A Helpful Guide To Keeping Spiders Out Of Your Knoxville Home

Keeping spiders out of your home isn't as easy as we'd all like it to be. It's a time-consuming process that requires knowledge and the proper tools for safe and effective removal. Pest OPS is here to help guide you in everything you need to keep spiders from gaining access to your home. For reliable, trustworthy pest control in Knoxville, the safest place to turn to is Pest OPS.

Characteristics Of Common Spiders

Unfortunately, Tennessee is home to many different types of spiders, meaning the chances of an infestation occurring in your home are strong. Being able to identify the type of spider that is infesting your home can help you determine the best course of action for your home. To begin, a spider is an arachnid. They have eight legs, fangs that inject venom, and spinnerets to create webs.

The most common types of spiders that reside in Tennessee are:

• Black widow spider: Black, with characteristic red "hourglass" on the underside of the abdomen
• Brown recluse spider: Light to dark brown, with dark brown violin marking on back
• Cellar spider: Pale yellow to light brown or gray 
• House spider: Yellowish brown, with an off-white abdomen with several dark stripes meeting at an angle
• Jumping spider: Black, brown, tan, or gray, with pale markings 
• Orb weaver: Varies greatly, usually reddish-brown or grey but can be brightly colored 
• Wolf spider: Usually dark brown, often with paler (or sometimes yellow) stripes or markings 
• Zipper spider: Black and bright yellow in color and covered in silver hairs 

Spider bites can be painful or itchy at the injection site, but their venom isn't strong enough to be fatal to humans. Black widows and brown recluses are the only exceptions; their venom can cause severe issues to a human's system. It is rare, but the venom of a brown recluse can cause necrosis, and a bite from a black widow can cause difficulty breathing.

Why You Don't Want Spiders Hanging Around Your Home

Unlike most pests, spiders tend to work alone. However, that can quickly change once they find a consistent food source. Since spiders tend to feed on insects like cockroaches, mosquitos, moths, and flies, a sudden population of spiders can be a sign of an underlying pest control issue.

With spiders come their webs. They build them up almost overnight and use them to rest and catch prey. While they make for great Halloween decorations, they give off the wrong aesthetic during the other 364 days of the year.

Spiders in Knoxville tend to leave humans alone, but that can change if you accidentally disturb them. In a state of defense, they will bite you. While most bites are harmless, they can be itchy or painful.

Five No-Sweat Tips To Prevent Spiders In Your Home

A great way to prevent spider problems in the future is to follow these steps for Knoxville spider control and prevention:

1. Stop spiders from invading interior areas by sealing cracks around your windows, doors, and foundation and using weatherstripping to seal your home.
2. Remove outside food sources like pet food and sweep up crumbs from outdoor eating areas.
3. Reduce hiding spots by cutting down long grass, trimming overgrown foliage, and removing woodpiles or piles of debris from outdoor areas.
4. Fix moisture issues that lead to humid conditions in both interior and exterior areas to stop pools of water from attracting both spiders and their pest prey.
5. Sweep or vacuum up spider webs and egg sacs whenever you see them. 

All these steps are great for preventing new spiders from entering your home, but the only way to remove spiders from your Knoxville home is with the help of a pest control company near you.

Professional Pest Control Makes For The Best Spider Control

When it comes to spiders in Tennessee homes, DIY pest control is not the way to go. With the help of Pest OPS, we can identify your spider control issues and develop treatment solutions that effectively remove active infestations and help prevent future spider problems. If you believe you have an underlying pest issue, contact us to learn more about our residential and commercial pest control services in Knoxville, and see how we can help.