Spiders have a characteristic appearance which is easily identifiable by most people. They have eight legs compared to most insects six legs, and they also have no wings or antennae. The spider is considered to be beneficial because it eats other pests; most people can’t get over their creepy appearance.

Spiders have to be treated differently than other insects when it comes to pest control. By nature, spiders are difficult to control with pesticides. Their legs are non-porous, so they don’t really absorb the chemical well. The body of a spider is usually off the ground so it doesn’t come in contact with the pesticide either. If you try to use a dust, that won’t generally work because they don’t groom themselves. Yes, insects do groom themselves. Believe it or not, roaches groom themselves similarly to a cat. Depending on the species (there are over 35,000 species of spiders) some spiders can hold their breath long enough that even fogging or tenting will not kill them.

Most pest control companies will not guarantee their services for spiders just because of the difficulty in controlling them. One of the better ways to control spiders is by eliminating their food sources. If there are no other insects around your home then they don’t have anything to eat; eventually the spiders move on or starve. Another way to control these nuisances is to treat around the window sills, door jams and eaves. Some companies still use power sprayers to apply chemical and there’s just no way to treat these important areas without making a mess of the home.

Most spider bites are relatively harmless other then some redness and irritation. The Black Widow and the Brown Recluse are the two species which cause the most harm and require immediate medical attention. This fact is also the reason why these two species are misidentified by homeowners more than any others. If a spider is found that may be harmful, collect the specimen in a container and take it into a local pest control company for identification.

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