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A little knowledge can help prevent spider bites
In the home or school environment, three spider species are cause for concern: the black widow, brown recluse and aggressive house/hobo spider. These spiders will usually only bite if provoked, but their bites can cause severe reactions, possibly even death in rare cases.
Black widows like dry, undisturbed places such as lumber and rock piles, stacked pots or baskets, rodent burrows, water meters, the underside of bricks and stones, and dry crawl spaces. Females stay in the web. Brown recluse spiders prefer undisturbed places for their webs, hunt primarily at night and will take refuge in clothing and bedding. They are often found in unused closets and storerooms, behind furniture, and in baseboard cracks and crevices. Outside, they can be found in foundation cracks, cracks in the soil and window wells. Aggressive house spiders prefer dark, moist places with cracks and crevices for their funnel-shaped webs. They are poor climbers and are rarely seen above ground level. Inside, this spider is likely to be found in basements and on ground floors between stored items, in window wells, in closets and behind furniture. Outside, it can be found in areas similar to both the black widow and brown recluse.
Avoiding bites and minimizing infestation
Use caution when working near common nesting places of the three dangerous spiders. Wear gloves and a long-sleeved shirt when working around woodpiles or other items that are likely to harbor the spiders. Make sure students and staff can identify any dangerous spiders in your area and know their likely nesting and hiding places. Teach children not to tease spiders in their webs or poke at them, and not to put their hands in dark crevices. Explain the dangers of spider bites without exaggeration to avoid unnecessary fears. Nonchemical control is usually considered most effective when dealing with spiders. The following recommendations will help to eliminate hiding or harborage sites and exclude spiders from buildings:
- Store boxes off the floor and away from walls and seal them tightly with tape to preclude spider access.
- Move stacks of firewood and piles of debris or rock away from schools and elevate them when possible.
- Remove vegetation from sides of buildings and keep grass cut.
- Maintain tight-fitting screens in windows and seal cracks in walls or other entrance sites.
- Keep attics and basements ventilated to reduce moisture, thus reducing the amount of prey insects available as a food source for spiders.
- Removing webs and egg sacs of existing spiders with a vacuum discourages subsequent infestation.
First aid for spider bites
Wash the area around the bite, calm the victim and consult a doctor as soon as possible. The very young, the elderly and sick, and people with high blood pressure are particularly at risk. If possible, capture the spider. Proper treatment may depend on identifying the species. Even the squashed remains of the spider can be useful for identification purposes. For more about spiders, please visit the University of Florida's School IPM Web site (http://schoolipm.ifas.ufl.edu). Click on Technical Information - Pests, then select "IPM for Spiders in Schools."
Edited by: Angela Brammer, University of Florida
