While there are many pests in San Diego, California that residents don’t want to deal with, spiders are probably the most feared of them all. However, while spiders might look scary, most aren’t that dangerous to people or pets.
While it’s true that all spiders can bite as they have fangs and venom to incapacitate prey, most spiders in the United States can’t cause significant harm to humans. However, there are two exceptions to this. The black widow spider and the brown recluse spider are both considered medically significant and should be avoided.
Here is how you can identify common area spiders and tell apart the dangerous ones from the harmless:
- Black widows: This species has shiny black and bulbous bodies with a red hourglass marking on their underbellies.
- Brown recluse: This spider has light brown to tan coloration. They lack markings on their legs but have a violin-shaped marking behind their heads.
- Orb weaver: This spider has a round body shape and can come in many different colors and patterns. They make wheel-shaped webs.
- Cellar spiders: This small species is a yellow to light brown color, and they have extremely long and thin legs.
- Wolf spider: This large species is fast and runs down its prey. They have hairy legs and are a mix of brown, grey, and black markings.
What You Need To Know About Spider Webs
While you can identify spiders by their appearance, sometimes their webs also reveal a lot about them and can help you tell different species apart. While it’s easy to assume that spiders all make the same kind of webs and wait in the middle for insects to come along, this isn’t always true.
Some spiders create geometrical and symmetrical webs, but others create more erratic ones. Some spiders, such as the wolf spider, don’t even build webs at all but instead wait for their prey to come along and hunt them down.
Black widows create their webs near ground level and have more symmetrical webs, while brown recluses have more irregular webs that seem loosely put together. Orb-weaver spiders build wheel-shaped ones, and cellar spiders have loosely-shaped webs with fine strings.
Why Am I Seeing More Webs Around My Home?
As you’ve probably guessed, the presence of spider webs around a property means that there are spiders there, too, even if you’re not seeing them. The more webs you’re seeing, the more spiders there likely are.
If you’re looking to prevent spiders and make your property less appealing to them, you can implement these steps:
- Remove any existing webs both inside and outside.
- One of the main reasons spiders come around is while hunting their pest prey. So, one of the best ways to prevent them is to clean up crumbs and spills right away and keep kitchens cleaned to prevent smaller insects.
- Also to prevent other pests, keep garbage cans covered with lids.
- Keep spiders and their prey out by repairing screens in doors and windows, installing door sweeps and weather stripping, and sealing up cracks in the walls and foundation.
- Store firewood at least 30 feet away from the exterior of your home.
How To Prevent Spider Infestations In San Diego
If you’re tired of finding spiders around your property, let the experts at Green Flash Pest Control help. We offer commercial and residential pest assistance, and we will eradicate any existing infestations and then keep more from happening in the future.
It’s easy to get started as we offer free inspections, so just give us a call today to learn more.