The Key To Keeping Your San Diego County Home Spider-Free

What Does A House Spider Look Like?

While house spiders commonly get mistaken for other types of spiders, like the brown recluse, these critters don’t pose any threat to your health. As their name suggests, house spiders like to spend a lot of time indoors, usually chasing after other pest prey that may be inside your home.

Coloring can sometimes vary, but most house spiders have yellowish-tan bodies with lighter abdomens. One of the easiest ways to identify a house spider is by the angled dark stripes they have on their legs. As far as size goes, females grow up to a quarter-inch, while male house spiders are typically a bit smaller. 

How To Identify A Spider Bite In San Diego County

Mosquito bites, spider bites, and other bug bites can all look similar, but how do you know if a spider has bitten you? Although most spiders have the capacity to bite, including the house spider, spiders usually only bite in self-defense.

If they can, these pests prefer to keep to themselves in areas where there’s little human activity. However, if you approach or try to interact with the spider, it’s possible they may bite because they feel threatened or cornered. If you’re bitten by a harmless spider like the house spider, you may experience mild itching and swelling – but unless you’re allergic to the venom, most harmless spider bites disappear within a few days.

However, even if you think it’s a harmless bite, it’s important to be on the lookout for more serious symptoms following a spider bite, such as:

• A spreading rash from the site of the bite
• Swelling around the bite that continues to get worse
• Excessive itching
• Pain that radiates from the bite site
• Difficulty breathing
• Cramping or muscle pain 
• The bite turns into a reddish-purple blister or lumpy clump of lesions
• Fever, chills, or sweating 
• Vomiting or nausea
• Headache

If you begin to experience any of the symptoms listed above, you should seek medical attention immediately and have your bite checked out by a doctor.

Five Spider Prevention Tips For Your San Diego County Home

One of the best ways to keep your San Diego home spider-free is to stop these critters before they ever make it inside, and here are five great ways to do that:

1. Make sure you’re not leaving food sitting out around your home. Leftovers, food scraps, or even pet food may not appeal to spiders, but it can draw in their pest prey, which spiders like to hunt.
2. Use caulk or some form of sealant to block off spider entrances. Spiders and other pests can use tiny cracks and crevices to gain access to your home. Using caulk to seal these gaps can prevent them from coming inside.
3. Deal with excess clutter on a frequent basis. Cluttered storage areas, like basements, closets, and garages, look like the perfect hiding spot for most spiders. By keeping these areas organized, you’ll be giving spiders fewer places to hide.
4. Deal with excess moisture and drainage issues around your property. The pest prey that spiders love to hunt may be attracted to excess moisture, like leaky pipes or plumbing issues, so you’ll want to address drainage problems in a timely manner. 
5. Sweep up any spider webs you find in your home. Using a vacuum or broom to get rid of existing spider webs can disrupt these critters’ homes and encourage them to rebuild elsewhere.