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There are lost of spiders in Houston. Most spiders you find in your house are harmless, and most spiders found in houses also usually live alone. This means that while encountering one may be unpleasant, a rolled-up newspaper can take care of most of the common spiders you find inside your home. For most species, it's only serious infestations of that will need professional treatment inside the home.
There are some spiders that you do have to worry about, though. With venomous spiders, even a single individual can be dangerous. These spiders should be treated with caution. Avoid contact with these animals, and if you think you have dangerous spiders in your home, give Bulls Eye Pest and Termite Control a call at 713-222-PEST.
There are two species of venomous spiders in Houston, black widow spiders and brown recluse spiders. The bite of both of these spiders can be very dangerous and they should be treated with extreme caution.
Black widow spiders are very easily identifiable by their shiny black bodies and the brilliant red hourglass shaped marking on the underside of the abdomen of the spider. Black widow spiders are usually found outside in sheltered areas, or if found inside they will usually be in an enclosed space with access to the outside. Black widows get their name from the female's habit of eating the male after mating.
Black widows are highly venomous and they should be treated with caution. The effects of the black widow's venom are very painful, although initially the bite will only feel like a pinprick. Symptoms will usually begin a few hours after the bite, and will include severe pain and cramping, reddish swelling over the entire body, vomiting, tremors and difficulty breathing.Black widow bites are usually not fatal except in particularly vulnerable people, but if you are bitten do seek medical treatment immediately.
Black widows should be taken seriously. The spiders are usually non-aggressive, but females will bite if disturbed, particularly if she has laid egg sacks in her web. They can move very quickly, and will often nest in groups. Having a professional remove black widow nests is very advisable.
Brown recluses are small, growing only up to around 3/4 of an inch, and usually they're about the same size as a penny. Most often light brown in color, they can be identified from the violin-shaped markings on their backs. Brown Recluses also have six eyes, instead of a spider's more usual eight.
These spiders like to live in dark, enclosed spaces, and they're particularly fond of linen cupboards and other places where there's lots of folded fabric for them to crawl into. Your first encounter with one of these spiders may be the bite you get when you reach into a closet to grab a towel from a cupboard, or when you put on some clothes that have been lying in a drawer for a while. You might not even feel the bite initially, but a few hours after the initial encounter the symptoms start to kick in.
Brown Recluses can be difficult to kill. These spiders have an amazing ability to survive harsh conditions. They can live for extended periods without food or water, and can even survive after losing several limbs. Many common insecticides also won't kill these spiders, and will even cause disruptions to their nervous systems which will actually make the spiders more aggressive than they normally are.
If you have dangerous spiders in your home, you should take it vey seriously. Any contact with these spiders involves a risk of being bitten. Don't take the risk. Give Bulls Eye Pest and Termite Control a call at 713-222-PEST and let us take care of those spiders for you.
