The ABCs Of Spider Prevention: How To Keep Your Conroe Home Arachnid-Free

It is no fun finding a spider in your home. When a spider zips across your floor or races up a wall, you have questions—lots of questions. We hope to answer some of those questions today. We'll tell you how spiders behave, why they enter homes, and how to keep them out. We'll also discuss how to avoid spider bites, how to treat a spider bite, and a few reasons why spiders are unlikely to bite you. To add to your peace of mind, we'll share with you the methods professionals like those here at Modern Pest Control use to get rid of spiders and help you maintain an arachnid-free home.

Conroe is home to many types of spiders. We're not going to cover them all, but you'll have what you need to deal with any spider that gets into your house. If you need spider removal for your Conroe home now, let us know. Your Modern Pest Control team has the experience and training to deliver impeccable services. Connect with us at any time to request a service visit.

The Anatomy of A Spider: Understanding Their Physical Characteristics

There are a few reasons why you don't want spiders in your home. All spiders have venom—not just highly venomous spiders. All spiders have fangs, and all of them are born predators. But, you may find some comfort in knowing that most spiders have venom that isn't harmful to humans, and while all spiders have fangs, some have fangs that are too weak to break through human skin. Unfortunately, this is where the good news stops. Spiders enter your house for a reason. Let's examine their characteristics and learn why they end up in homes.

Hairs: Spiders use their hairs to sense things like air currents. If cool air leaks out of your home, a spider will find it and follow it into your house. They also use their hairs to scale surfaces. High-powered electron microscopes reveal tiny hairs called "setules" mixed in with the hair on a spider's feet. A spider can use its setules to grip surfaces with a force greater than 170 times its weight. That is why they can get to high entry points on your exterior.

Eyes: Some spiders have good eyesight. They use their eyes to track prey and to find cracks and holes to explore. When a spider happens upon your foundation, it will hide in the gaps like it would the cracks in a rock. When it climbs your exterior, it will enter holes in wood just as it would a tree cavity.

Fangs: Spiders are hunters. They use their fangs to catch bugs. If you have bugs around your yard, you'll have spiders. If bugs infest your home, spiders will follow them indoors as well. Spiders go where they can find food, namely the insects they prey on.

Spinnerets: Spiders use their spinnerets to make webs for several reasons, the first of which is to catch prey. A well-crafted spider web can snag a variety of flying and crawling insects. Some spiders spin webs to protect the holes they'll use as a retreat. Spiders also use their webs to hold egg sacs, which can contain hundreds of eggs.

Spiders can easily enter your home and may remain permanently if they find a steady food source. While they live in your house, they'll create webs in various places. These webs are not only an eyesore but also a breeding ground for new spiders. So, sealing your exterior won't stop a current spider problem. You have to deal with the spiders that are in your house.

When spiders crawl around in your home, there is a chance that they can bite you. It depends on the spider. It also depends on certain factors. Let's take a look atspiders and spider bites and quickly cover what you can do about each.

Symptoms Of Spider Bites: What To Expect And How To Treat

Before we discuss the symptoms and treatment, it is important to understand the factors that can lead to a spider bite. You may not know this, but spiders aren't looking to bite you. They don't consider you prey. When a spider bites, it does so by accident.

Why Spiders Bite:

If you touch a web, it sends a signal to the spider that made it. Certain spiders will respond by crawling down the web and biting you.
Some spiders crawl around your home searching for food. They'll look in dark holes to find their prey. That can lead them to crawl inside your footwear. Always shake your shoes and boots before wearing them.
Spiders scale surfaces as they search for prey. Spiders may crawl into your bed with you if you have a bedspread that touches the floor. When this happens, you could get bitten when you move during your sleep.
Spiders repel on their silk threads. If you have a bed that is under a ceiling vent, a spider may accidentally repel onto your bed from above.

Symptoms Of A Spider Bite:

Some spiders can't bite you. It is important to point this out first.
Most spiders can bite, but they have weak venom. The result of most spider bites is an itchy red welt.
Highly venomous spiders have venom that can cause medical symptoms. A common symptom is an ulcer at the center of the wound.
Brown recluse spiders have a strong venom with necrotic properties, but most bites only amount to a small ulcer, as we just described. A worse result can occur if the envenomation is high or you have an allergic reaction to the venom. Getting a large and disfiguring wound is possible, but it is rare.
Black widow spiders have strong venom that causes flu-like symptoms that can become a serious medical threat. However, as with brown recluse spiders, a black widow's bite isn't always severe. It is possible to get a dry bite, which is when the spider doesn't inject any venom at all. If they inject venom, the amount and your body's reaction will determine the severity. You should always seek medical attention for a black widow spider bite, just in case.

How To Treat A Spider Bite:

If a spider bites you, wash the wound with soapy water to remove any venom on the surface. Apply a cold compress to reduce the swelling. Use over-the-counter pain medication to relieve the pain. If the wound itches, you can use an anti-itch cream. Have a physician monitor the bite and your symptoms if it is a highly venomous spider.

Creating An Uninviting Environment: Tips For Spider Prevention

Building off what we've discussed so far, let's look at how you can keep spiders out of your home. The first step is to address attractants around the exterior of your house. Your goal is to create an uninviting environment.

Altering Exterior Conditions To Deter Spiders:

Install exterior yellow lighting. Insects can't detect yellow light, so it is much better for external elimination. The fewer insects you have, the fewer spiders you'll have.
Reduce the scent of garbage. Anything you can do to keep your trash free of odors will reduce flies and the spiders that eat them.
Remove any spider webs you find. Doing so will deter spiders from making webs. After removing the webs, wash surfaces to get rid of the roughness. Spiders prefer to make their webs on rough surfaces, such as a dirty garage wall.
Reduce moisture. A damp perimeter around your house will invite bugs and spiders. Cleaning your gutters is a great way to deal with exterior moisture.
Reduce landscape insects. Many insects get into your landscape vegetation because it is unhealthy. Strong, healthy plants are resistant to pest problems. Along with keeping your plants healthy, keep them trimmed, remove grass, and remove weeds.
Remove junk. Spiders hide in the voids of man-made objects. It is best not to store things near your exterior walls.
Remove wood or store it in a bin. Spiders (and the bugs they eat) are attracted to stacked wood. They'll get into firewood, scrap wood, construction materials, brush piles, etc.

Tips For Spider Control:

Crush spider egg sacs. A spider egg sac has a lot of spiders hidden in it. Destroying the sac will prevent those spiders from hatching into an army.
Fill ground holes: Some spiders hide in holes created by other animals.
Seal entry points: Everything you do to patch potential entry points will help keep spiders out of your home. A caulking gun and caulk, some cans of expanding foam, and weatherproofing materials will help you do this.

Alter Interior Conditions To Deter Spiders:

Manage your interior trash to reduce odors. A great tip is to reduce the size of your kitchen trash. Doing so will force you to remove your trash more often, leaving less time for food to decay and create odors. It also helps to clean your receptacles routinely and keep them covered at all times.
Reduce interior humidity. Many insects can't survive in a dry home. If you install ventilation, use your vents to remove humidity, and install a dehumidifier if needed, you'll keep these moisture pests out, along with the spiders that eat them.
Remove webs to make it harder for spiders to obtain a meal in your house.

You can use these tips to get rid of spidersand prevent them from getting into your home. If life is busy, remember you're never alone when dealing with spiders and other pests. You can contact your Modern Pest Control team for assistance.

Experience Peace Of Mind: Choose Professional Spider Control

When you contact Modern Pest Controlto control spiders in Conroe, you can be sure that our technicians will address your issue using their extensive training and experience. We start with a thorough inspection of your house:

We track spider activity and evaluate the conditions that provide food, breeding opportunities, and entry points.
We select targeted control methods to collect the spiders currently in your home and monitor your house to ensure there is no activity after the treatment.
We address entry points by applying professional-grade materials to seal gaps.

Our spider control service is multi-pronged and comprehensive to ensure you get the best results possible. Once the spiders are gone, we can help you keep them out of your home with ongoing pest control services. These services include the following:

We provide quarterly service visits and administer pest maintenance around your exterior.
We spot treat your yard to reduce insects, reducing the spiders looking to eat them.
We remove webs around the exterior of your home to directly reduce spider populations and disrupt their ability to feed.
We apply a liquid solution to your foundation and perimeter, significantly reducing pest activity near your home and deterring entry.

At Modern Pest Control, all of our pest control services work to reduce the number of pests attempting to get into your home, and by reducing them, our services naturally reduce spider populations. It is a pest-eat-pest world out there. Our goal is to disrupt their feeding patterns from the smallest to the largest pest. On top of this, we block access so they can't get into your house. A pest-free home is naturally resistant to arachnids. That is a good thing because spiders can scale your exterior with ease using those setules we discussed earlier.

Do you live in Conroe, Texas, or the surrounding area? If so, you're in our service area! Contact Modern Pest Control for local spider control and general pest management for your Conroe home. We've been helping families in the area keep pests at bay since 1952, and we have the experience to help you with the right pest control solutions for your specific needs.

Connect with us today to schedule your first service visit and get started. We look forward to hearing from you.