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Brown Spider, Tacoma-based and family-owned pest control and inspection company

My First Memorable Spider Experiences

Last time we left off at telling some stories about spiders.

Childhood Experiences

I was ten years old and had just gone to bed and laying there I felt a “tickle” on my leg. I thought it was just an itch, so I brushed my leg off under the covers. When I felt it again and did the same. When it happened a third time, I felt I needed to examine the situation more in depth so I through back the covers. To my horror, there was a GIANT spider in my bed!!! You can bet that I pulled my covers back, every single night, from then on for a thorough inspection!

Another memorable experience came from my childhood as well. My mom made pickles every year and guess whose job it was to retrieve the old mason jars! You guessed it. And where did we store the jars? In the crawl space of course!

We lived in a tri-level house that had a fairly tall crawl space a kid could “walk” around in if he crouched. This was the handy place my mom stored these old, empty jars.  I accessed the area through a small door in the garage and I hated going in there. There were spider webs and it was dark, but I found my way around with a treble light I plugged into the garage outlet. I never would have imagined that years later I would be going into crawl spaces much tighter and dirtier thousands of times as a career choice!!  That was my introduction to crawl spaces and seeing where spiders love to hang out!

Skipping Ahead

Quite a few years, I had recently purchased my first house. It was a small 700 square foot house in North Tacoma. I’d been in the pest control industry for a few years now and was very used to seeing and dealing with spiders on a regular basis – just not inside my own home!

I was sitting in my living room watching TV when I caught something moving out of the corner of my eye. It didn’t scare me, but I must say it startled me. My first thought was that it was a mouse! But when I got up to get a clear look, I saw a GIANT house spider scurrying across the carpet. I’m not kidding! That’s how big this thing was!

Coming to an Understanding

Being in the pest control industry for so long, I have come to know the importance and relevance of spiders. I have also come to know the tolerance, and lack thereof, to spiders INSIDE folks’ homes and the levels of arachnophobia behaviors. It is not wrong to fear spiders nor is it wrong to want to have no part of them within the comforts of your own home. Spiders are beneficial creatures feeding upon many unwanted pests in our environment and have a very important role in the balance of nature.

As pest control experts, our job is to keep your home comfortable and free of spiders. This does not mean we are out to make spiders extinct nor kill off all of the orb weaver/garden spiders around the outside environment which are maintaining the natural balance. We have all had the unpleasant experience of walking face-first through an orb weavers web. While it is a little nasty, and uncomfortable, it is not a reason to spray gallons and gallons of pesticides around your yard, trees, shrubs, flowers, etc. in an attempt to extinguish everything that moves! This will only serve to pollute your environment unnecessarily and endanger other insect species that have every right, and importance, to exist.

Keeping unwanted spiders out of your home is a reasonable request that is easily accomplished through professional means. A maintenance spray will ensure that they will be kept out, while other beneficial insects and environments remain healthy and rightfully unfazed. This is the true meaning of integrated pest management.

 

Your Turn

There are many more stories and experiences with spiders that I’ve had, but those are the ones that really stick out. I think it would be fun to get some of your stories as well.  Please send your stories for us to share with everyone! Drop us a line here or send us a message on Facebook.

and when you go to bed tonight remember to……………….”SLEEP TIGHT AND DON’T LET THE BED BUGS BITE”.

Lind Pest Control logo with Hobo Spider

The Spider – Misconceptions and My Experiences

Bravo”!! to KCPQ 13 for their recent story regarding arachnophobia.

If I had a nickel for every person that said they had black widows or brown recluse I could have retired years ago! I have been very fortunate to have personally seen Mr. Crawford speak about spiders at several seminars. I am pleased to see some of these spider “misconceptions” put to rest (a little bit) by education via stories such as this and through social media.

I thought I would add my two cents in and speak to some of the findings and experiences I have had throughout my nearly 30 years of experience in the industry (and beyond).

Contrary to popular belief

Spiders are not aggressive bloodsucking creatures in search for its nearest victim to bite. They are quite shy, solitary creatures that tend to hide away and let their prey come to them and fall into their trap. As Mr. Crawford states, there are many types of spiders who have individual characteristics and different types of webbing traps.

Though most spiders do not display aggression like biting, this does not mean they are not capable of, and won’t actually bite you. Take the hobo spider for example. It has been known to bite people and inflict a considerable adverse reaction. The most likely scenarios for people getting bitten by this spider are completely accidental. Maybe it was in a pile of clothes someone picked up, or perhaps it was in the bed with you and became trapped between you and the sheet or blanket. It could have been hiding in a shoe you decided to wear. In all of these types of scenarios, the spider was exhibiting a defensive reaction.

Feeling trapped, a spider will protect itself and that automatic reaction would be to strike.

A spider bite can affect each one of us very differently.

The severity can vary. There are many variables between each spider and each human individual.

Hobo spiders do contain a level of venom, and if you are more susceptible to that venom, you are going to have a worse reaction than another individual. That being said, this doesn’t mean you would have the same reaction every time you get bitten by a spider. It is going to vary by the individual spider. It is much like a sting from a wasp and each individual’s tolerance and chemistry, if you will.

Ever been stung by a yellow jacket? I have been stung on several occasions. Sometimes I feel nothing more than an initial discomfort while other times I’ve swelled up considerably. I remember one particular time when I got stung on the wrist while I was golfing. My hand swelled up for a week!  My hand and forearm looked like the INCREDIBLE HULK!!!

We flat out don’t know what each individual’s reaction is going to be from a spider bite. I have seen people swell up considerably and have necrosis around the wound where the cells of the skin have died and left a pretty ugly wound.  As with every other type of wound, the importance of keeping it clean and away from infection, is of the utmost importance.

 

Stay tuned for additional insights and spider stories…