How To Keep Spiders Out Of Your Longview Home: Tips For Effective Spider Prevention

Many people enjoy going to horror movies because they get an adrenaline rush as they watch their favorite character try to outmaneuver the beast, freak, or overgrown pest chasing them. It is doubtful that you have seen a scary movie where overgrown moths or ants chase the characters, but you have probably witnessed a few movies with giant spiders as the culprit.

There is something about those eight-legged, hairy, multi-eyed creatures that cause many people to shriek in fear when they cross paths. Perhaps their features or quick movements cause many to cower in fear when these arachnids cross their paths. We can all agree that walking into a spider web as you meander through the attic or basement is intensely disturbing. 

The best way to avoid fear inside your home is to secure spider control in Longview from Gecko Pest Control. We are a local, family-owned and operated business that has removed spiders from homes since 2000. Our commitment to excellent customer care, high-quality training, and our community has earned us The Hometown Best Award for the last twelve years. In 2021, we were a nominee for the Award for Excellence from the Better Business Bureau. 

A staff entomologist trains our technicians, and they must pass a Purdue Pest Management Course. Our employees are active in the community, serving as volunteer firefighters, PTA and Rotary Club members, and in other associations. We share this information because we want you to know that we are your neighbors and local hometown pest control company dedicated to providing quality pest control to our community.

You probably found this article because spiders are inside your Longview home. Their presence, coupled with a lack of knowledge, is creating anxiety and fear. After all, no one wants to endure pain and possible long-term effects from a spider bite. We wrote this article to help alleviate the worry by providing the information you need to stop a spider infestation in your house.

Spider Behavior: How They Hunt, Feed, And Mate

Spiders are not insects; they are arachnids, and there are differences between the two groups. Unlike insects, arachnids have eight legs, two more rows of eyes, and no antennae, wings, or stingers. Whereas an insect has three body parts (head, thorax, and abdomen), a spider's head and thorax are fused to form the cephalothorax. Like an insect, a spider has an abdomen containing its reproductive and breathing organs and spinnerets. 

Thousands of spider species exist worldwide, each with unique colors, habits, and behaviors. However, the types of spiders that affect most Longview homeowners are the following:

• House spiders
• Cellar spiders
• Black widow spiders
• Brown recluse spiders

Let's look at each species to understand their habits and behaviors. 

House spiders are prevalent throughout the United States. These arachnids have a 3/16 to 5/16-inch yellowish-brown cephalothorax and an off-white abdomen highlighted with dark stripes. These spiders create tangled webs in areas with airflow in the corner of doors and underneath furniture in garages, basements, crawl spaces, and closets. These spiders are not as prevalent inside modern homes due to the humidity-lowering effects of HVAC systems. Instead, they live where the air is not conditioned (garages, sheds, crawl spaces, etc.). Female house spiders create one or more brownish egg sacs in their webs, each containing up to 250 eggs. Over its short lifespan, a female house spider will produce over 3,500 eggs. 

Many children remember playing with cellar spiders (a.k.a. "daddy longlegs"). There are two varieties of this species: long-bodied and short-bodied. Despite their size, all have yellowish to brown or grey oval-shaped bodies. Female long-bodied cellar spiders have a 3/4 to 5/16-inch with 1 3/4 to 1 15/16-inch front legs, but female short-bodied cellar spiders have only a 1/16-inch body with only 5/16-inch front legs. Long and short-bodied males are smaller than their female counterparts. Cellar spiders live in areas with high humidity (e.g., basements, crawl spaces, and cellars), where they hang upside down in their webs, waiting for prey. A female cellar spider produces three egg sacs containing 10 to 60 eggs each. Unlike the house spider that attaches the sacs to its web, the cellar spider carries the sacs in her mouth until the eggs hatch.  

Black widows are one of two venomous spider species in the Longview area. These arachnids have 1 1/2 to 1 3/8-inch black bodies with a red "hourglass" on the underside of their abdomens. They create ground-level, irregular webs in dark, secluded areas where they hang upside down while they wait on prey. Like most spiders, black widows eat ants, cockroaches, beetles, and scorpions. Female black widows create spherical, whitish-grey egg sacs, each containing 300 eggs; they can produce up to 10 egg sacs during their lifetime. 

Brown recluse spiders are 1/4 to 1/2-inch long and have round, light to dark brown bodies with a dark brown violin-shaped marking on the abdomen. Unlike the other spiders on our list, brown recluse spiders do not create webs to capture prey but use their webs as a retreat. They build their getaways in undisturbed areas in boxes and seldom used clothing and shoes in closets, underneath furniture, and other storage areas in the house. Female brown recluse spiders produce off-white egg sacs in their webs, each holding 40 to 50 eggs. 

Gecko Pest Control can eliminate these various types of spiders in Texas so you can rest easy in your Longview home.

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

Many children play with cellar spiders because they are not known to bite humans. House spiders also do not have a reputation for biting people, but they may do so if crushed inside clothing or if you reach into a corner where a house spider has its nest and egg sacs. In the unlikely event a house spider bites, most people do not need medical attention. 

While cellar and house spiders pose no real threat to humans, black widow and brown recluse spiders do. Before we discuss the effects of wounds from these two venomous spiders, understand that spiders do not attack people. Spiders try to avoid human contact and will only respond in self-defense. Now that we know we don't need to run each time a spider is nearby, we need to understand the repercussions if a black widow or brown recluse does bite. 

Black widows are so-called not because they produce a fatal bite (no one has died in the United States in the last decade from a black widow bite) but because the females sometimes consume the males after mating. A black widow bite results in immediate pain and may trigger a fever, sweating, nausea, and increased blood pressure. Pain and stiffness may increase over the next three hours before tapering off. 

Although smaller than black widows, a bite from a brown recluse spider packs a powerful punch. A mild stinging sensation followed by redness and intense pain within the next several hours are the initial symptoms of a brown recluse bite. Shortly after receiving the wound, a fluid-filled blister forms at the wound site. The venom from the brown recluse attacks tissue underneath the blister and leaves a deep, expanding ulcer when the blister sloughs off. The ulcer can go to the bone, resulting in a permanent scar if left untreated. A rash, restlessness, and difficulty sleeping are other symptoms that accompany a brown recluse bite. 

Gecko Pest Control protects your family by removing these venomous spiders in Texas from your Longview home.

Preventing Spider Infestations: Practical Tips And Tricks

Once Gecko Pest Control removes the current spider infestation from your Longview home, implement these suggestions to prevent spiders in your home:

• Seal cracks in the foundation and along the roof line
• Replace outdoor lights with LED or bug lights
• Fix leaking water pipes and plumbing fixtures
• Remove debris from the garage, crawl space, and attic 
• Store seldom-used clothing in garment bags
• Move firewood 20 feet from the house and elevate it
• Eliminate stones, lumber, junk, and debris on the property
• Cover indoor and outdoor garbage containers
• Repair holes in window and door screens
• Keep garage doors closed
• Vacuum the house regularly
• Suction out corners and cracks 

Spiders often follow insects into homes because they eat them as prey. Therefore, reducing insect attractants will also deter spiders from entering the house. 

Partnering with Gecko Pest Control to remove spiders from your home will protect your family from potentially dangerous encounters with these eight-legged arachnids.

Professional Spider Control: When To Call In The Experts

When you contact the Gecko Pest Control spider removal service, we will listen to your concerns and dispatch a trained technician to your Longview home. Our certified technician will inspect your property for attractants, entry points, and spider infestation hot spots. 

Once we gather data, we will develop a strategic plan that targets the spider species infesting your house. We will treat the infestation inside the house and create a barrier around your home to prevent spiders from entering. Our process also includes dewebbing the exterior of the home. We offer a one-time treatment option or a reoccurring pest control service that addresses other pests. Contact Gecko Pest Control, your hometown pest control company, and start today.