Spider Treatment

How to Get Rid of Spiders?

What will we do if you have a spider problem?

After an initial inspection, we can outline our preferred solution. This will usually entail spraying of affected areas with appropriately approved sprays.

Depending on the circumstances, we can make recommendations on other changes that will help to prevent spiders from entering your home.

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Strategies

• Make sure the property is clear of rubbish and obvious places spiders can use as shelter.
• Clearing cobwebs does not kill the spider but keeping the premises clean is an important help and discourages further infestation.
• Warn children not to touch or play with spiders.

Redback Spider

APPEARANCE: The female redback has a round body about the size of a large pea (1 centimetre long), with long, slender legs. The body is a deep black colour (occasionally brownish), often containing an obvious orange to red longitudinal stripe on the upper abdomen. The stripe is sometimes broken or looks like small red dots. On the underside of the abdomen there is an “hourglass” shaped red/orange spot. Juvenile spiders have additional white markings on the abdomen. The male redback is three to four millimetres long and is light brown in colour with white markings on the upper side of the abdomen and a pale hourglass marking on the underside.

FOUND: Outdoor around rubbish, litter, old paint cans/tins, under verandahs, seats, rocks and weep holes.

BITE: Highly venomous and symptoms that include nausea, vomiting, convulsions etc.

WEB: Tangled web with sticky catching attached to substrate.

White-Tailed Spider

APPEARANCE: White-tailed (or white-tipped) spiders have a dull black, elongated body with a distinctive white spot at the end of the abdomen.

Females have a plump abdomen and grow up to 20 mm long, while males are thinner and grow to about 12 mm long.

Adult white-tailed spiders have reddish legs and two pairs of faint white spots on the top of the abdomen. Young spiders have striped legs with more distinct white spots which fade with age.

BITE: Most victims suffer only localized pain, redness and swelling which may last from a few hours to a few days, although in some cases the symptoms are more severe.

FOUND: White tails will shelter under almost anything including clothes left on the floor overnight and bed coverings, a habit which gives rise to frequent bites. Avoid leaving clothes on the floor, and check under bed coverings before getting into bed.

WEB: White-tailed spiders do not build a web but wander in search of prey.

Black House Spider

APPEARANCE: Dark, robust spider, the female growing up to 18mm, with a 30mm legspan. As with most spiders, the males are smaller (10mm), and have longer legs in relation to their body size. In both sexes the carapace and legs are dark brown to black, and the abdomen is charcoal grey with a dorsal pattern of light markings (sometimes indistinct) and a dense covering of fine, velvety hair. B. longinquus is slightly smaller (14mm) with a greyish carapace and red-brown legs.

BITE: Due to its timid nature this spider rarely bites humans, however the bite can cause general symptoms including nausea, sweating, localized pain and swelling.

WEB: Lacy sheet with one or two funnel shaped entrances leading into a tubular retreat.

Daddy Long Legs

Daddy longlegs is a common name used for a group of spiders, but it is also used for a different group of arachnids called harvestmen. Unlike spiders, harvestmen’s bodies do not have a 'waist' and do not produce silk. Daddy longlegs spiders are often found inside houses whereas harvestmen are not.

Daddy longlegs spiders are commonly found in dark areas. They build tangled webs and eat small insects and other spiders. They are pale brown to cream with long slender legs and relatively small bodies.

Females can grow up to 20 mm and are slightly larger than males, which can grow up to 16 mm.

Daddy longlegs spiders are harmless. The bite causes only a local reaction, if any.

Huntsman

APPEARANCE: Badge huntsman spiders are large, long-legged spiders. They are usually fawn or grey on top, with distinctive colour combinations of black, white, orange or yellow under the abdomen (the ‘badge’) and colour bands on the underside of the front legs. Most huntsman spiders have flattened bodies adapted for living in narrow spaces under loose bark or rock crevices. This is aided by their legs which, instead of bending vertically in relation to the body, have the joints twisted so that they spread out forwards and laterally in crab-like fashion (‘giant crab spiders’). Badge Huntsman spiders (Neosporosis) have less flattened bodies.

BITE: Badge Huntsman has been known to bite and general symptoms include local severe pain and swelling, sweating, nausea and vomiting. A cold pack may relieve local pain. Seek medical attention if symptoms persist.

WEB: They do not build a web.