We've been organizing a client's garage for the past week and it's been a rough few days. Sawdust from house construction and sun that just won't quit--we're beat. Not to mention the black widow we encountered first hand on day one (but it's all in a days work and we can't imagine doing anything else). We took preventative measures to avoid being bit (we have a slight case of arachnophobia) and we wanted to share the tips with you.
How To: Prevent Spider Bites
Even When You're Knee Deep In Boxes In An Old Garage
We found these great tips on a website called Haley Pest Control. If your skin crawls at the thought of spiders--watch out for this website (not for the timid). Here are a few tips on how to keep spiders out of corners, boxes and garages while keeping yourself protected as well.
- Store boxes off the floor and away from walls and seal them tightly with tape to reduce spider access.
- You should always be careful about where you put your hands when doing outdoor work, and wear gloves and a long-sleeved shirt when working around woodpiles or other items that are likely to harbor spiders (we also wore socks that covered our ankles just to be extra safe).
- Keep attics and basements ventilated to reduce moisture, thus reducing the amount of prey insects available as a food source for spiders.
- Maintain tight-fitting screens in windows and seal cracks in walls or other entrance sites.
- Do not stack wood against your house. Spiders like woodpiles and if they take up residence inside wood stacked next to a house, there is more chance that they will wander into the home. Move the woodpile as far from the house as possible, stack it off the ground and cover it with a tarp. Also, when you pick up wood, wear gloves. Be sure to shake out the gloves first for spiders, or stomp on the gloves first to squash a spider.
- Keep all articles of clothing, including shoes and outerwear, off the floor. Shake all articles of clothing before putting them on.
- Switch from cardboard box storage units to plastic containers with sealable tops. Cardboard boxes are hospitable to brown recluse spiders, as they tend to hide in the corners and underneath the flaps (lucky for us, brown recluse spiders aren't prevalent in Southern California).
- Transfer all articles from underneath your bed, especially boxes, to another place. The space underneath your bed can be a perfect spider habitat.
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[Image from jamiecat1]
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Just reading this gives me the willies.
view als1's profile
It's all very sound advice. Basements are nearly impossible to keep spider free, but regular sweeping helps immensely.
view medusa12120's profile
I remember as a teenage kid living in the Central Valley all the spiders that would take up residence in our garage, patio, woodpile and water-heater closet - including dozens of Black Widows...
...and of course it was my job to clear them out. I'd use an old cannister vacuum cleaner and a waterhose to get rid of them, their webs, what was left of the dead males and the white eggcasings.
For years I had nightmares about thousands of black widows coming into the house and dropping down from the ceilings...
...which makes me very thankful I live in a highrise apartment.
view bepsf's profile
I knew I should have kept scrolling!
view modernguy's profile
I had an encounter with a brown recluse spider when I was a teenager. If I never see another one it would still be too soon.
view confusednazgul's profile
Mallet. Always have a mallet on hand. It is your best line of defense.
view Seaside's profile
pet cat in the basement works wonders for eleminating spiders.
view asked you first's profile
Why didn't I just skip over this? Ditto als 1.
view hrhprincessfiona's profile