might be just the ticket to take out the six or eight-legged ones.

Sorry to bring mammals into this fine debate.

Or would Boric acid powder work? Dessicates fleas, eventually, without harm to humans or pets.So maybe, spiders? Dunno. If your seriously upset by these critters, check out it out.

Posted 1 year ago #
DP
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Posted 1 year ago #
WSB
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velo_nut ... me too.

After dealing with a couple years of odorous house ants, I would take almost any pest over them. The raccoons in the attic could come down into the living room and hang out if that's what it took to banish the ants. And spiders? They eat bugs. They're welcome to hang out any time.

Posted 1 year ago #
grr
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Simple:

Spider outside: good.
Spider Inside: squished

-

Posted 1 year ago #
grr
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WSB..come on by and see what damage a raccoon can do to your dog/wallet. You'll rethink having them in your living room, or anywhere else near your home.

Posted 1 year ago #
anonyme
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EJ: What I mean by "no migration inward" is that there are indoor and outdoor spiders. What seems to be a migration at this time of year is due to spiders maturing and looking for mates. Nothing to do with weather, or winter coming. The spiders (Tegenaria mostly) were in your house all along, but they're shy. They hang out mostly in crawl spaces and walls, garages, etc. I'll admit they present a pretty dramatic presence, but they are harmless.

Another harmless species you will see in the corners of your ceiling all year long is the genus Pholcus. They are thin and spindly; some people refer to them as "daddy longlegs" but they are not. They disappear in the daytime. I usually leave them alone unless they happen to dangle above my bed. They're hard workers...

DP: Did your map by any chance come from a website warning about "aggressive house spiders"?

Posted 1 year ago #
EmmyJane
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Ah, thanks for the info Anonyme. I was convinced that they were crawling in through every small hole in the house. You can just call me the spreader of the myths.

Posted 1 year ago #
anonyme
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EJ, I think I should confess that my interest in spiders arose out of a severe case of arachnophobia. One reason I'm so familiar with the myths is that they used to come from my own mouth...

I'm not saying that you will never have accidental wanderers in your house. My cat usually gets to them first unfortunately, but otherwise I just put them back out.

Posted 1 year ago #
Sue
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The spiderwebs outside are driving me crazy this summer. I've never seen anything like it. When I leave the house for work, I must look like one of those crazy homeless people, waving their arms and talking to nobody - because I'm sick and tired of walking face-first into the webs I cannot see unless the light hits them *just right* (which it doesn't usually).

Posted 1 year ago #
datamuse
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I came home one day to a spiderweb spun right across my front door.

I could only think that the spider that made it was awfully optimistic.

Posted 1 year ago #
anonyme
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Datamuse, have you ever seen the Gary Larson cartoon where the spiders have made a web across the bottom of the playground slide? "If we pull this off, we'll eat like kings!" Hilarious.

Posted 1 year ago #
datamuse
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anonyme, yes I have, and I thought of it as I was removing the web! (I love spiders, but it was blocking my door...)

Posted 1 year ago #
hollyplace
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Sue- you made me laugh and feel a little better about walking through the back yard on the way to the recycling bin swinging my "sword" - an outdoor broom.

Posted 1 year ago #
JoB
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i was bitten by a hobo in my early 20s.
the resulting inflammation didn't heal for 3 years.
for a decade or two after that the bite shed dead skin continuously.
40 years later i just have a scar.

You may think it's no big deal..
but i beg to differ.

not my idea of a cuddly house pet:(

Posted 1 year ago #
SarahScoot
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JoB, no one's saying *hobo* spiders aren't something to worry about. Giant house spiders eat hobo spiders, though, so it's in your best interest to not kill them. (That said, I understand they're still terrifying to me when they run across the floor!)
What you're saying is like stating you were bit by a rattlesnake once, so now you kill all garter snakes; one does not equal the other.

Posted 1 year ago #
anonyme
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JoB, where did this bite take place? Geographically, that is. Unless you actually see the spider bite you, and then take the specimen to a lab for identification, there is no way to be sure of the species. A species of spider cannot be identified by a physician who merely examines the wound - even in the unlikely event that the physician also happens to be an arachnologist. "Hobo" spiders were not widely known as such 40 years ago.

I suffered a very serious spider bite 5 years ago which turned into a staph infection that landed me in the hospital. I was wary of spiders for awhile, but I'm over it. If I were to kill everything that resembled something that had harmed me, there would be quite a few less humans around.

Posted 1 year ago #
JoB
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anonyme..

i was bitten in philomath, oregon in a house that was infested with what were locally believed to be brown recluse but were later identified as hobos.

friends at Oregon State who live spiders identified them.

If spiders don't insist on being seen..
i don't kill them.

sarahscot...

when i was a kid i lived on an Indian Reservation. We owned the country store in a little place called Thornhollow with a huge truck parking lot outside. One of the "games" played by some of the local indians was to toss rattlesnakes hook to hook in the lot in front of the store.

One day as i emerged from the store one of them threw a snake and wrapped it around my waist. I froze while it slowly fell off.

Yes.. it was a rattler.. a very dead rattler.. but I wasn't yet a teenager at the time and when you added that to the water moccasins we were playing with in our local swimming hole till they bit someone... i have been just a little freaked by snakes since then.

luckily.. they they haven't showed up in my bathtub.. yet... though they did like the patio outside of phoenix.

There were scorpions ... and a new nest of cockroaches in the shower curtain once... both in Phoenix... and spiders..

but no snakes :)

Posted 1 year ago #
anonyme
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JoB: Thanks, good information. Philomath seems like a perfect locale for hobos, although spider "infestations" are a concept invented by exterminators. Virtually all spiders are cannibalistic, which is why baby spiders lose no time in leaving home as soon as they're able. Any concentration of spiders in a given area will quickly balance itself out. I guess I have an affinity for traditionally maligned creatures, as I've kept every critter you mentioned as a pet.

EJ, I don't know of any surefire way to keep spiders out, except for the obvious: tight-fitting screens, etc. I once heard that rubbing alcohol wiped around entry points would deter them, but I highly doubt it. When I worked in a museum lab with an arachnologist, we put some of that sticky tape across the doorway. Sure enough, there was a tarantula stuck to it one morning. Trouble is, once the spider is stuck it's pretty much dead.

Posted 1 year ago #

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