The last thing that any homeowner wants to discover loitering around their property is the brown recluse spider. This appearance of this long-legged household pest is not only enough to make your skin crawl in goosebumps but this venomous spider can also give a harmful bite that may require medical attention. Knowing what lures this spider species into your home is important to minimize their threat to your safety and comfort.
So what exactly lures brown recluse spiders indoors? As a house spider, brown recluse spiders tend to live in secluded and dark areas such as crawl spaces, attics, basements, storage spaces, wall voids, and window sills. They are attracted to homes with an abundance of food sources such as dead insects, bugs, and other pests. Weather changes can also drive them to seek shelter inside houses, as well as having trees, shrubs and weeds growing close to your property.
Like with any household pests, you don’t want to have a brown recluse spider infestation in your home. While they don’t necessarily cause any structural damage, they can pose serious health risks to your family and even the pets. They’re one of the most dangerous breeds of the spider population, and a brown recluse spider bite is painful and can potentially cause a necrotic wound or severe reaction.
The most common signs of a brown recluse infestation are the presence of flying insects or webs in the corners of your home, noticing a spider egg sac, or seeing their actual brown bodies crawling on your walls. Brown recluses can sneak inside through tiny gaps and holes, and there are top four reasons why they could be residing in your home:
Brown recluses are dangerous spiders that like to hunt and feed on other common insects. Their nourishment mostly comes from eating small bugs such as mosquitoes, flies, silverfish, cockroaches, beetles, ants, and more. If you have an ongoing pest infestation, it’s more likely that they will lurk in your homes since they have an abundant food source. It’s best to get immediate pest control to keep brown recluses away.
Brown recluses are sensitive to weather changes and their survival instincts often lead them to look out for spaces with livable conditions. They usually prefer dark spots as their hiding place since it offers warmth, especially during winter where it becomes too cold for their bodies. Summers can also cause brown recluse spiders to move inside and settle in cool spots like the hidden corners and crevices.
These spiders are most comfortable in areas with a lot of clutter. If you tend to keep stocks of firewood inside or have piles of leaves or wood debris sitting in your backyard, the chances are high that you will attract brown recluses to your property. They provide a good environment where brown recluses can breed and leave their egg sacs. Piles of trash can also attract flying insects which in turn attracts spiders.
Tending a garden with overgrowth of shrubs, bushes, weeds, and trees can also lure brown recluses to your home. These types of foliage offer moisture, food, and protection which spiders are looking for in a comfortable hiding space. If you’re growing plants right next to your home, it’s easy for them to find cracks or gaps where they could enter.
Brown recluse spiders are most active at night where they can freely roam in the darkness. It’s no surprise that you can often find them in the isolated and dark areas of your home. Their favorite spots are storage cabinets, closets, basements, attic spaces, kitchen cupboards, stacks of boxes, storage cellars, and the back of the furniture. They also like to hide under water fixtures, drainages, pumps, and stacks of woods and leaves.
There are various types of spiders that are known to start a spider infestation inside homes. These can include the jumping spider, black widow spider, wolf spider, hobo spider, cellar spider, and yellow sac spider. To identify whether you have a brown recluse spider infestation, it’s important to have a general idea of what they look like.
Brown recluses are distinguished with their round and long bodies and they can appear tan to dark brown in color. Unlike most spiders that have eight eyes, a recluse spider has six eyes and an adult brown recluse spider can grow to 1/4 to 1/2 inches long. Their color is uniform so if you see a spider that has two different colors on their bodies and legs then it may not be a brown recluse. They also have a unique violin-shaped marking on their broad back and close to their head.
As always, setting up preventive measures is important to keep brown recluses from becoming permanent dwellers in your home. Here are some helpful ways you can keep your home and family safe from the dangers of brown recluse spiders:
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