A Handy Guide To Spider Prevention For Yakima County Homes

They're creepy. They're crawly. They make a mess with their webs. We're talking about spiders today. If you've had enough of these six-legged pests surprising you in unexpected places, zipping across your walls, or biting you, this guide will help you take your home and yard back. We'll tell you all about local spiders, why they invade your home, how to reduce spider populations in your yard, and how to get rid of spiders once and for all. If you don't care to learn about spiders and would prefer to have one of our friendly and experienced pest professionals address the spiders in your home and apply spider prevention around your home, give us a call. We can help you find answers to your spider questions.

Types Of Spiders In Yakima County

There are quite a few spider species in our region, far too many to cover each one individually. Rather than look at the species, we'll break them down into categories and tell you a few things you need to know about each of them.

Indoor Spiders: Some spiders prefer to live in your home. Most of these are small spiders that have a minor bite. A few have weak fangs and are unable to bite at all. If you see tiny spiders in your house, it is likely they're indoor spiders. Small house spiders are mostly a nuisance. They're not interested in biting humans. The methods for controlling them are general cleaning, indoor insect control, and humidity control.

Occasional Invaders: Some spiders enter homes for a short time and typically go back outside. In this category is the black widow spider, the only medically important spider in Yakima County. You can deter occasional invaders by reducing perimeter dampness, reducing spiders' prey, sealing exterior entry points, and removing hiding places near your home.

Ground Spiders: Some spiders live in holes and hunt for crawling insects, bugs, and salamanders. The wolf spider is a good example. If you see a big hairy spider in your home, you're looking at a wolf spider. The primary way to keep ground spiders out is to fill gaps and pest-proof your home.

Orb and Funnel Weavers: These spiders create webs on your home, in your landscaping, and in gardens. They rarely get inside homes. Removing webs and destroying eggs sacs will help you manage spiders that make webs. A single egg sac can have hundreds of eggs in it.

These are the general spiders you can expect to see around and in your home. Let's take a closer look at how infestations occur in your yard and in your home. 

Why Spiders Invade Homes

There is a journey a spider takes to enter your home. Most spiders will make this journey from start to finish. Some will take up the journey part way through. Here are the stages and what to expect in each.

First Entry: A spider enters your yard in search of food, water, and habitation.

Habitation: A spider can live in many places. Depending on the type of spider, they may live in logs, ground holes, structural voids, toys, lawn equipment, buckets, cinder blocks, other objects in your yard, bushes, shrubs, trees, ornamentals, brush piles, wood piles, and cars.

Hunting: Spiders will look for food in your yard. If they can find a bite to eat, they will want to stay. Spiders eat insects, multi-legged bugs, salamanders, etc. They are drawn to damp, humid, and dark locations because their prey is found in these areas. 

Mating: Spiders mate with each other in your yard if suitable mates are found. As they mate, the population of spiders around your home increases and the chance of an indoor infestation increases, depending on the kind of spider.

Eggs: When spiders find a place to live and mate with each other, they create egg sacs. One egg sac can contain three hundred eggs. 

Second Entry: Spiders or their offspring can accidentally enter your home through gaps around pipes, cracks in your foundation, damaged screens, rotted wood, missing door sweeps, gaps in weatherstripping, and more.

Indoor Infestation: Spiders may get inside and go back outside if they don't find a food source or proper humidity levels. An indoor pest problem will invite a spider to stay. As it creates webs inside, its eggs will hatch inside and the interior population of spiders will grow. 

Hitchhikers: Some spiders bypass this journey altogether. They lay eggs in furniture and other household items. When used items move from one home to another, the spiders can move with them.