Brown Recluse Spiders....

My mom has them really bad. She had an exterminator come out and since then she has been putting glue traps out espcially in bathrooms and such and catching a lot. The only probalem with that is keeping the kids out of it.

When we moved into our house in south St. Louis a year ago, we discovered we had brown recluse spiders. We had originally called an exterminator for a problem with ants and centipedes in our basement, and he found their exoskeletons. The exterminator told us about the spiders and their dangers, and really scared us into thinking we were going to die if we didn't get rid of them. We started a very costly 1 year extermination program where they came to the house at first monthly and then every other month, sprayed inside and out, and set out traps. To be honest, we only caught about 4 big spiders in the basement, and nothing but teeny house spiders in the rest of the house.
After we had started the program, I was told by a couple other neighbors that the spiders are EXTREMELY common in this part of MO, and pretty much no matter what you do, you won't get rid of them. (Apparently, everyone has brown recluse spiders).Our company even admitted that they can control their numbers, but if we have them at all, then we probably always will to some extent.
Basically, just look up the spiders on the internet, and follow the safety precautions to avoid being bitten. If they still want to go through with an exterminator (which we did choose to since we have a young child),tell them to make sure they ask lots of questions and stay on top of it.
We ended up using 20/20 Exterminators, and they've been fine. They have offices all over the area, and you can find them in the phone book.
A.

I also have a problem with brown recluse spiders. My husband spoke with an exterminator and found out about these sticky pads you put behind your furniture, in corners, etc. The spiders walk across it and stick to it. We do bug bomb our house when we are going out of town, but this only kills the spiders that are in the house at the time. It doesn't prevent them from coming inside. We have had a lot of success with these sticky pads and you can buy them at any hardware store. However, if the sticky stuff gets on your hands or furniture, it is practically impossible to get off. As far as I know there isn't any way to permanently rid your house of them.

Our insect control company told us fogging won't help with brown recluse spiders. The brown recluses can be caught safely, without a lot of chemicals in "sticky" traps. We were told spiders like to stay along the wall and baseboards, and told to place the traps there, and spray around the outside perimeter of our home especially around doors or windows. This did seem to help. The problem with spiders is the don't drag their bodies like other bugs, so when they cross the chemical line to enter your home, the chemicals don't necessarily get on them like other beetles, bugs and such. So they are more difficult to control or eliminate. Also those spiders can jump a long distance, which makes them more creepy and difficult. But the good thing (because the wolf spiders aren't as dangerous)is some people mistake wolf spiders for brown recluses because they look so similar.

We ended up doing the perimeter spray, my husband did it weekly for a while, and it really decreased all the bugs that came in the house. We just got a multi purpose insect killer at Lowe's or Home Depot with the big jug and pump spray nozzle and it worked well for a reasonable price. Remember to do an extrea spray or two as the weather cools, because that is also a time we noticed the bugs migrated inside to escape the rain and cold.

Unfortunately, we learned that this area is a common recluse spider zone. There was a terrible problem with them in our house when we bought it several years ago. We had an exterminator come in before we moved in, but the spiders have since returned. My sphynx cat was bit on her back last year and had to have surgery so I was terrified one of the kids or us would be bit too. My husband found recluse spider traps and we've put them all over the house. He catches them regularly in the garage and laundry room but we don't see them anywhere else in the house. I recommend the traps and having the outside foundation sprayed regularly by the exterminator!

MY HOME HAS BEEN BUGGED, FOGGED, XTERMINATED, AND ANY OTHER THING YOU CAN DO TO A HOUSE!!! I LIVE BY THE WOODS KIND OF AND WE GET (CREATURES) IN OUR HOUSE THAT THE EXTERMINATORS HAVEN'T EVEN EVER SEEN!!! MY DAUGHTERS 3 AND 5 HAVE BEEN BIT MULTIPLE TIMES BY THESE SPIDERS, SO I TOOK ACTION AND DID ALL OF THE ABOVE. NOTHING HELPED. MY ADVICE TO YOU IS DO WHAT I DID, CLEAN EVERY NOOK AND CRANY YOU CAN, PULL OUT THE COUCH , THE BED ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING. USE BLEACH WHERE YOU CAN. I THEN PURCHASED A CHEMICAL SOLUTION FROM MY LOCAL PEST CONTROL STORE THAT IS NON-TOXIC TO EVERYTHING BUT THE INSECTS. I SPRAYED UNDER ALL THE COUCHS, BED, AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN. I THEN PURCHASED A DEET FREE BUG SPRAY THAT WAS SAFE FOR MY CHILDREN NOT TO WASH OFF (I ASKED MY PEDITRICIAN) THAT WAY THEY WERE PROTECTED BY THIS LOTION
WHILE THEY SLEPT, WHICH IS WHEN MOST OF THE SPIDER BITES OCCURED.

We called Rottler Pest Control when we had a similar problem. They sprayed in the basement, attic, and garage as well as around the whole house perimeter. They also set traps under furniture where my two year and cats couldn't get to. It took about a week but no more spiders. Also the products they use are safe to use around children and animals.

I am not sure of any way to put it with couth, but they should get over their "neurotic" ways and have the house fogged. I think the safety of their children should override "paranoia of chemicals", or the lack of desire to cover furniture.

I am not sure as a friend how you could put that!!

Good luck!

We had a problem with brown recluses when we lived in Maine. I was very paranoid about the spiders, and about spraying, because my daughter was 1 at the time, and put everything in her mouth. I bought Raid that is specific for spiders and sprayed every entry point after my daughter went to bed one night. The next day, before she got up, I mopped and wiped down the floor areas that she could get to, and then kept her away from those areas for about a week, just to be safe. This got rid of our problem, and was cheap and safe (I am very overprotective and obsessive about things like this!). Hope this helps!

I have had this problem in my house as well and have used 20/20 Exterminators and have not seen a bug or spider since.

Good luck!

K.

Boy do I know about spiders. The house my family just moved from was infested. When I say infested, I mean infested. We had all kinds of spiders. Mostly wolf spiders, which range in size from microscopic (babies) to tranatula size (We had them all). Most are the same size as brown recluses and look a lot like them. We did also have some brown recluses. The big difference is that brown recluses do not make webs. If your friend has webs, then she most likely has wolf spiders. We did have an exterminator come spray. We signed a contract for them to come every 3 months. It was only $80 each time they came and it worked like magic. My husband and I did not see a single spider or any webs during the 1 1/2 years we had them spray. We did not renew the contract because we were moving and withing 5 months of the lost spray, we started seeing them again. It has been a year now and the house is infested again. It may be a bit more expensive than fogged, but their is no hassle with covering everything up and washing everything when you are done. It also helps insure the safety of the family. If possible, have your friend capture one of the spiders in a clear container that she thinks is a brown recluse and show it to the exterminator when they come to spray. They will be able to identify it. A ziploc bag will work for this. Please contact me if you have any further questions.

D. - I know someone who just went thru this. They were told DO NOT FOG. There is a guy in Lawrence who specialzes in the brown reclouse spider. Where do they live? I'll try & get the name and number for him. What I here is they will never go away.

Jamel Sandidge known as "spiderman" ###-###-####. You can read his reach online.

I ordered a spray from this website http://www.doyourownpestcontrol.com/spiders.htm
but I no longer see it listed (was called TalstarOne), but they have others for brown recluse. I used it FIRST inside the house and inside the attic. You do the inside first because if you do the outside, all the bugs and spiders will run INSIDE your house to get away. Wait a day or two, then spray outside. I sprayed around the ground of my house AND under the eaves of my house. I haven't had a problem since and it's been about 4-5 years. (I know the original post is old, but maybe this will help others.)