Spider Control in Irving, TX

Texas may have plenty of harmless spiders, but two types of dangerous spiders also call the Lone Star state home: the black widow spider and the brown recluse. Here's what Irving homeowners should know about identifying a dangerous spider, signs of a bite, how to safely remove them from your home, and how to prevent dangerous spiders with pest control.

How To Tell If The Spider In Your Home Is Dangerous

Fortunately, both brown recluse spiders and black widow spiders can be identified by sight, especially if you know what to look for. Black widows, for instance, have glossy, black coloring, but their most recognizable feature is a reddish-orange hourglass mark on the underside of their abdomens. If you see that bright mark, you're definitely dealing with a black widow spider.

As far as size goes, black widows can grow over an inch in length, with female spiders becoming bigger than their male counterparts.

Brown recluse spiders sometimes get mistaken for house spiders, but there's a key difference: house spiders have striped legs, and brown recluse spiders do not. The other most recognizable feature of a brown recluse spider is the dark, violin-shaped mark on its cephalothorax. 

Both types of spiders prefer to hang out in dark, damp areas, like garages, basements, or cellars. Despite their dangerous nature, neither spider is aggressive, so bites are rare, but they happen occasionally.

Common Symptoms Of A Dangerous Spider's Bite

Since it can be difficult to determine if you've been bitten by this spider in the moment, some warning symptoms that can indicate a black widow spider bite include:

• Pain and swelling around the bite that doesn't go away
• Nausea and vomiting
• Muscle cramps or joint pain
• Fever or chills
• Headache
• Fatigue
• Brown recluse spider bite symptoms can be similar:
• Swelling or redness
• Pain that radiates from the bite
• Deep ulcer-like sore that begins to form
• Seizure
• Nausea or vomiting
• Fever or chills

If you begin to experience any of the symptoms described above, you should always seek medical attention. Both black widow and brown recluse spider bites can yield dangerous symptoms and health risks if left untreated, so you should always seek treatment – even if you couldn't identify the spider that bit you.

The Safest Way To Remove Dangerous Spiders From Your Home

If you do identify a spider as a black widow or brown recluse, you shouldn't stick around or try to deal with it on your own. Black widows and brown recluses are extremely venomous, and they're currently the most venomous spiders in the country. Instead, the safest way to remove these spiders is by contacting the pros at All-Safe Pest & Termite.

We've been serving the locals of Irving for years, and we've dealt with black widow and brown recluse infestations of every size. Even if you're not sure you've got dangerous spiders, let us do the investigating for you – contact us today at All-Safe Pest & Termite to learn more about how our spider control services can help you.

Helpful Tips To Prevent Future Spider Infestations

Black widow spiders and brown recluse spiders may sometimes end up in your home by accident, but you can also unintentionally attract these spiders and others to your home. Here are some quick tips on how to keep spiders away:

• Seal off entry points into your home. Use foam or caulk to seal up any gaps or holes you may have near the foundation of your home or in exterior walls.
• Keep up with sanitary food and trash practices. Don't leave any food out. The food won't attract spiders, but it will attract the insects spiders eat. If your home has insects, spiders will not be far behind.
• Deal with your clutter. Cluttered homes give black widows and other spiders plenty of places to hide, so de-cluttering your home regularly can help you avoid unpleasant surprises.
• Don't store your firewood near the house. Black widow spiders often nest inside firewood, so you'll want to keep any woodpiles at least several feet from your home to prevent them from straying inside.
• Be careful about bringing in yard debris. Black widows and other spiders can hide in potted plants or yard debris that you keep outside, so you'll want to inspect these items for any pests before you bring them inside.

Of course, the best form of dangerous spider and black widow prevention is forming an ongoing professional relationship with a pest control company like All-Safe Pest & Termite.