How To Keep Black Widow Spiders Away From Your Plano Home

Do you know that there are conditions that can attract black widow spiders into your yard? It's true. It's also true that, if you address these conditions, you can make it less likely that these potentially harmful spiders will come onto your property, close to your Plano home. Let's take a look at how this works and discuss how All-Safe Pest & Termite can give you even greater protection from these pests in Plano.

Yard Work

If you don't want black widow spiders on your property, it is important to stay on top of yard work. Black widows are attracted to Plano yards that are overgrown, and organic debris such as tall grass, leaves, and dead branches. We recommend that you:

• Keep your grass cut.
• Address weeds in your lawn.
• Remove weeds, grass, and other unnecessary vegetation from your landscaping.
• Rake leaves up and remove them.
• Blow leaves out of landscaping and get leaves out from underneath exterior structures.
• Pick dead branches up and burn them in a fire pit.
• If you don't have a fire pit, store the sticks well away from your exterior walls and put them on an elevated platform if possible. This will get them off the ground and make this attractive harborage location less accessible to black widows and the bugs they eat.

Yard Clutter

Black widows don't just hide in organic debris, they hide in man-made objects. They also hide in piles of man-made objects. If you have a wood palette with a bunch of junk sitting on it, you can expect black widow spiders to take notice. Remove junk and store items in a shed or barn rather than in your yard.

Insects

Black widow spiders eat a lot of insects. This makes them beneficial - right up until they place one of their eight, creepy little legs on your Plano property. If you don't want black widow spiders, you need to address the insect populations in your yard. Here are a few suggestions:

• Keep all garbage in covered trash receptacles.
• Remove trash weekly and deodorize your receptacles if they develop an odor.
• Replace outdoor lighting where white bulbs are used. White light attracts insects. Yellow bulbs are better because they cast light in the yellow spectrum, which insects can't perceive.
• If you have a furry family member that leaves droppings in your yard, stay on top of cleaning that waste up. Pet waste attracts flies. Flies attract spiders.
• Address moisture issues. While black widows prefer warm, dry habitats, many of the insects they eat are drawn to moisture. One essential tip for reducing moisture is to clean your gutters. Your gutters can be a source of many pest problems. We recommend getting a gutter guard to keep debris from becoming mulch in your gutters.

How Professional Pest Control Fits Into The Picture

It can be difficult to address conducive conditions. There are some conditions you won't want to change. Other conditions may be difficult to change. At All-Safe Pest & Termite, we give you the support you need to get the best control possible.

• Our technicians will look for webs on your property and remove any webs found. When webs are removed, it removes any egg sacs as well. One black widow egg sac will have around 200 to 250 eggs in it. While not every spiderling that hatches is going to be viable, you really don't want any of those eggs turning into another black widow in your yard.
• Our technicians apply treatments in your yard and in your perimeter to reduce insect populations. The goal of these treatments is to keep insect pests out of your Plano home, but they have an added benefit. They reduce the food source that attracts black widows.
• If a black widow problem is discovered, you're going to get a quick solution to your problem. Our technicians use industry-leading strategies to get control of pest threats.

How Bad Are Black Widows?

There is a lot of unsubstantiated fear surrounding black widow spiders, even though there hasn't been a black widow-related death reported to the American Association of Poison Control Centers since 1983. It is also not commonly known that black widow spiders can cause a dry bite. This is when the female spider does not envenomate the wound. Without venom, a black widow bite is just a pinprick.

Along with all this, it is only the female spider that is considered a medical threat to humans. You don't need to live in fear of these spiders, but it is wise to be cautious. If you detect black widow activity in your yard, it is best to not let one spider turn into hundreds of them. Reach out to All-Safe Pest & Termite for a spider control treatment or to get started with a residential pest control plan.