What Brings Brown Recluse Spiders To Nashville Homes?

Brown Recluse Can Live In Your Yard

If these spiders find a place to live in your yard, they could eventually find a place to live in your home. We recommend taking steps to remove attractants and harborage options that can invite Tennessee brown recluse spiders to establish themselves near your exterior.

Food — These spiders live on insects and invertebrates. If you have lots of bugs in your yard, you're going to provide an abundant food source for brown recluse spiders. We recommend reducing moist conditions, such as repairing damaged or clogged gutters, and removing leaves and other organic debris. This can have an impact on bug populations in your yard. You may also consider residential pest control service, like our Perimeter Plus Pest Control.

Water — Water is a building block of life. All the critters that come into your yard need water for survival. You can reduce water options by addressing conditions that create standing water, and by removing containers from your yard.

Harborage — Brown recluse spiders live in holes and voids. If you have holes in your yard, consider filling them. If you have stumps, you should consider having them removed and filling any holes left behind. If you have objects in your yard that don't really need to be out there, consider storing them inside. The goal is to give these spiders fewer options for habitation.

Brown Recluse Explore Your Exterior

When these spiders check out the exterior of your home, it is best that they don't find any gaps or holes. If they do, they'll use those to get inside. Here are a few points of entry they're likely to use:

• Your doors don't just let you into your home, they can also let spiders into your home. Inspect your door sweeps and weatherstripping to make sure there are no gaps.

• Inspect your door frames for holes created by wood-destroying pests and use a caulking gun to fill them.

• Address gaps between screen frames and sliding glass door frames.

• Repair screens on your doors and windows.

• Inspect your windows and repair broken panes, and fill in holes or gaps.

• Inspect water mains and fill in gaps around pipes.

• Seal any cracks in your foundation walls.

• Address chipped mortar.

• If your home has weep holes, make sure they are protected.

Brown Recluse Can Get Into Boxes And Stored Furniture

It is possible to have brown recluse move into your home from another home. There are many ways this might happen.

• They could be inside a piece of used furniture you purchase.

• They could be in a storage box that you get from your shed or garage.

• They could be in a box or furniture item your college-age son or daughter bring home with them.

• A Brown recluse could be inside a piece of wood, or wooden item, that sat outside in your yard.

It is difficult to prevent these, or other spiders from hitching a ride into your home. It is just important that you know that this might be how your infestation began. If you have brown recluse in your home and you want to know if they came in from outside, one of our service professionals may be able to help you by doing a detailed inspection of your yard and letting you know if there are signs of habitation, such as webbing in ground holes.

You Can Bring Brown Recluse Inside

When brown recluse spiders get into your shed, garage, or exterior storage rooms, they can get inside the items stored in these places. If they do, they can hitch a ride into your home.

• Be sure to apply a good seal to any boxes that go into storage, or consider storing items inside sealable, plastic totes.

• When you move items around in storage, be sure to wear gloves.

• When unpacking boxes that have come from storage, be cautious.

Another way brown recluse can hitchhike into your home is during a move. If you're moving into a home, or someone is moving items into your home, it is smart to have a preventative pest control treatment scheduled before you move boxes, furniture and other belongings inside. 

Brown Recluse Like Living With You

There are only two spiders in the United States that are considered a medical threat. They are recluse spiders and widow spiders. Of the two, recluse are the only spiders that do well inside man-made structures. They do so well that some homes have been found to have thousands of recluse spiders living in them. It is best to not let them get inside in the first place. If you'd like assistance with brown recluse control, or general pest control that gives coverage for brown recluse spiders, we can help. Reach out to us today to learn more about our residential and commercial pest control services in Tennessee. Our friendly, and highly-trained service professionals are looking forward to helping you.

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