Hi Snowlover... *I* didn't go and build a home anywhere. I don't live in the woods. I live on a main street in decent sized town. I would never go into the woods and destroy an animal's habitat. (And you couldn't presume to know that about me, now could you???) The house was there long before these spiders were.

I eat meat, wear leather shoes, drink alcohol, and have no problem killing a spider that's living in my house. Especially when poisonous spiders in the area have injured and killed people ( ! )

I promise you ~ your name calling and lecture (type-o and all) is wasted on me.

But thanks for the input :)

Thanks Cliff! I was hoping you would have an idea ~ you seem to know alot about these things.

Is Denatued alcohol something I can find at a local hardware store?? (I've never heard of it)

Thanks again!
~C

Hi Dan =)

I wish these spiders were your average spiders. Good to know about the Widows... I'll have to leave a can in the shower (where they like to visit).

Thanks!
~C

Etana, please be careful with your little ones. Those Brown Recluse spiders are scary! A man I know (in his 40s) got bit on the leg (while he was sleeping, they think) and ended up in the ER twice and had to take a week off of work. He could barely walk for a few days. Not to mention the antibiotics and IVs he was given... At least you know what they look like now!

Daddy Long Legs shouldn't be a problem. I think I read that their mouths are too small to bite us. And they get the flies & such. Those are the good ones.

Hi Lianna ~ Do you recall what brand you used? I've heard good and bad things about those and that they take a while for them to start to work (maybe a couple of weeks), does that sound right?

Thanks for posting!

~C

Thanks Paige!! I tried to search online to see exactly the kind of spiders we are dealing with. There are soo many, it's hard to pin point it. I will look into the Pholcidae family you mentioned and see if I can identify some. ((I did notice that the nasty brown one caught the weird (almost see-through) white one in his web recently...))

The Widows stick to the bathroom and pop up in the shower occasionally. Those are really a problem since I often run into them during the night when I don't have my contacts in. I can't see them against the stone floor. By the time I notice what it is, it's usually too close for comfort.

The others are all over. I really don't think it's a food problem; just moved in in the spring and we're neat & clean. We live in Marin, Red Woods and ivy are abundant in most residential areas. And we just had our first rains which is pbly bringing them inside. Our close neighbors have pets (we don't) I think that's helpful for them.


Thanks again!!
~C

Bingo! I live near a lake, and I as a window cleaner, I am occasionally employed to do some spider removal, along with webs and sacs.

For a home that is overrun with spiders like yours, I would spend many hours, even days with a small, powerful vacuum cleaner (think the backpack type) cleaning up the egg sacs and killing spiders by hand. The sacs that are clinging to the outside of your house can be really tough to remove, but spraying them with a mild solution of poison and alcohol may not actually kill them... which isn't to say you shouldn't spray for good measure.

Whatever efforts you put in, try and be thorough; cleaning and spraying away 1/3 of the problem is essentially a waste of effort. Think of the situation at your house as the Iraq war, and the different species of spider as Sunni extremists and Shia militiamen (and um.. the egg sacs are IEDs?) By which I mean you are in there now, and you can either stay the course, or as our spider-loving posters would prefer, give up.
No, it is clear you have chosen the braver path. I hope you can prevail.

Also, have the same attitude in the surrounding yard/garden/wilderness.

MegAn Worote
>"Eliminate their food. No flies, no spiders..."<

I do the opposite. Use the spiders to eliminate their food. I hate Mosquitoes and the like far more than I hate 8 legged critters.

When spiders get where they will scare or upset my roommate. I escort em outside.

As to the bad ones like Black Widows. They get dead by squashing or redneck blowtorch. Egg sacs removed as I find em. I have been bit by a widow and have a healthy respect for em. Not a dislike. They can live in spaces that I am not actively using like my basement. My woodpile I just make sure to wear gloves.

JSin