spiders...

daisygirl17

is oregon just infested with them or is it just our house? seriously since moving in we have seen SOO many spiders...and most of them are way bigger than what im used to back in michigan. i know the weather is ideal for them here so that makes sense...and there's tons of trees by our house, but yikes. im used to spiders only showing their face in the house in the winter when they're trying to escape the cold outside...but MAN we've been killing spiders at least twice daily IN THE HOUSE since i got here. (and back in mi i never killed spiders...but this is just excessive)

should i be worried? i know there is the hobo spider here but ive looked it up online and from what i can tell i haven't seen it....but im not to worried because even if it did bite, there's only a 50% chance it would release venom...and if it did almost no one dies from the bites (which is weird because usually im a worrier)

anyway...should i be concerned about this spider infestation or is this normal?

sleepyocean

We've had crazy spiders since we moved here too!  Our apartment is surrounded by trees that lean onto our balcony, and I won't go out on our balcony anymore...  I loathe spiders.  We bought some Home Defense bug repellent stuff, it seemed to work at first, but now they seem unphased...  We've actually had them in our place worse due to the heat, in spring we didn't seem to have this problem as much.  I think they're trying to find somewhere cool to go... they picked the wrong apartment.

kristinp36

Usually there are more spiders in the summer then the winter here.  Do you have a lot of the "Daddy Long Legs"  ...they seem more noticable since they are so big.

daisygirl17

yes lots of daddy long legs...and i've found lots of babies that i've killed and then lots of really really really nasty looking ones that i thought were hobo spiders but i dont think they are (or so i'm trying to tell myself)...i think they're the regular house spider:

http://greennature.com/gallery/spider-pictures/callobius_spider.html

i just get nervous because they say the hobo spider and house spider look very similar so it's hard to know! UGHH i just grab DH and he kills em. i think we're slowly getting less and less though as the days go on. there's TONS outside though, especially like at the base of our house in the front...lots of webs. i'm tempted to take the vacuum out there and just vacuum up all the webs, i won't, but i'm tempted. it sucks because in MI we had NO poisonous spiders at all so i think im just being a crazy worry wart

LisiLynn

I'm hardly finding any in my house though there are tons outside living around our foundation and they're fugly black scary things (I found out while weeding the other day) I've lived here all my life and have never even heard of a hobo spider much less worried about them and I'm a bit freakish about such things as well. I'd check around your house to try to find how they're getting in. Do you leave windows and/or doors open? I never do because I hate bugs in general but with so many around our house I'm suprised we don't have more inside.

BethaBoo

Ugh! Now I'm afraid to open my doors. We've only been in Oregon for two months and have only had a couple of spiders in the house. But I have noticed that there are like a million outside. Every time I go running, I run in to a web.?

daisygirl17

BethaBoo:

Ugh! Now I'm afraid to open my doors. We've only been in Oregon for two months and have only had a couple of spiders in the house. But I have noticed that there are like a million outside. Every time I go running, I run in to a web.

ughhhh i know me too. it's so dumb. i take the pups out in the morning and i walk into a web, i go to get in my car i walk into a web. UGH.

and lisilynn (sp?) - we were leaving our windows open at night to let the cool air in before this heat wave came...but i really think it's because the house was sitting empty for a month or two before we moved in...so i think the spiders moved in due to the inactivity and made themselves at home. today is actually the first day that i have seen ZERO inside...woo hoo   let's just hope it stays that way!

daisygirl17

oh and bethaboo - where did you move from?

BethaBoo

I moved from Long Beach, California. I'm an Oregon native but have lived in California for the past 6 years.?

ScarlettBegonia

Daisy, I've had some success leaving grapefruit rinds on our windowsills. Its an old wives remedy my g-ma taught me, but I've had success keeping most critters out with it. Also, you can get citronella extract. That works well too. I think its just as effective as most chemical stuff (which we wont use bc of our pets-i think you're in the same boat ).

daisygirl17

ScarlettBegonia:

Daisy, I've had some success leaving grapefruit rinds on our windowsills. Its an old wives remedy my g-ma taught me, but I've had success keeping most critters out with it. Also, you can get citronella extract. That works well too. I think its just as effective as most chemical stuff (which we wont use bc of our pets-i think you're in the same boat ).

definitely in the same boat -- do you mean you leave the rinds on the outside windowsills?

ScarlettBegonia

Nope, right on the inside, near the corners where they most likely come in. We eat a lot of GF, so it works for us. However, citronella oil would be better if you don't have fresh rinds. I have some i can give you at the GTG if you want. I hear it works amazingly, its just that i cant stand the smell in concentrated form. You will just need a few drops every week or so.

daisygirl17

ScarlettBegonia:

Nope, right on the inside, near the corners where they most likely come in. We eat a lot of GF, so it works for us. However, citronella oil would be better if you don't have fresh rinds. I have some i can give you at the GTG if you want. I hear it works amazingly, its just that i cant stand the smell in concentrated form. You will just need a few drops every week or so.

awesome! sure! I'd love to try it out...where do we put the drops??

ScarlettBegonia

I would put them at the top and bottom of the window on the side where it would open. Thats probably where theyre getting in too. Also, i recommend vacuuming out the tracks of the windows, and also in all the corners of your house-especially the ceiling. I read that spiders like the old cobwebs and will use them-since using these two methods we've had very few occurences. lol!