A Practical Spider Prevention Guide For Your San Mateo Home

Spiders are a type of arachnid. They have two body parts; adults have eight legs, Chelicerae (fangs), many eyes, and a lack of wings and antennae. While most people are not huge fans of coming face to face with spiders, it is essential to understand that they overwhelmingly received a bad rap. While movies may make it seem that spiders are constantly looking for people to bite, the truth is that spiders are not aggressive toward people; they are naturally shy and reclusive. Spiders are just as startled by you as you are by them!

Most contact made with spiders is accidental. They hide in dark spaces that camouflage their presence, and when you make unintentional contact with spiders, their only defense is to bite.

Though being bitten by spiders isn't pleasant, in most cases, spider bites result in slight swelling and redness around the bite site and nothing more. However, in San Mateo, some spiders pose dangers to people. All spiders possess venom that they use to paralyze their insect prey. Dangerous spiders like black widow spiders and brown recluse spiders have venom potent enough to cause symptoms in people that require medical intervention.

While preventing dangerous spiders from entering your home is vital, stopping your home from being invaded by all spiders and other unwanted houseguests is vitally important. Here at Pacific Pest Management, we want to provide pest control in San Mateo to help you control spiders and other common household guests and stop them from becoming comfortable in your home.

Habits And Behaviors Of Common Spiders

A common misconception about spiders in San Mateo is that they all make webs to capture their insect prey. The reality is that while all spiders produce silk, not all spiders use their silk to create webs.

In addition to building their iconic webs, there are many things that spiders use their silk for, including tethers, lining for burrows, and wrapping up captured insect prey. Spiders that build webs can use the webs as a resting place or as a place to capture their insect prey.

Spiders are fierce predators, and each species has a unique way of hunting and capturing its prey. We can put spiders into one of three categories; active hunters, web builders, and passive hunters.

Active hunters are go-getters; they don't wait for their prey to come to them; they go out and look for it. Active hunters will chase after and capture their prey, or they'll squeeze their bodies into tight cracks and crevices, looking for insects to capture. 

Web builders are spiders that build intricate webs and place them in areas where insects and other prey are likely to come in contact with them. Spider silk weight for weight is stronger than steel; when insects get themselves tangled with a spider web, they are no match and become the spider's next meal. 

Passive hunters hang out in their web or secluded hiding spot and wait for their prey to come to them. The spiders will then quickly show themselves, capture, and consume their prey. 

Spiders are beneficial to the ecosystem because they provide natural pest control by feeding on garden pests and other nuisance and dangerous insects. While considered a gardener's best friend, they can quickly become a homeowner's worst nightmare.

Spiders like to live in quiet, undisturbed areas near food sources and moisture. Our yards are places where many species of these arachnids thrive. Gardens, landscaping, woodpiles, and yard debris provide spiders with ample access to their insect prey and plenty of dark nooks and crannies to hide within.

In controlled numbers, spiders help us to keep our yards from being overrun by garden pests and other unwanted insects. Unfortunately, the more spiders that decide to call your outdoor space home, the more likely these eight-legged arachnids will eventually wind up where you don't want them — in your home!

What It Means If You're Seeing Spiders In Your Home

It is a fact of life that we share our outdoor spaces with spiders. When wandering around your yard, it shouldn't be surprising to spot spiders doing what spiders do best; building webs, scurrying along surfaces or dangling from a piece of silk. What can be surprising is discovering that you are sharing your home with spiders. Most people can handle spiders in their yards, but sharing their kitchen or bathroom with spiders is another story!

Spiders are outdoor pests and don't necessarily want to live inside our homes. So why are spiders such common household pests? There are several reasons why spiders end up indoors.

Spiders are attracted to moisture. Damp soil and dense vegetation around the perimeter of your home will draw the attention of spiders. As they crawl around your foundation and exterior walls, they move inside through any cracks or crevices they come across. While spiders weren't necessarily trying to become permanent members of your household, once inside, if they find food, they will stay.

In addition to moisture, insect activity is a big reason why spiders end up in our San Mateo homes. Nothing can make spiders feel more welcome than plenty of food to keep their bellies full. If you are experiencing problems with spiders in your San Mateo home, you are likely also experiencing problems with other common household pests. Spiders happily hunt flies, ants, cockroaches, and other insects that have sought shelter or have found a reliable food source in your home.

Finally, spiders also like our homes, garages, and sheds because they offer them a safe, dry place to lay their eggs sacs. Each egg sac can contain hundreds of eggs and can quickly lead to sharing your home with hundreds of spiders!

The most effective way to keep spiders out of your house throughout the year is to be proactive and partner with a pest professional. Professional pest control services will quickly remove the spiders and the insects they are hunting from your home and put in place the preventative services necessary to keep them from returning!

Five Easy And Effective Spider Prevention Tips

To help keep spiders out of your home, make changes and repairs around your house that make it less attractive to spiders. If living in your home won't benefit spiders, they will leave.

Below are five of our easiest and most effective spider prevention tips that will help you meet your goal of keeping spiders out of your San Mateo home:

Keep outdoor lights on a timer, or make sure you turn outdoor lights off whenever they aren't needed. Reduce exterior lights around your home that will attract the attention of insects that spiders like to eat. 

Cut back shrubs and bushes from your home's exterior that can prevent the sun from hitting the soil around your foundation and allow moisture to collect. Ensure gutters and downspouts are working correctly to direct water away from your home's perimeter. Make sure your yard has good drainage. 

Maintain your lawn. Keep the grass cut short, maintain gardens, and remove yard debris like fallen leaves and woodpiles from your property. Doing those things will help reduce harborage sites for spiders and their insect prey on your property. 

Seal entry points that spiders could utilize. Caulk cracks in your foundation, repair damage to siding, and ensure door sweeps and weatherstripping are in place. Quickly repair torn or otherwise damaged screens in windows and doors.

Maintain your home. Regularly vacuum and dust to dislodge and remove spiders, their webs, and egg sacs. Keep a clean kitchen free of crumbs to keep hungry pests like flies and cockroaches out of your home. 

In conjunction with the above tips, keep spiders away from your San Mateo home by investing in recurring pest control services. Spiders are a year-round threat to our California properties; any of our homes could become home to spiders looking for food or shelter. 

The Most Effective Spider Control Solution For Your Home

If you are tired of sharing your yard or home with spiders, we are here to help. The best way to get rid of spiders is always with the assistance of an experienced pest control professional.

For the most effective spider control in San Mateo, turn to the local professionals at Pacific Pest Management. We understand that while most spiders are harmless, some are not and that these eight-legged pests should never be allowed to take over our indoor or outdoor spaces.

Here at Pacific Pest Management, our professionals are experienced and can identify the specific species on your property, giving you the peace of mind of knowing whether the spiders you are dealing with are harmless or dangerous. We are dedicated to our customers and providing top-notch pest control services. Our San Mateo spider control offerings are fast-acting and include a thorough inspection and the development of a long-term solution.

Reach out today for a free estimate or to learn more about residential and commercial pest control in San Mateo. Investing in pest control is the best way to maintain a spider-free property now and long into the future!