Itsy Bitsy Spiders Inside!

Those would be baby spiders. They're hatching right now all over the country. The egg sacs are found in odd places you don't usually see. Like WAY up in the corner joint of a ceiling (really hard to see white on white the size of a dime), underneath the cabinets, under shelves, in closets, along the baseboard behind things like bookcases and bedframes (although they tend to like up high places better). Part of my spring cleaning (around valentines day, and again a month later) is to search my house from top to bottom, in and behind everything... and then sic my husband on them (I HATE spiders). They wipe away with a paper towel at that stage (egg sac stage) but yucky yucky yucky yucky eeeeeeeeeeew. ((Did I mention I hate spiders?)

Like baby snakes, when they bite they release ALL their venom... but unlike baby snakes they don't usually have much. So if you get a reaction it's usually from a pretty poisonous species or you happen to be sensitive to it.

At this point, you *may* need an exterminator. But at the end of next winter, go on the hunt. You still can, as many may not have hatched yet. Even if they all have, you can get an idea of how many there are by the wispy bits that you find left (as in how many egg sacs, there are hundreds and hundreds of baby spiders inside).

Eeeeeeeeeeeew.

The plug in pest controllers do not work? They actually bed in these things...Or atleast that was my experience. You many need to take out a loan because this is a serious problem and you need an exterminator.

there are a few things you can do.

1) go get those little sticky pads at the store. Avoid the sprays where ever possible, the residual effect is only going to harm you and the kids. The sticky pads are a major pain if they get stuck to anything and they smell like peanut butter, so be careful! put them anywhere that you can stick it under. beds, night stands, under your fridge, washing machine, bath room cabinets, etc. the spiders climb on to them and get stuck. Leave them for a good 4-6 months, because most spiders are carnivores and if they see another spider they will run to attack it and get stuck themselves.

2) wind some duct tape backward around your bed legs. (so the sticky side is out, not in), this way they cannot climb up your bed legs and into your bed.

3) spiders taste with their feet and they HATE orange and lemon. so use a cleaner or even just orange and lemon juice watered down of course) near your window sills

4) spiders HATE chestnuts and dried hedge apples. If you have any of those readily available, you can put those around too.

good luck! i hate spiders!

I pay $32 per month for a professional exterminator. We used to have all kinds of spiders in our house, but not since he started coming. I know your budget is tight, but honestly if you look around at some of the local companies, you can probably find one that is quite affordable. For our price our guy sprays for spiders, fleas, and ants, and will come back during the month if we have any additional problems. He removes all of the spider webs when he comes, too, which is nice. I cut back on Starbucks and use that money to pay for our pest guy. Worth it! I haven't found any home remedy that works as well, personally.

Is there swelling just around the bite on your baby or has the redness and swelling spread? Babies can get cellulitis very easy from scratches and bites and the longer you wait, the worse it will be. I recommend calling your pediatrician's nurse hotline or trying to run by the er on an off-peak time to see a dr.

Here is a good article with several natural remedies for your spider problem:
http://www.naturalnews.com/024681_spiders_water_tobacco.html

My mom tried one of those plug in things for their camper while it was closed up for winter and it had the worst infestation of bug and rodents they had ever seen!! Mice had gotten in there and nested over winter and had babies in the spring and made a total mess out of it!!! That was the first and only time they used a plug in thing for bugs/pest and the last. Was that the cause of it?? Don't know but they don't want to chance it again! lol

We live in the south and have to deal with brown and black widows, brown recluse spider, palmetto bugs (a fancy name for a cock roach!) and then house ants and the what not. We live in base housing who contracts a guy to come and treat for us but either he uses water or the bugs are resistant to his stuff cause nothing dies after he has been here. So we bought a 2 gallon pump sprayer (10 bucks at lowes) and this stuff called Hot Shot from lowes that is like 7 or 8 bucks a gallon. This stuff works great! I spray the outside of our house and the next day there are dead bugs on my screened in porch!! I don't see spiders in the house or other bugs. My kids have a deck box in the back for their outside toys and the brown widows love to live in it!! I spray the outside and the inside bottom of the box and no spiders. I spray maybe every 3 months or so depending on how much activity I see inside the house with palmento bugs and wolf spiders.

I too don't like all the chemicals but when you are dealing with spiders that bite and can really harm you, I'm not leaving anything to chance!

Good luck!
S.

Have you had any other infestations? I only ask, because after a bird nested in our house we had an infestation of bird mites (tiny tiny spiders) that sounds a lot like what you are describing. Any wild animal that might have gotten into your home can carry some kind of mite, but the good news is that once you get rid of the animal, the mites usually cannot live on you and/or pets in the house so eventually they die off. The exterminator came and used some spray that is used for bedbugs as well... approved for use around beds and mattresses, so (apparently) safer than other sprays. It worked and the mites were gone in about a week.

On the subject of the bite on your baby, I'd definitely go to the doctor... this sounds kind of serious and (in my opinion) it's always better to be safe with kiddos!

Good Luck!

I have used an ultrasonic thing and it was pretty much a joke. Didn't work at all, not on spiders, mice, crickets, nothing. Don't waste your money, they are probably half the price of an exterminator visit.

I agree, I suggest calling your doctor about baby's bite, the last one I had that looked like you are describing needed an antibiotic shot. They can tell you what to watch for, like how much the redness can spread before he needs to be seen.

I've not tried the ultrasonic plug in pest control device but a friend did and she said it did not work.

Spiders, ants etc go where their food source is - investigate and take away the food source and they will disappear.
I prefer to avoid chemical extermination if possible. Residual effects will only harm my family.

Have you tried to bomb the house....? My mom has an exterminater now and doesnt do much good so she goes to walmart and buys those bug bombs and it does the job! Sorry your baby was bit :( Hope all is better soon!

The plug in/ultrasonic pest control devices work well for rodents like mice, etc. but not small bugs. I would look at your nearest store (like Wal-Mart or Target) and get a bug spray made especially for spiders. Some sprays don't work on spiders, so be sure you get one just for them. Are you sure the baby's spider bite isn't really MRSA (a staph infection)? Most people mistake that for a spider bite. It is contagious, so if that's really what you had, the baby could have gotten it from you. Good luck!

It is most likely staph! Get your child on antibiotics. Dab with rubbing alcohol and you was your hands very well after touching it. Do not try to pop the blister. This is fairly common. My son had it and i thought it was a bite, then i almost ended up in the hospital with staph. Do not bathe your child with another in case it does drain on its own. This is very painful and needs to be address immediatley.

One other hint. I was told (by our Terminix exterminator guy) to not use bedskirts on our crib because that is usually the way spiders climb into a bed. They can't jump, but they do climb. Good luck.

i would call into your doctor and ask them what they suggest. or you could also go to your local pharmacy and see if they can suggest something over the counter that can help at all.

I have heard mixed things about the plug ins. My parents have them and they say they work great. I have looked into getting them but have not done it yet, as my bug problem this year is non existent. I would take your vaccum cleaner and go around all the edges of the ceiling and the floors and get a good vaccum to the corners. Also if you have a basement check there for webs, and do the same down there, and then EMPTY the vaccum right away.

you could also look into mosquito netting, and put that around the baby's bed. You would have to put it around the outside of the crib, but it would work. And some of the nets are quite large. you would want to measure the crib, so you would know if you need to buy 1 or 2 nets to cover the crib.

this is not a spider bite it is a staph infection my son had the same thing you need antibiotics now take him in to the er if you cant see the doc till monday it is very contagious so if that blister pops be very careful wash hands and try to keep him away from other kids till the anibiotics kick in once he takes the first dose he is no longer contagious however once you get staph it likes to come back often so just keep an eye on all sores oh and if he gets a bite or scatch before he gets on meds it will spread to those areas very quickly too! hope this helps and make sure you are careful it does hurt really bad i have had this myself before!

We went ahead and got Terminix last year, and it's better. It's about $30/month. Moving to the South, I'd never seen so many bugs! I still get a few here and there but it's way better. Good luck!!