Pest control and DHCS

And the belief that white-tailed spiders cause necrosis is a myth, so no need to kill them either. Here’s the Wiki page, but there’s plenty of evidence if you need more http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-tailed_spider#Bites_to_humans

boo said :

How about not killing them? They can’t do anything to hurt you. Most of the babies will eat each other and you’ll end up with a few adults helpfully polishing off any cockies and silverfish for you. You’ll save yourself the hassle of cleaning up the chemical residue on every surface of your house, and it’s free!

White tail bites can be very nasty. The few I have seen inside my house have swiftly met the sole of my thong. Huntsman’s get moved outside, and the big evil black ones that live on the outside of my window frames are left alone until they look like becoming a mother and then they are “removed”.

T1G3R, this probably won’t help you being a DHCS tenant (I’m assuming on your budget you don’t want to invest too much into your outdoor areas, and rightly so…) we moved into our place a few years ago and the extent of our ‘gardening’ was adding a birdbath. Our house is 70’s so I expected the same frequency of spider sightings inside this house as our previous place, but I can count on one hand how many huntsman’s we have had to shift.

I put it down to: a) rocks near water in our yard where big lizards apparently live (they eat the spiders before they get to the house); b) the birdbath attracts birds who in turn eat spiders – not just in the garden but off the window frames and eaves; c) native flowering plants which attract birds (see b); and d: the window frames on the house that are shaded have little geckos living in them – our last line of defence, and rarely does a spider or moth make it past them!

Bug bombs might be the way to go to start with, but putting a few shallow containers of water in your outdoor areas to attract birds wouldn’t hurt. I suspect spiders are quite smart (*shudder*) and won’t hang about where birds frequent. It’s not a quick-fix but it may help long term.

Meh. I let Mr Pea-Beau do the hard work.

I used to work for a compant that had the housing contract for pest control and we did spray for spiders,Mainly if there was red backs or white tails inside the house.On the other hand i now work for myself and would be happy to give you a good price

I see spiders as free pets, like some other here. Interesting and harmless. If one has to be taken outside, I am the person to do it as Mr Poetix is more freaked out by them than I am.

There really is no need to fill your house with expensive toxic chemicals to get rid of them.

boo said :

…you’ll end up with a few adults helpfully polishing off any cockies …

Mind you if they’re eating cockatoos there may be a bit of a problem.

c_c™ said :

Wolf spiders do not have hazardous venom, in fact there are only three species in Australia that do. And of those three, only the funnel web is really a danger.

Dunno about that. When I was a kid the lady next door got bitten on the leg by a red-back, and nearly 50 years later I can remember the terrible effects it had on her. To this day I have a horror of the nasty shiny little things, and I’ll stomp ’em at the first opportunity. Wolf spiders are OK though, they just get escorted from the premises.

Wolf spiders do not have hazardous venom, in fact there are only three species in Australia that do. And of those three, only the funnel web is really a danger.

Zan said :

boo said :

How about not killing them? They can’t do anything to hurt you. Most of the babies will eat each other and you’ll end up with a few adults helpfully polishing off any cockies and silverfish for you. You’ll save yourself the hassle of cleaning up the chemical residue on every surface of your house, and it’s free!

I agree, do not kill them as they are your friend. They kill all the dust mites and tiny insects. You can make pets of huntsmen spiders. They have the softest velvety feet.

Do they bite us humans?

“just yesterday i killed a six legged wolf spider no problem.”

Are you in the habit of attacking cripples? For Shame!

boo said :

How about not killing them? They can’t do anything to hurt you. Most of the babies will eat each other and you’ll end up with a few adults helpfully polishing off any cockies and silverfish for you. You’ll save yourself the hassle of cleaning up the chemical residue on every surface of your house, and it’s free!

I agree, do not kill them as they are your friend. They kill all the dust mites and tiny insects. You can make pets of huntsmen spiders. They have the softest velvety feet.

Antagonist said :

TheDancingDjinn said :

Maintenance won’t help in this situation. I have used the bombs for the exact problem before, i moved home and bought in a mother and many many babies by accident. Bomb the house, don’t use more than one at a time.

+1. I also recommend the $20 ‘Mortein Professional’ type insect control packs for doing outside the house – like up under the eaves, around doors etc. I am actually about to head outside to do mine right now. It isn’t the same as a professional pest controller, but it is a LOT cheaper and makes enough difference to keep Mrs Antagonist happy.

How long do you find it lasts for until you need to re-apply?

How about not killing them? They can’t do anything to hurt you. Most of the babies will eat each other and you’ll end up with a few adults helpfully polishing off any cockies and silverfish for you. You’ll save yourself the hassle of cleaning up the chemical residue on every surface of your house, and it’s free!

Agreed, Housing is unlikely to help for insects (though I understand they might if you have a serious rodent or bird infestation as those problems would affect the property and could have public health ramifications).

Buy some insect bombs from the supermarket. They often come in a pack of 3. They are easy to use but make sure you follow the instructions. They contain pyrethrum in a form and dosage that ‘gets into nooks and crannies’ and kills the bugs.

You usually need one bomb can per room if doing the whole house.
If just doing one room you will have to close it off so the effect is not diluted. You will still have to evacuate the house for a couple of hours and air it well afterwards. If your property is not detached, let your adjoining neighbours know you are intending to bomb the house, so they can take steps to be out of the house during that period (to protect their children and pets from being affected).

When I moved in to a private rental some years back, white tail spiders regularly climbed out from the light fittings late at night with a disturbing scratchy crawling sound. I mentioned something about the lease conditions mentioning ” safe and comfortable” or something like that to the property manager, and the place got professionally sprayed at the landlord’s expense. I just did my own surface spraying each season after that and was fine.

TheDancingDjinn said :

Maintenance won’t help in this situation. I have used the bombs for the exact problem before, i moved home and bought in a mother and many many babies by accident. Bomb the house, don’t use more than one at a time.

+1. I also recommend the $20 ‘Mortein Professional’ type insect control packs for doing outside the house – like up under the eaves, around doors etc. I am actually about to head outside to do mine right now. It isn’t the same as a professional pest controller, but it is a LOT cheaper and makes enough difference to keep Mrs Antagonist happy.

Maintenance won’t help in this situation. I have used the bombs for the exact problem before, i moved home and bought in a mother and many many babies by accident. Bomb the house, don’t use more than one at a time.