Spiders play a vital role to the health of our ecosystem and our food supply. Because they eat insects, either through hunting and chasing down their prey, or trapping them in complex webs, they minimize crop damage, especially in the early months of the growing season. In turn, spiders are a necessary food source for birds, lizards, and desert mammals.
However, their importance to the ecosystem disappears when they take up residence in your home. That’s when it’s time to contact our pest control company in Apex for fast, effective spider extermination services.
Preventing Spiders in Your Apex Home
It may seem like a losing battle to prevent spiders from coming into your home, but with Stomp’s regular pest control service, we protect your home from spiders, insects, and other pests. Because spiders are so plentiful around the area, even venomous ones like black widows and brown recluses, having spider control is important to keep your family safe from harm.
Common Spiders Around Apex
Spiders vary so much in color, size, and even preferred habitat, the only thing they have in common is that they all have eight legs. Read the below descriptions to familiarize yourself with the different species found in the Triangle, and if you see any of these in your home, call our spider control company immediately!
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Black Widow Spiders
- Between 1 ½ – 1 3/8 inches long
- Scientific name: Lactrodectus mactans
- Females eat males after they mate, which is where their name originated from
- Round, black bodies with thin black legs and a red hourglass shape on their backs.
- Currently, there are three recognized species of black widow spider found in the United States:
- The Southern Black Widow (with a scientific name of Latrodectus mactans)
- The Northern Black Widow (with a scientific name of Latrodectus viriolus)
- The Western Black Widow Spider (with a scientific name of Latrodectus hesperus)
- Seeks out dark, protected areas, including wood piles and in fallen trees, and inside barns, sheds, basements, and garages.
- Seeks out warm temperatures and more active when the temperature is at or above 70° F
- Spin irregular webs
- Feeds on other spiders and small to medium sized insects
- Nocturnal and more active at night
- Males have rarely been known to bite
- Females are more aggressive, especially when guarding eggs.
- Symptoms of a black widow bite can include sweating, nausea, increased blood pressure, and fever
- Deaths rarely occur, but if bitten, it is imperative that you seek medical attention as soon as possible.
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Brown Recluse Spiders
- Generally 1/4 to 1/2 inch long
- Scientific name: Loxosceles recluse
- Round in shape
- Can range in color from tan to dark brown, but most commonly light brown with a dark mark on the back
- Mostly found in the southern Midwest and across the Southeast to Texas
- Seek undisturbed areas, including woodpiles, under rocks, and even piles of paper, cracks in buildings, and trash bags.
- Eatsother insects such as cockroaches, crickets, and worms
- Use their web as a stationary place, rather than an area to catch prey
- Generally bites in defense of its babies, not instinctively
- Both male and females can inject venom
- After bitten by the Brown Recluse, a stinging pain can last 6-8 hours later, a small blister will develop, and restlessness, fever, and troubled sleep are common symptoms
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Wolf Spider
- Generally 1/4 to 3/4inch long
- Scientific name: Lycosa
- There are over 100 different types of species of wolf spiders in the United States and Canada
- Stout in shape with very long and thin legs
- Can range in color from tan to dark brown, but often lighter with yellowish stripes or markings
- Can be found throughout most of the United States
- Seeks out its prey through hunting and chasing after them.
- Fast-moving
- Nocturnal and most commonly rest during the day, thus they’re commonly encountered by people
- If indoors, they tend to remain at floor level, under furniture or near walls or crevasses
- If outdoors, they can most commonly be found under timber, firewood, leaves, landscaping material, and stones
- Have been known to eat other insects and crop pests
- Generally bites out of self-defense, not instinctively
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Common House Spiders
- Females are 3/16 to 5/16 inch long, while males are 1/8 to 3/16 inches long
- Scientific name: Achaearanea tepidariorum
- Equipped with 8 legs and no antenna
- The shape of common house spiders is described as having an elongated abdomen
- Can range in color from yellowish brown to dirty white with numerous dark stripes meeting at an angle
- Can commonly be found throughout the United States and Canada
- Randomly selects its web locations and creates a tangled web.
- If a web does not yield prey, it is left and another site is selected
- Are unable to survive in new-aged homes due to lack of humidity and food
- Lives in barns, sheds, and garages, or if outdoors, around windows, or under rocks and leaves where it’s easy to hunt prey.
- When outdoors, they’re commonly found around window sills, under rocks and leaves, and anywhere near light sources, where they’re able to hunt prey
- Have been known to eat other insects and crop pests
- Unable to bite
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Jumping Spiders
- Adults range in size from 1/8 inch to 3/4 inches
- Typically covered by dense hairs or scales
- Scientific name: Salticidae
- Equipped with 8 legs and no antenna
- Second largest spider family
- There are approximately 4,000 different species of jumping spiders in the world, with roughly 300 different species in the United States
- Front legs are usually thicker and longer than their back legs
- The shape of jumping spiders is described as oval-shaped with short legs
- Can range in color from black to brown, tan, or gray, often with white, yellow, red, blue, or green markings
- Commonly mistaken for black widows, due to their compact bodies and short legs
- Can commonly be found throughout the United States
- Have been known to have the best vision of any spider species
- Able to jump up to 18 inches, which is primarily how they catch their prey
- employ a silk as a dragline when they jump, which acts as a safety line
- Have been known to eat insects and other small crop pests
- Active primarily during the day, as they prefer sunlight
- Essentially blind at night, despite having 8 eyes in 3 different rows
- For indoors, they’re known to reside under furniture, around window sills, in cracked pieces of wood trim
- For outdoors, they’re known to reside around fallen tree bark, under stones and boards, on bushes fences, decks and along building dumpsters
- Are unable to survive in new-aged homes due to lack of humidity and food
- Able to bite, but not poisonous
- Build webs as retreats, not to catch prey
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Orb Weaver Spiders
- Range in size from 3/8 inches to 1/2 inches
- Males and females are typically the same sizes
- Scientific name: Argiope aurantia
- Equipped with 8 legs and no antenna
- Third largest spider family in the world
- Have a lifespan of approximately one year, but reproduce in significant numbers
- Known for constructing organized, circular, and silky webs that are similar in shape to Halloween decoration webs
- Webs can measure up to three feet in diameter
- The shape of common house spiders is described as oval-shaped with short legs
- Can range in color from reddish-brown to gray, with leaf-shaped patterns on their abdomen
- May also have a white or off-white dorsal stripe
- If a web does not yield prey, it is left and another site is selected and the old web is revisited from time-to-time
- Known as three-clawed builders of flat webs with sticky spiral capture silk
- Their webs are primarily where they reside, both day and night
- Their webs are most commonly built around grass shrubs or near bodies of water, in hope of catching flies and other small to medium-sized insects
- Usually reluctant to bite, as they have very small fangs
- Female Orb Weaver Spiders primarily lay their eggs in late summer to the beginning of Autumn
- Their eggs are encased in a protectant and silky cocoon and are usually attached to foliage
- After hatching, the baby Orb Weaver spiders disperse by floating in the breeze while attached to small silk strands
- Birds and wasps are considered predators of Orb Weaver Spiders, as they’ve been known to destroy webs and act as bait by imitating struggling and trapped insects
Why Choose Us for Spider Control in Apex
At Stomp Pest Control, we’re dedicated to helping our customers have a safe, healthy home, free of dangerous insects, spiders, and other pests. We are proud of the three key elements that make up our customer service:
- The Stomp Difference is what sets us apart. Just a few ways we stand are our high standards for our employees, we are a locally owned and operated company, and we specifically include spider extermination and so much more, even in our basic pest control packages.
- Our 6 Step Process ensures we eliminate existing pests and spiders and ongoing prevention packages make sure they stay gone!
- 100% Satisfaction Guarantee means that we’re not happy until you’re happy!
Contact Us for Spider Extermination in Apex
If you’ve seen spiders around your yard or home, don’t wait until someone gets a dangerous bite, call us for professional spider control services in Apex! Contact us today at 919-231-3292 to schedule service or learn more about our pest control packages!