Pest Control and Bug Exterminator Blog

Awe Spring, Life is Buzzing, the Birds and the Bees… oh and don’t forget the spiders.

The Blue Skies of Spring Bring Spiderlings

Raleigh Spider Control

As the beautiful blue skies of spring turn to sunny summer our minds turn to watermelons, swimming pools, and heat waves. Unfortunately as we contemplate what drink we want to have poolside, the bugs around our house are contemplating how to grab a drink from our sinksides. With the AC turned on pumping deliciously cool air throughout our own personal compounds we create a great escape from the heat for the wondering insects on the outside. In fact it may feel as if these creepy crawlers are appearing from thin air. But it’s actually that cool moist air seeping out of our homes that draws the pests in. The hollowed walls of your home may have never seen an attack from such a sneaky adversary, but sure enough here they are. Sure you’ve seen the occasional spider or cricket but now it’s like your house is their own personal oasis.

This is a problem all too common in the insect world. Over the years I’ve had many conversations with people wondering how this could be, and what is going on. Well let’s take a conversation I had recently with a lady, I’ll call her Lisa.

Lisa: Can you help me I’m seeing spiders?

Me: Absolutely, tell me a little about the problem.

Lisa: Well we moved into the house about a year ago and didn’t have any problems and now just seem to see them everywhere. I’m not seeing any webs but they are crawling all over the house. I don’t know what is going on. We are clean people and don’t leave food out. It makes no sense.

Mating pair of Argiope appensa garden spiders in Kauanakai, Hawaii (island of Molokai). A batch of spiderlings hatched from an egg sac that already existed in the female's web, about two weeks later. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This is a scenario that plays itself out in homes all over the nation around this time of year. Spiders typically are solitary creatures that like to live by themselves hunting and trapping their food with webs and various other methods. However, every year the call of nature arrives and the need to mate hits spiders everywhere. The mating really isn’t the problem though…it’s the aftermath of the mating. Being the solo creatures that they are, spiders decide that if they are going to mate they are going to make it worth their while. So with each egg sac they lay they make sure it is full with 200-300 baby spiders. The egg sac itself doesn’t look like much, just a small white little fluffy ball of web, but it sure does pack a punch. As those eggs mature and eventually hatch these hundreds of baby spiders quickly become the massive infestation you never knew you had. The spiderlings begin ballooning and spreading. And literally hundreds of new spiders are now lurking about. All from one small white egg sac. Add three, four, or five of these eggs sacs and hundreds become thousands.

That’s why we exterminators are here; to fix infestations as they occur or even better stop them before they happen. Bulwark (a defensive barrier) is our name, and protecting homes is our game. To see how we can best help you, give us a call.

-Craig S.

Pest Management Professional Criag Can be reached at:

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Haven’t you heard? According to popular belief we eat spiders at night while we sleep! Is this possible? Do we eat spiders while sleeping? Granted some spiders are very very small. It is believable that small spiders may be able to slip into your mouth and stomach unnoticed. But one Florida Exterminator argues otherwise:

SANDS OF SAMAR, ISRAEL - JANUARY 12: This recent handout photo provided by the University of Haifa on January 12, 2010, shows a new and previously unknown species of spider in the dune of the Sands of Samar in the southern Arava desert region of Israel. A member of the Cerbalus genus, the spider has been named Cerbalus Aravensis. It has a leg-span that can reach up to 14 cm which makes it the largest spider of its type in the Middle East. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

You may well have heard this idea being thrown around all over the place: apparently we unwittingly swallow a steady diet of spiders in our sleep. As our mouths loll open, passing arachnids find themselves strangely compelled to crawl in, where we cheerfully gulp them down without knowing. Makes you shudder doesn’t it? Well before you start wearing a surgical mask to bed, you’ll be pleased to hear that this is just an urban legend.

Over the past few years, the idea has been trotted out all over the internet and beyond. Some sources say the average is seven in an entire lifetime, while others insist it’s eight in a single year. Even the lowest estimates are significantly higher than the true figure – zero.

http://www.mcdonaldpestcontrol.com/tampa-pest/pest-control-experts-set-it-straight-we-do-not-eat-spiders-in-our-sleep/

The writer proceeds to give a short history on the origins of this myth. Great read. The point that he underscored that most professional spider exterminators will appreciate is this, Why would a spider travel into your mouth? Most spiders don’t just wonder around aimlessly. Many spiders will rarely leave their webs. Those that do travel about at night are often hunting spiders. So perhaps you swallowed a fly, and you don’t know why. So you swallow a spider to catch the fly… Kidding. Really great article by our fellow exterminator. Bulwark Exterminating gives you two thumbs up.

Back to the question at hand, now that we have some opposing views. What do you think?

Do we eat spiders at night?

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Image by Shelley & Dave via Flickr

As the chilly fall and winter weather arrives, families are getting cozy in their warm houses and homes. Not surprisingly, common pests as small as ants or spiders and as big as rats, have the exact same notion. A homeowner’s only hope against the relentless invasion of these pests, is to seal-off any structural, window and door cracks or holes, that could possibly allow pest invaders; to enter to the dwelling or structure.

The most likely points of entry for pests, are a building’s windows and doors. If you often leave your door or windows open, they should be fitted with a proper screen, that is free from any holes, cuts or tears; to avoid inviting a pest control problem into your home. When inspecting the interior and exterior of your dwelling or building, look for light shining through cracks and use your hand to feel for air

movement. If you discover problem areas, seal the cracks around window and door frames with caulking or foam, and apply weather-stripping and sweeps; to seal the moving parts of the door.

Aside from tiny pests like ants and spiders, small rodents like mice are a common pest problem, in the fall and winter months. These unwanted house guests can find their way through a hole, not much bigger than a dime. Once inside a structure and sheltered, they can quickly multiply into a serious pest, bug or insect control problem, for unsuspecting property and home owners. Therefore, as an added precaution and level of protection, it is recommended that glue traps be placed in the attic and other possible pest-prone areas. These sticky traps are able to grab both rodents and insect problems, so if pests do manage to invade parts of your home, you will know what you are up against; before a serious infestation develops.

Pest Pro Joe offers Do It Yourself pest control.

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We all know that spiders are scary even when it’s not Halloween. So, what do the 5 Scariest Spiders dress up like on Halloween to give you a real fright? Well we took a peek at this year’s festive costumes of the Black Widow Spider, the Brown Recluse Spider, the Tarantula, the Camel Spider, and the Desert Hairy Scorpion. But who wore it best? Which spider/arachnid is taking home the scariest spider prize? Who needs spider control?

Check it out and vote below:

Black Widow cast herself as Lidsay Lohan (a repeat offender… referring to last year’s Halloween Treat) Sorry Scarlet Johansson but you won’t be playing the Black Widow tonight, but the shy Brown Recluse Spider may have found your cell phone. Sir Herman Cain gets props on his Godfather’s Pizza from the Tarantula. The military boys had enough influence on the Camel Spider that Ron Paul gets the Camel Spider vote. And well, the Desert Hairy Scorpion is feared enough so digging out a scary costume meant going for the gold in fear force names, Chuck Norris.

To Vote and Enter for our Halloween Treat

Two Options and 2 chances:

1- Login to Facebook and Vote on our Facebook Poll: http://facebook.com/bulwarkpestcontrol

2- Tweet your vote with a link to this post: “I vote _______ as the scariest spider: http://blwrk.us/ScarySpiders”

The Poll Closes on Halloween at Midnight. So vote by Oct. 31st.

Image source: http://theage.com.au/

Spider silk is becoming a hot commodity. Because of the strength of spider silk fibers, five times stronger than steel fibers, research is being done on potential uses. From bullet proof skin to artificial tendons, medical doctors are looking to capitalize on the health benefits a super spider silk lends itself to. But sadly the spider silk just doesn’t come quick enough. Noted by the spider silk tapestry that took millions of spiders to create. So scientists genetically engineered silkworms to produce a spider like silk. And that silkworm spider silk officially stopped a bullet. Taking that one step further, silkworm spider silk weaved with human skin was created, tested, and also stopped a bullet.  Interesting enough, a professor from Utah might just have a gold mind on this hands if he can take this mutated silkworms spider silk and produce similar fibers from goats milk. By mutating the goats genes, the goat will produce milk with the same protein in the milk. The Utah professor then takes these proteins, isolates them,  mimics the spider’s weave, and spins a spider like silk.

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This message has been sponsored in part by Bulwark Exterminating, Need Phoenix Scorpion Control?

In a statement issued yesterday, Mazda is recalling over 50,000 Mazda 6 sedans because the 2009 and 2010 models are having….ready for this…..wait for it…..pest control problems.  Apparently the Yellow Sac Spider has found its way into the fuel system of Mazda’s sport sedan, and can potentially wreak havoc by blocking air from filling the gas tank as gas is used.  This can crack the tank and even cause fires.  Although, to date, no fires have been reported.  Mazda also confirmed that this issues seems to only be occurring in the 4-cylinder models, not the V6′s. (I didn’t just make up that last fact.)

Mazda currently sells six differing models of the Mazda 6.  These six models are grouped in the following classes: Sport, Touring, Touring Plus and Grand Touring.  As of yesterday, it’s only appropriate that Mazda add an additional class to the sport sedan group.  We think it should be called the Mazda 6 Spider.  Not Spyder.  Spider.  And the predominant color for this new car should be light yellow in color.

We’ve done a little bit of investigative work since yesterday and it appears to us that along with this issue affecting only 4-cylinder models, the affected cars also all have spider silk woven upholstery.  This might explain the Yellow Sac Spider’s targeting of these particular cars.  Are they just trying to feel at home?  Or might they be protesting the exploitation of their only valuable commodity.  Maybe they’re not getting a fair share of a honest day’s work?

Either way, this is an unprecedented opportunity for Mazda to make lemons (pun intended) into lemonade.  What else can Mazda do to capitalize on this bizarre discovery?   We also suggest that all models that come with navigation and DVD also come with free copies of Arachnophobia, Spider-Man 1-3 and Charlotte’s Web for the kids.  If there was a way to get four more wheels on the car, that would be excellent, but we know that might be stretching it.  At the very least drivers of the new Mazda 6 Spider should be allowed to freely drive in the carpool lane.  Chances are there are 3 or 4 passengers somewhere in the car.

Now, if you don’t want those spiders in your car, or in your house either, call Bulwark Exterminating for your guaranteed spider control.

I got a call from the office one late afternoon to go to this customer’s house where there was a spider on her ceiling.  She said she couldn’t leave the house until we got rid of the spider.  So I hurried up and got over there to take care of it for her. Well when I got there the door was open, so I announced myself and I heard her say “come in quick he’s getting away!” I entered quickly and she was pointing at the ceiling showing me where it was. She looked to be very frightened and upset about this spider. I looked at where she was pointing and saw what appeared to be a female wolf spider with about 200 babies on her back! She had every right to be scared.  If those babies were to leave their mom while they were in the house, the whole house would become infested. So I quickly ran out to my truck and grabbed a can of d foam and ran back inside. The spider had stopped moving and the babies were still intact. So I crept up on it until I was about three feet away ready my can, took close aim and sprayed. My plan had worked. They were covered in foam and unable to flee. So I quickly gathered them up with a paper towel that was in my other hand. Needless to say her problem was solved.

She said I was her Hero! …I was her hero! Feels good to be considered a hero.

Adam MacFarlane
Las Vegas

I had a conversation with one of our customers, an older gentleman, who called about a spider that had spun a web between two bushes in his yard. He said didn’t see the spider at first so he flicked a cigarette butt onto the web, and the spider quickly leaped out and attacked it.  He was shocked at the bright color, letting me know it had yellow and black stripes.  He also said it only looked like it had four legs, but it was definitely a spider.  He wanted to know what I knew about this particular spider, and what we could do about it.  I told him I really didn’t know much that species particularly, and told him he could try to research it online.  He joked that he was too old to attempt that, so I offered to look it up for him.  I discovered that the spider in his yard was a St. Andrews Cross Spider.  I let him know that it’s not poisonous, and not normally aggressive.  He was very grateful that I took the time to look up the species of his strange “four-legged” spider, and he was excited to tell people about it.  He wanted to know what we can do about spiders, so I offered to schedule a spider treatment around his home.  At first he declined, but a day later he called to schedule the treatment.

Jamie

St. George