If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Spiders get a bad rap mostly because they are scary looking.  Movies and urban legends have only increased the public fear of these mostly harmless creatures.  In fact, spiders are fascinating and mostly helpful because they eat other much more annoying and harmful insects.  You probably don’t want to call a pest control company to get rid of harmless spiders in your yard, unless there seems to be some kind of infestation.

However, there are some spiders which are actually quite harmful.  In fact, the black widow spider and the brown recluse spider are both highly poisonous and can cause serious nerve damage and even death in small animals if they bite.  The black widow spider is about a half inch long and is totally black except for a bright red hourglass patter on her abdomen.  (Only the female black widow spider is actually dangerous.)  The Brown Recluse spider is also about a half inch long, is brown, and has a violin shaped mark on its middle section.

If you suspect that you or you or someone else in your family has been bitten by a poisonous spider, call for emergency help immediately.  If at all possible, take the spider remains with you so that the doctor can examine it and determine what kind of action is needed.

For the most part, spiders are shy and even these poisonous types will hide in places where people tend not to be.  You may not even run across them except on rare occasions when cleaning out the garage.  Unless they’re bothering you it might be worth your while to leave them be, but if you have young children or curious pets you have every reason to be concerned.

You can attempt to get rid of them by removing their webs and keeping your house clean even in the seldom used areas.  Regular, thorough sweeping, vacuuming and dusting will remove any residual nests.  Make sure your outdoor areas are also kept clean and clutter free.  If you have shrubbery, keep it trimmed as well.  Of course, you can always call a professional pest control service to help you get rid of spiders if you are too squeamish.  For a free Los Angles pest control inspection, give us a call at 888-675-0258 or go to www.accuracypluscalifornia.com

Spiders are unwelcome in many homes, and although they have a scary reputation they are actually one of the most useful and friendly critters on the planet.  Just because you’d prefer to keep them out of your house doesn’t mean you can’t appreciate them.  Here are 20 fascinating facts about spiders that you may not know:

1. Spiders are not insects.  They are arachnids.  Insects have three body sections and six legs; spiders have two body sections and eight legs.
2.  There are more than 30,000 known species of spiders.
3. Despite the fact that most spiders have 6-8 pairs of eyes, their eyesight is very poor.  They use the fine hairs on their bodies to sense movement and signal when they should run or attack.
4. The male spider is usually smaller than the female.
5. The word “spider” comes from the Old English word “spinnan” which means “to spin.”
6. Spiders digest their food before they eat it!  They inject digestive enzymes into their prey which turns the captured critter into liquid and allows the spider to suck up the mush through a special “straw.”
7. Despite its scary appearance, the tarantula is no more poisonous than a bee sting.
8. The spider’s web is made out of protein.  When it’s time to spin a new web, the spider will eat the old web.
9. The golden spider spins silk that is as strong as a steel wire of the same size.
10. Little Miss Muffet from the Mother Goose nursery rhyme was a real person.  She was the daughter of Dr. Mouffet who believed you could be healed by eating spiders.
11. Each year, spiders eat so many insects that the combined weight of their pray exceeds the weight of the entire global population of humans.
12. The largest known spider is the Goliath tarantula which makes its home in South America.  Its body can span a dinner plate.
13. Most spiders live for less than six months, but the female tarantula can live up to 25 years!
14. A spider’s silk is liquid until it hits the air and then it coagulates into thread.
15. The black widow’s venom is 15x more powerful than the venom of the diamondback rattlesnake.  However, because only a tiny amount is injected when she bites, very few people die from the black widow spider’s bite.

For a free Los Angles pest control inspection, give us a call at 888-675-0258 or go to www.accuracypluscalifornia.com.

Myths About Spiders

Does the sight of a spider send shivers up your spine? You aren’t alone. There are many people that have a fear of spiders. Today we’ll look at some of the common myths about spiders. Will you like them any better after you know the facts? Probably not, but it’s good to know the enemy.

Let’s take a look at those popular myths:

Spiders are insects – False. Actually spiders are part of the Arachnida classification. The fear or phobia about spiders is called Arachnophobia.

Spiders are all the same – False. There are many different types of spiders. Spiders are also just one part of the arachnid family of classification. Other arachnids include scorpions, ticks, mites and many others. Of course, within the spider family there are a variety of types of spiders. Some are quite common and are of no danger to humans, others can bite humans, while others are extremely poisonous.

All spiders have eight legs – False (kind of). All spiders have a four pairs of legs – eight in total. Insects have three pairs of legs. It’s very common to see a spider or insect that has lost a leg, but still remains quite functional because it has another leg from the weight bearing pair to balance its body.

Spiders always make webs – False. Only about half of the known spider varieties use a web to catch prey. Other spiders look for prey by waiting for the prey to come to them. So, just because you don’t see webs, doesn’t mean you don’t have spiders.

Whether you are afraid of spiders or just find them a nuisance, you can rid your house of these creatures. During our inspection we’ll look for all kinds of insects (and Arachnids) and uncover their entry point into your home. Your first line of defense is keeping the bugs out. We help make that possible.

For a free inspection spider, or for any pest control needs in the LA area, give us a call at 888-675-0258 or go to http://www.accuracypluscalifornia.com/.