In nature, brown recluse spiders are found under rocks and in crevices. Dense populations are found when a habitat is conducive to recluses. As an example of their abundance we found 50 brown recluses in a commercial storage facility in one hour.
Recluses like hiding in boxes. When they get established it typically is in the basement of a building and there is little expansion beyond the structure unless connected to other structures by underground pipes or passageways. When sorting through boxes or materials, wear long sleeves and gloves to avoid being bitten.
Any dark, undisturbed area can serve as a hiding place for the brown recluse and many such places occur within buildings. You will need a bright flashlight to do a thorough inspection to find the location and extent of infestations. Likely hiding places for brown recluse spiders include crevices, corners, and wall-floor junctures, especially behind clutter and furniture in garages, basements and living areas. A key element to controlling the brown recluse is to reduce clutter.
Brown recluse spiders also live behind walls and may inhabit the voids of hollow block foundations. Infested locations will contain the distinctive shed skins, often found between joists, sills and rafters, as well as under insulation. Brown recluse spiders also reside above suspended ceilings, behind baseboards and woodwork, and within heat ducts and registers.
Brown recluse spiders captured on glue board
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If you want to know if you have an infestation of brown recluse spiders we suggest doing a little pest control sluthing by installing the flat, sticky cards known as glue boards. The best glue traps for capturing brown recluse spiders are flat, like thin pieces of sticky cardboard, without a raised perimeter edge. They can be purchased at grocery or hardware stores or you can buy them from us by the box. The more glue traps the better. Put out dozens throughout your home to find where spiders are most abundant. Place traps in corners and along wall-floor junctures, especially behind furniture and clutter.
In addition to being a great detection tool, glue traps will capture and kill large numbers of spiders, especially the males, which are more likely to wander into places where people are accidentally bitten. If you are going to treat with pesticides be sure to install glue traps before the treatment, as some insecticides will cause spiders to relocate and wander into traps.
Comments
Colette
22 Aug 2008, 15:59
i am pregnant and i have animals, is there anyways to get rid of an army of
brown recluse spiders without using harmful pesticides?
Ask the Exterminator
22 Aug 2008, 16:55
Remove clutter. Vacuum over and over again to remove spider egg sacs. Use
lots of glue boards to catch spiders. Swat live spiders with a rolled up
magazine. All non-toxic. All time consuming. None guaranteed to work.
Brown recluse spiders are extremely tough to control because of the very
hidden locations they use for their homes. You might also try dusting areas
with boric acid, which is considered practically-non-toxic when compared to
traditional pesticides.
Rita Faussone
09 Sep 2008, 11:25
I live in the high desert in Western Colorado, which is not supposed to
have any Brown Recluse Spiders. However, I have been bitten twice (on the
same ankle, same place). The first bite was necrosing, but then stopped
and eventually healed. The scar mark took forever to disappear. The next
ones were 4 or 5 bites (same ankle, same place). They itched terribly (as
did the first one), have healed but the scar marks are still there. Do you
think these could be brown recluses?
Ask the Exterminator
11 Sep 2008, 11:13
According to the Colorado State University, the most commonly misidentified
spiders are those that resemble the brown recluse. The bites from these
misidentified spiders are also commonly wrongly diagnosed by doctors as
brown recluse spider bites.
The brown recluse has three pairs of eyes, while the Colorado spider
resembling the brown recluse, has four sets of eyes.
That said, there are numerous types of recluse spiders, some of them living
in your area. The bites from these spiders can also cause tissue death.
It's just that the brown recluse is the most well known of the species.
paul
14 Sep 2008, 00:38
are there any brown recluse in the hi-desert of southern california? i
think i just killed one a few minutes ago with my drumsticks and a cowbell.
i couldnt see it perfectly so i couldnt see any markings.
Ask the Exterminator
14 Sep 2008, 09:07
The University of California has an online map showing where recluse
spiders are found most frequently. Your spider is not likely a brown
recluse, but some other member of the recluse family. Regardless, your
spider will still bite and the bite is poisonous and the bite can result in
tissue death. Go to http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pni7468-4.html
and check your location.
Mark
16 Sep 2008, 11:35
I recently was going through my closet and found what looks like a brown
recluse spider sitting on a sport coat. I swatted it and hopefully killed
it. My question is, do these spider now live in New York State as well?
Ask the Exterminator
16 Sep 2008, 16:35
It would be very rare to find a brown recluse spider in New York. As I have
said throughout this page, there are numerous types of recluse spiders
found in various parts of the US. There are also a heck of a lot of spiders
that resemble "fiddle-back" spiders, but are not recluse spiders.
My guess is that the fact that your spider was sitting on a sport coat in
your closet makes it improbable that it was a recluse. "Recluse" Get it?
They don't sit anywhere where there is any activity. They are very
reclusive and unless your coat was in a closet that had not been opened or
used for years, it is probably some other type of spider.
Janny
01 Nov 2008, 20:25
I live in Wichita, KS. I think I've killed 3 brown recluses this year
using Ortho home defense. My problem is, one disappeared from the garbage,
I vacuumed the other and the last fell from the wall onto a partial wall
that I can not see. Are brown recluses 'immune' to Ortho? I need
something I can 'shoot' because I am insanely afraid of spiders and try to
stay as far away from the ones I can see as possible. Glue traps will not
work for me...I'd rather deal with mice!
Ask the Exterminator
06 Nov 2008, 23:40
I think you are asking me if there is a pesticide that you can "shoot" from
a distance because you are afraid of spiders. There are several general
pesticides available with stream-type applicators. However, you might want
to think about applying a pesticide dust. The material will float into the
wall cavity and kill the spiders.
