Nope...It's not the Wooly Mammoth! It's a Texas Brown Tarantula!	October PEST OF THE MONTH SPIDERS

Halloween always engages thoughts of ghosts, goblins and spiders! Spiders are scary and creepy, but are actually far more beneficial than we think. There are only 2 types of dangerous spiders in Texas-black widows and recluse spiders (such as the brown recluses). All other spiders are basically harmless. Although they can bite, their venom is not poisonous to humans, and they are far more afraid of you than you are of them.

Regardless, if you have spiders entering the home, you probably want to eliminate or control them. Seal buildings with caulk, screening or weather stripping to keep spiders from entering. Many spiders like to hide in secluded, dark covered places, so tape and seal boxes, eliminate clutter, and be careful when entering storage areas and closets. Clean out gutters and wash webbing off of eaves with a water hose. The more often you annoy or disturb them, the more likely they are to move out of the area.

There are many pesticides that are effective against spiders. Look for the following active ingredients: propoxur, bendiocarb, permethrin, resmethrin, carbaryl, or malathion.

Wettable powders sprayed on the foundation are slightly more effective than the ready to use liquids or concentrates.

Spiders do travel and some travel on web, so it may be difficult to ensure that they come into with the pesticide.

If you have a brown recluse infestation, it is very difficult to control. A combination of clutter control and pesticide application is the key to elimination. Using a pest control company with brown recluse experience is always the best solution.

Black Widow	Common Garden Spider	Jumping Spider 1	Jumping Spider 2
insects.tamu.edu		Eric Benson, Clemson Univ	© Troy Bartlett
Texas Zebra Jumping Spider	Texas Brown Tarantula in the Guadalupe Mountains	Texas Brown Tarantula	Brown Recluse
University of Florida	New Mexico Bureau of Geology	biology.lsu.edu	tamu.edu

To read the Texas Cooperative Extension publication on spiders, visit: http://tcebookstore.org/pubinfo.cfm?pubid=252

For more information contact IPM Program Specialist and Entomologist, Molly Keck at 210-467-6575 or email at mekeck@ag.tamu.edu