Brown Recluse & Other Hunting Spiders

The Brown Recluse Spider is, as its name implies, reclusive. Call the Brown Recluse the Howard Hughes of the Arachnids. Often the presence of the Brown Recluse is not known to those whose dwelling they share until that person is bitten.  The monitor board below is full of them . The homeowner had originally called us for silverfish and the monitor was placed during a routine service. The Recluses were helping us get rid of the silverfish.

As the it prefers its food source smaller, they rarely attack humans.  Most people are bitten by accident by rolling over on one, or putting on a piece of clothing the spider was hiding in. The bite is painless at first, but within a few hours becomes sore.  The wound is usually an open sore surrounded by clotting. If not treated with antibiotics the open wound will eat away at the flesh and ooze, not unlike leprosy. In the very young, very old, or those with a weak heart the bite can be fatal. (The picture of the calf bite is a photo taken of a student in Lawrence Kansas who was bitten in his dorm room)

Control is difficult and time consuming. It requires the use of insecticidal dust, wettable powders, fogging agents and monitors.  The chemicals must be placed in wall voids, attics, cracks and crevices, cellars, and all places spiders may hide. See our pest products for chemicals we use and sell. Additionally several pesticide manufactures have tested certain of their products specifically with this fearsome pest in mind. We have reviewed a few of those that we carry in our store. For information on these Brown Recluse Products. Or for more information e-mail me at info@fxpest.com 

Wolf Spider

Wolf spiders are often confused with their more dangerous cousin.  This is because they are the same color and are frequently found in houses.  There the similarity ends, but when the Media does a piece on the more famous cousin, every wolf spider becomes deadly, and most people do not get close enough to distinguish one from the other.

The wolf spiders are fast hunting spiders often found in basements hunting food.  They are not dangerous unless of course they give you a heart attack when one crawls on you. Control can be achieved with chemicals, but perhaps the best control is to rid the house of food source, so general pest control of insects in and around the dwelling will discourage them from entering. For Spider Products.

To identify, look for the distinguishing characteristics of three pairs of eyes in a semicircle on the front of the head and a dark, violin-shaped marking right behind the semicircle of eyes. The neck of the violin marking points toward the abdomen. Adults are yellowish tan to dark brown and are soft-bodied. They are about 1/4 or 1/2 inch long with gray to to dark brown legs. Both the male and female look about the same.