spider

Parent Cafe
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<p>I am staying at a friend’s this weekend, a tri level. Some catching up on laundry has me on all four levels. The house seems unusually hospitable to spiders and to some extent so are the locals.</p>

<p>There are two questions: What is making these spiders flourish? There are almost no other insects apparent but for very tiny flies here and there in a web. No fruit flies. The other question, being averse to using toxins, what less drastic measures might dampen the arachnid enthusiasm for the place?</p>

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<p>Measures? I’ve got two - one calico and one white! They pounce on anything that scurries across the floor. :slight_smile: I have not seen a spider inside my house in ages.</p>

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<p>“What is making these spiders flourish? There are almost no other insects” - It’s not likely that the spiders have bloomed all at once. More likely that they have just been undisturbed. A vacuum with a hose and crack and crevice tool will help you with do wonders to reduce the population immediately.</p>

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<p>Bunsen: There are four residents here with the following patterns: calico, tortishell, dilute tortishell and blue gray.</p>

<p>ncm: There are undisturbed spiders in my place, too, but they aren’t whooping up like Woodstock. </p>

<p>Hmmmm…</p>

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<p>Did you have a cold snap? They are pretty noticable outside, maybe they wanted to get warm.
[Common</a> Spiders In and Around Homes](<a href=“http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/housingandclothing/dk1033.html]Common”>http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/housingandclothing/dk1033.html)</p>

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<p>cottonwood513 - It’s possible that you just represent fresh meat, but I myself would just vacuum first and ask questions later. </p>

<p>But you should always look for and seal openings (including door sweeps for doors with gaps). And use the harsh chemicals outside…</p>

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<p>Oh, they’re not biting me. Just curious. Thanks for the link emeraldkitty, they seem to be comb-footed spiders.</p>

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<p>LOL - cottonwood513, I didn’t think you were really their next meal. Spiders that bite humans are often just trapped or disturbed by them trying to get away.</p>

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<p>I love having spiders in the house… because as a result I don’t have the insects I really dislike, like mosquitoes and flies. Spiders pretty much stay put!</p>

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<p>We are on the same latitude and are having our annual autumn spider invasion. I think they want someplace warm to lay their eggs instead of freezing to death. (This is not an expert opinion!)</p>

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<p>DMD, that’s about how I feel about them at home. Just stay in the basement.</p>

<pre><code> It’s been unseasonably warm this October, in Chicago. I think you are right about laying their eggs before winter, I never saw so many egg cases as in the laundry room here.
</code></pre>

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<p>dmd77 - you are very very strange ( at least when it comes to your choice in house guests). LOL</p>

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<p>We prefer spiders to their prey, like mosquitoes.</p>

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<p>I should have mentioned that I do NOT like wolf spiders. They don’t have webs and they are roving predators that actually pounce on their prey. ([Wolf</a> spider - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf_spider]Wolf”>Wolf spider - Wikipedia)) I taught in a school that had wolf spiders for a while—that was pretty bad. Just try to calm down a class of high schoolers when a one-inch diameter wolf spider is running across the wall.</p>