Okay this is an icky subject. My husband and I purchased a new house last November (we did a pest inspection...nothing came of it). This summer we have black widows and big brown huge spiders (I still have no idea what they are). PS I think they are made because we put our house on top of their houses...sort of a revenge tactic. First this is really odd because I did not know black widows were even in Virginia (they usually like warmer climates), but they are definitely black widows. Good point: We have no other bugs. Bad point: We have venomous spiders living in our garage and basement. Okay, here is my problem(s). 1. I called several (at least 7) pest control companies in our area. Most refuse to come out and spray for a one time fee - they want a monthly service contract. I don't want to deal with a monthly service contract because I can't afford to take time off work to let them in my house each month and well...it is inconvenient. 2. Some refuse to spray inside the house (I thought this was quite odd though) since my problem is the basement and garage. Spraying the outside is not going to get the critters hiding in the insulation in my basement. 3. One company will come out and spray for a one time fee...$250.00. Does pest control cost this much? I was thinking $70-80. $250! They told me it takes about 15 minutes. 15 minutes to spray my entire house including the basement, garage, and outside areas? Red flag. 4. Am I going crazy? Is there any other alterative that I have? Any ideas to get rid of them? I did buy chemical bug stuff (as you can I am not a bugologist) and sprayed that all over the house...in every room. I did see a couple dead spiders in the basement..yea! We also cleaned out the garage (which consists of backing my truck out, pushing out the lawnmower, and sweeping the floor - we don't own anything for them to hide behind). Any help would be appreicated. Thank you in advance. Dani
First of all, take care of the problem. I saw a news story last night on a local woman who got bit by a brown recluse spider. She has been incapacitated for months. She said it is like a continuing case of the flu, but it does not go away. She has massive scars on her legs, and will require plastic surgery. I bring this up because you mentioned at least some of the spiders are brown. I don't know spiders, but at least consider the possibility that these may be the bad kind. Second, and I don't believe I am saying this because I hate Sears, but they do advertise a once a year pest control service that is guaranteed. I have no idea what the cost is. But, if they can do it, others in the area must be able to do it. Third, when I was in Florida, there were local companies that sold bug killer chemicals that the pest control services used. These were better than what you can buy at Home Depot, Walmart, etc. Do it yourself. If I was able to contol bugs in Florida, you can do it anywhere. One of the things I love about living here is no bug problem. No ants, roaches - nothing.
Thanks, thomas. I will try Sears. We already started working on the problem - rechaulked all the basement windows. I do need to get some type of weather stripping for the basement door though. We will probably tear out the insulation, too. Anything at this point - I don't want to wake up and find a black widow sharing the bed with me. Eww. Ick. Ick. Dani
