Studies have concluded that the venom of a female black widow spider is fifteen times stronger than rattlesnake venom. That certainly sounds dangerous. But there are a few things you should know about this statistic to help bring it into proper perspective.
Four Facts About Black Widow Spiders
Male black widows are essentially harmless.
The bite of a male black widow is not as potent as the bite of a female black widow. This is because the males have smaller venom glands than the females. This is also true of juvenile female black widow spiders. A bite from a male black widow will produce no more than an itchy red welt.
Females don't use all their venom
When a female black widow bites, it doesn't use all of its venom every time. The amount of envenomation will partly determine the symptoms experienced. In some cases, a black widow bite may only result in localized pain and general malaise. The bites from these spiders will be worse if the spider is trapped and unable to escape.
Black widows don't prefer to bite humans
These spiders don't like to be around us any more than we like to be around them! In fact, these spiders gravitate toward quiet, secluded locations such as under decks, porches, or patios. They'll also hide in brush piles or in stacks of firewood. Inside a home, they'll gravitate toward attic spaces, storage closets, and basements. If you go into these areas and find a black widow spider, it is likely that it will flee from you. But, if provoked or trapped, these spiders will bite.
People rarely die from a black widow spider bite
While you can become quite ill from a black widow bite and the experience can be quite unpleasant, these bites rarely lead to human mortality.
What can we draw from this?
While black widow spiders are definitely not a pest any of us should have on our property or in our homes, they hardly measure up to the legends and myths that are spread about them. If a homeowner takes the proper precautions and invests in routine pest control services from a pest control professional, the threat these spiders pose can be managed.
Black Widow Bite Prevention
Since black widows prefer secluded locations, be cautious when entering the more secluded areas in your home such as basements, attics, or storage rooms. Always bring a flashlight with you and wear shoes when entering these areas.
- Reduce clutter in your basement, garage, and storage areas. This will reduce hiding spots for these spiders.
- Be cautious and consider wearing gloves when opening boxes that have come out of storage as boxes are a common hiding place for black widow spiders.
- When working in the yard, wear work gloves and pay close attention when turning over rocks or moving brush around. Black widow spiders feed on large insects that are commonly found in these areas.
- Shake out clothing and towels before using them to check for spiders.
- Inspect your bedding for spiders before climbing into bed at night.
- Shake out your footwear before sliding your feet inside to make sure there are no black widows hiding inside.
- Be on the lookout for spider webs with a big black spider hanging in the middle. If it is a female black widow, you'll see a red hourglass shape on the bottom on its abdomen.
Black Widow Pest Control
At Arrow Pest Control, we advise all New Jersey homeowners to invest in a pest control plan as pest control is an essential part in protecting our health and our homes from pests. When pests get into a home, they can cause a variety of serious problems. They can damage the structural wood of your home. They can destroy your clothing, carpets, drapes, furniture, and other household items. They can contaminate food sources and spread harmful diseases that can make us sick. And those are only some of the problems pests can cause!
If you live in New Jersey, consider a Home Protection plan from Arrow Pest Control for your pest control needs. Our Home Protection plans are divided into three customizable packages to fit your specific pest control needs, Home Protection, Home Protection Plus, and Arrow Premier. All of our pest control services are implemented by licensed and experienced pest control professionals. Give us a call today to learn more.
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‟Recommended to us by neighbors, Arrow arrived promptly to treat our new to us home. The house is built on a slab which small ants love to nest in.
Their program is such that they return til the problem is solved. Today was their third visit. Steve was very thorough, professional and had a great sense of humor. I am hoping not to see him again this season! I would recommend based on our current relationship.
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‟I’m so happy we went with Arrow! We had been using another pest control company and still had a lot of spiders and crickets!! We switched to Arrow and after the first use with them, all the bugs were gone. They do a great job, very thorough, professional, friendly and very knowledgeable. I highly recommend using their services if you have any bug issues!”
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‟We were very pleased with how easy it was to schedule a first appointment with Rob and how reassuring and thorough his inspection was. A few hours later Josh arrived for the first treatment and was professional and took the time to answer all our questions. We didn’t hesitate to sign-up for Home Protection Program after seeing the quality and level of service we will receive.”
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‟Arrow and Brian with Arrow were amazing! He came same day when we heard scary noises in our attic. He found mice and a loose wire and even took a photo so we could see. He worked hard to crawl into a tiny space and we are so appreciate!! We can sleep tonight thanks to him.”
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‟Extremely professional and always on time. I was having an issue with mice and decided to call Arrow. They were able to get here next day and have an inspection. I set up with one of their monthly contracts and they were out to my home once a week continuously monitoring the situation until it was fully taken care of. I truly couldn’t recommend them more.”
