Spider Control
Elite Pest Control in Christchurch can assist with spider removal.
Spiders are one of the most feared home invaders and the most difficult to eradicate.
Don’t let them get the better of you.
There are more phobias about spiders than any other pest, and understandably so. If you get bitten by the wrong spider and have a bad reaction to the venom, you can end up in the hospital. In order to control spiders, there are several things that are important to know.
Don’t expect perfection in spider control; they are biologically not very receptive to chemical agents and not very cooperative in picking up pesticides.
So just spraying alone is not a great defence against spiders. As you know, spiders are built high off the ground. They don’t drag their bellies across surfaces. An insecticide residue on the surface only touches their feet. (Yes, they have feet.) But there’s no circulatory system that will take the insecticide to the organs within the body to cause a quick death.
That kind of contact won’t cut it for reasonable spider control. You really have to make contact with the insect via a direct spray, a newspaper, a shoe, or whatever weapon of choice. Spiders are arachnids, not actually insects. True insects such as ants, roaches and wasps, use their mouth to groom themselves habitually, like cats. Spiders don’t routinely use their mouth parts to clean themselves. They will clean their legs if a large particle is stuck to one, but it’s not a habit that guarantees pesticide will kill them. In addition, most spiders spend their entire lives sitting in webs (a non-treated surface).
So we in the pest control industry refer to effective spider control as a “contact kill.”One exception: if you treat the surface of a crevice, a tight squeeze that a spider goes in and out of, like between a baseboard and the carpet, or a piece of wood trim around a window where it meets up with the interior sheetrock or the exterior siding. In these cases, the spider will likely contact his body with the spray when he squeezes in and out of his hiding place.
Methods of Spider Control
An effective approach to spider control is to use the knowledge that they are predators; they primarily consume other insects.
So if you can reduce the other insects around your home, spiders will be less interested in hanging around.
Most spiders like to hang out near light sources, as they rely on flying insects that instinctively move towards light.
A web-spinning spider worth his salt will let his meals come to him.
In addition to web-making spiders, there are hunting spiders. They are athletic and really do run down prey.
A subcategory of hunting spiders is jumping spiders. If you’ve seen one of those, you recognize it. They have more of a pouncing behaviour to capture their prey. The spiders with short, stubby legs are almost all of the jumping variety.
The spiders with long – but not delicate – legs are the running spiders. These include wolf spiders and brown recluses. You won’t find those spiders spinning a web.
The best way to control running and jumping spiders at home is to control their food sources around the house – again, get rid of your other bugs.
Crack and crevice treatment with insecticides provides some control.
The product we use is a Synthetic Pyrethroid (SP), which is based on natural Pyrethrum found in the Chrysanthemum Daisy.
The wonderful aspect of SP’s is that they not only kill insects after they come in contact with a treated surface but they also deter a large number from even coming into your home.
SP’s are designed to only harm cold-blooded creatures (so be careful if you have fish or reptiles).
Residual treatment is sprayed on the inside walls, ceiling and around windows and doors. The treatment is applied to the exterior of the building as well, around all doors, windows, and drains, down pipes, under eaves and around plants. This treatment helps to kill any insect activity outside prior to making entry.
Spiders must contact a treated surface before they start to die.
We would also recommend the use of Automatic Spray cans to help control those insects that do not walk on the treated surfaces. The products we use are approved and registered for use in NZ.
