Spiders in the House!

Is it just me, or is anyone else noticing an increase in the spider population

...in their house?!

It seems that not a day is going by before I find another common brown house spider doing laps of my rooms.  At first I wasn't too bothered by it, but they are big (>1"), they move fast and there have been several times where they have crossed the line, pushing me out of my comfort zone.

Episode #1:
I throw back the covers to get out of bed one morning, only to find I am sharing the bed with a light brown/whitish spider of decent size.  Only later did I identify him as a Brown Recluse!

Episode #2:
I was about to jump into the shower when I noticed a large spider run into the bathroom and hide behind the toilet.  It was late and I was tired, I let him be and continued on into the shower.  Grabbing my towel afterwards, I thought I felt a little tickle as I dried my back but nothing fell to the ground when I swatted.  Fast forward half and hour and as I'm drifting off in bed, I feel that tickle again, on my head this time.  I wiped at my hair only only to have a spider run down my forehead, over my eyes and across my mouth.  Yes, I yelled!  As the lamp came on I saw him, sitting happily on my comforter just 4" in front of my head.

These two episodes marked the end of my "live and let live" policy.  I was borderline zero tolerance after this and as such, the cobwebs that had been building for years in my garage began to bother me.  How many spider dreams have I had in the last month?  Too many!

Episode #3:
My foray into the crawlspace after the recent flooding in Boulder to pull out wet carpet and cardboard, also turned up old wood, a bed frame and other trash that came with the house.  It was icky, but had to be done.  If you read my post about drying out the crawlspace you will also know that I had a spider interaction under the house too.  A black widow appeared in front of me after I turned over wet wood and it disappeared back into the darkness about the time I began screaming.

Episode #4:
As I took a call on my cell in the front garden yesterday I watched 3 big brown house spiders dart out from under the ivy near the garage.  Like a gang they ran onto my driveway.  Then 2 zipped into my open garage!  Just seconds later I was unable to locate them and my tolerance ran out.  (It has been a trying week.)

I'm now the proud owner of a Shop Vac.  Many of the cobwebs are gone from the garage and the rest are living on borrowed time.  I don't do things by halves either.  The plan, when the crawlspace chaos is no longer a factor, is to clean out the garage, replace the window, insulate between the studs and drywall it.

I'm just one woman with a lot of other big plans too, but mark my words, that garage will not be a safe environment for spiders looking for cozy, dark corners by spring!


And just in case you are wondering;   The Common Brown House Spider is not dangerous, but the bites from the Black Widow and the Brown Recluse can be.

Black Widow:   Affects from a bite take about 20-60 minutes.  The bite itself is small... maybe double fanged, but the pain at the site is severe.  People can experience mild to severe symptoms including severe muscle cramps, abdominal pain, weakness, tremor.  In more severe cases you might also get nausea, vomiting, dizziness, chest pain and respiratory difficulties.  Life threatening reactions have only been seen in children or the elderly.

Brown Recluse:  The bite may not hurt initially.  Redness, pain and a blister at the site will follow.  Itching and mild to intense pain may occur for 2-8 hours after the bite. Necrosis follows a week or more after the bite and the ulcer may take months to heal.  Some people will have a systemic reaction which includes the breakdown of red blood cells.  Other symptoms include fever, chills, skin rash over the body, joint pain, nausea and vomiting.

What to do after a spider bite?

• Remain calm  (I know!  Easier said than done!)
• Apply cool cloth and/or ice.  (Do not apply a tourniquet.)
• Try to identify the spider or catch it.
• Seek medical attention if you have symptoms that are non-localized.

 Black Widow                                                         Brown Recluse