Spiders: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

American House Spider

The American house spider is a cobweb spider, meaning they build webs in basements, closets, and other out-of-the-way places. These are fairly small spiders and they are harmless to humans.

Their messy webs can be annoying to have around the house, but these spiders don’t require significant pest control services. In fact, they can eat smaller bugs around the home and keep other pests at bay.

This and the outdoor garden spider are the most common types of spider you’ll encounter – there’s no reason to panic!

Yellow Garden Spiders

Featuring a bold black and yellow coloring, you’ll probably see this spider in your yard and garden. They spin the traditional round webs that we associate with spiders and use them to catch their prey. The web of a garden spider can be incredibly complex.

While garden spiders do produce venom, it’s harmless to humans. It helps immobilize the insects that fly into the web so the spiders can eat them.

Interestingly, you may not see a garden spider sitting in its web waiting for prey. Sometimes they weave a strand connected to the web and hide in the underbrush nearby. A bug flying into the trap wiggles the thread, alerting the spider of an upcoming meal.

Garden spiders are very beneficial to the environment and eat a lot of pests you don’t want in your yard, like mosquitos, moths, bees, and wasps.

Brown Recluse

The brown recluse is highly concentrated in Arkansas and Oklahoma, and it’s likely that you have them on your property. As the name suggests, they don’t seek out confrontation. However, if you, your family member, or your pet disturbs one, the bite can be extremely dangerous.

One of the primary ways to identify this spider is by the black violin-shaped marking on its back. They come out to seek food at night and aren’t aggressive, but will bite in self-defense.

The cytotoxic venom in a brown recluse bite actually kills skin tissue. One bite can damage tissue all the way to your bones, and healing may even require a skin graft.

Treating for brown recluse spiders in this area is a vital part of professional pest control services.

Black Widows

The only other venomous spider in our area is the black widow. While the name strikes fear in the heart of almost everyone, the truth is this spider hasn’t caused a death in the U.S. for many years.

Black widows have neurotoxins that affect nerves, rather than affecting the skin directly. In fact, you may feel nothing other than a pinprick when you are actually bitten. However, you will later have pain in the area of the bite, muscle aches, cramping, fever, and vomiting.

The people most at danger from a black widow bite include those already ill, young children, and pets. If you notice a black widow in your home, you should definitely work with pest control services to handle it and any friends it may have in the area.

Get Pest Control Services for Dangerous Spiders

When it comes to the brown recluse and black widow, you not only want to stay away from them, you want to take steps to keep yourself safe as well. That’s why focused pest control services can be a good idea for these species.

If you are looking for help keeping dangerous spiders at bay, we’re here for you. Contact us for an appointment today!