While the South Carolina weather may be too muggy at times or feel hotter than twelve suns in certain months, it does seem like the bugs sure love it. From the smallest pests to some abnormally large rodents, South Carolina homeowners get more than our fair share of home invaders. Some of them aren’t very dangerous, and others are easy to keep out. However, there are a few pests, like the black widow spider, who are just as hard to keep out of your home as they are dangerous.
Identifying Black Widows On Your Property
These small, black spiders are famous for the red hourglass marking on their abdomen. However, in nature, this hourglass marking looks more like two red triangles that are separated by a small space. Whether these triangles touch or not is rather irrelevant, however. And if you’re close enough to tell, then we may have larger issues to discuss. Black widows only measure up to ten millimeters long at the most, so you’d have to look closely, past eight legs and eight eyes, to see the triangles or hourglass.
Black widow spiders spend most of their time near ground level. Rather than making webs in between poles or high tree branches, they’ll use the corners of rooms, holes in the ground, or piles of clutter to make their messy, tangled webs. Their favorite areas of your house will be the garage and the basement, as these are the easiest to access and also the most cluttered, providing plenty of hiding spots. If you see webs along the ground outside, in nearby piles of wood, or the corners of these rooms in the house, then you may have an infestation. Another strong sign of an infestation is the development of small sacs in the webs. These hold black widow eggs that, when hatched, can quickly turn a small spider problem into a full-blown infestation.
Health Hazards
When you notice signs of infestation, you need to take extreme precautions. You may be able to take care of one black widow spider, but you never know how many more there are. They’ll typically keep to themselves until you or one of your family members stumbles into their territory on accident. While rare, it only takes one bite to make you realize the seriousness of an infestation.
Black widow bites occur most often when a female has recently laid eggs and feels as if they are threatened. Many people exaggerate or blow the symptoms of a bite out of proportion. However, they are one of the two most dangerous spiders in North America, so black widow venom can have severe effects on many people. Combined with the intense pain and swelling of a bite, you could also show signs of infection, such as chills, nausea, fever, cramping, and abdominal pain. While these bites are rarely fatal, they almost always require medical attention to ensure that any long-lasting effects are avoided.
Dealing With Black Widows
While it can be difficult to get rid of black widow spiders if you have a full-fledged infestation, you can put some preventative measures in place to avoid attracting too many to your property:
- Seal Up Entryways: By weather-stripping exterior doors and sealing up cracks in the foundation, you can limit the chances that they’ll stumble into your basement.
- Clear Up The Clutter: Basements and garages, when cluttered, provide a lot of cover and great web locations for black widows. Open, organized spaces, however, will ward them off.
- Regular Cleaning Habits: A tidy home will draw in fewer pests, which black widows love to feed on. Limiting pests will limit the chances of black widow infestation.
- Store Firewood Away From The Home: Firewood bundles are one of a black widow’s favorite places to set up webs and hide out in. Storing them under the house can draw too many close to your living space.
While these tips can help limit the chances of infestation, there is never a sure thing when you’re dealing with Mother Nature. In light of the severe health risks, your best course of action is to contact The Original Bugman Pest Elimination, Inc. for more advice or assistance.
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