# Ok to spider bomb my basement with T in the house?



## joebob213 (Jul 18, 2006)

Ok, I have no problem with spiders living in my house but they have to live by certain rules and they have broken them.  I pretty much have a farm of brown recluses in my basement.  They usually just chill down there and don't mess with anybody.  I have to dodge a few webs to change furnace filters but other than that they haven't been pests and I planned on just leaving them be.  The last couple of weeks have changed my mind.  One of them worked their way up to my bathroom and decided to lay an eggsac under my sink.  I tore down the web and carefully put the mother and its eggsac on a piece of paper and put them outside.  The next day I found 3 more of them in the same bathroom.  Again, I tried to catch them and put them outside but 1 escaped me.  This morning I found one just about to crawl in bed with my 1 year old daughter...  OUT YOU GO!  First spider I've killed in years.  Today I went downstairs to check out the situation and there are A LOT of them!!!  If I had to guess I'd have to say well in excess of 100.  So, they gotta go.  I feel my family may be in a bit of danger and I see no other way of making my house safe again unless I bomb the basement, possibly the whole house.   

There's also an infestation of camel crickets down there which I absolutely despise.  Don't know why, they're harmless but they are the one bug on the planet that freaks me out. 

Anyway, If I were to bomb my house how long should I house the tarantula elsewhere?  I can take it to work or my mom's house so housing it isn't a problem but I want to be SURE that no harm is done to it out of this deal.


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## Whiskeypunk (Jul 18, 2006)

joebob213 said:
			
		

> Ok, I have no problem with spiders living in my house but they have to live by certain rules and they have broken them.  I pretty much have a farm of brown recluses in my basement.  They usually just chill down there and don't mess with anybody.  I have to dodge a few webs to change furnace filters but other than that they haven't been pests and I planned on just leaving them be.  The last couple of weeks have changed my mind.  One of them worked their way up to my bathroom and decided to lay an eggsac under my sink.  I tore down the web and carefully put the mother and its eggsac on a piece of paper and put them outside.  The next day I found 3 more of them in the same bathroom.  Again, I tried to catch them and put them outside but 1 escaped me.  This morning I found one just about to crawl in bed with my 1 year old daughter...  OUT YOU GO!  First spider I've killed in years.  Today I went downstairs to check out the situation and there are A LOT of them!!!  If I had to guess I'd have to say well in excess of 100.  So, they gotta go.  I feel my family may be in a bit of danger and I see no other way of making my house safe again unless I bomb the basement, possibly the whole house.
> 
> There's also an infestation of camel crickets down there which I absolutely despise.  Don't know why, they're harmless but they are the one bug on the planet that freaks me out.
> 
> Anyway, If I were to bomb my house how long should I house the tarantula elsewhere?  I can take it to work or my mom's house so housing it isn't a problem but I want to be SURE that no harm is done to it out of this deal.


99% of the time the spider you are looking at is NOT a brown recluse. Brown recluses are one of the most mis-identified spiders in america. In one month in Kansas I saw at least 6 radically different brown spiders referred to as the brown recluse, usually followed by a smack. This came from people who have lived in Recluse territory their whole lives. Looks can be decieving, especially with the completely insane amount of misinformation about this spider. 

Secondly, spider bombing not only kills the spider you are trying to kill, but also its predators. The most effective way to reduce dangerous spider numbers is to make sure your home has many, many competing spider speices, and other predators and competitors that ensure the Recluse numbers stay down. Bug bombs, spray and other junk will eliminate these competitors, and allowing the brown recluse to re-establish itself, in greater numbers.

FINALLY 

Under no circumstances spider-bomb a house with a Tarantula in it unless you want a dead pet spider. People have reported Ts dying because someone used spider-spray on another part of the house. If you do decide to do go ridiculessly overkill, and spider-bomb, make sure it's left at your moms for at very, very minimum 1 month after the bombing.


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## joebob213 (Jul 18, 2006)

Whiskeypunk said:
			
		

> 99% of the time the spider you are looking at is NOT a brown recluse. Brown recluses are one of the most mis-identified spiders in america. In one month in Kansas I saw at least 6 radically different brown spiders referred to as the brown recluse, usually followed by a smack. This came from people who have lived in Recluse territory their whole lives. Looks can be decieving, especially with the completely insane amount of misinformation about this spider.
> 
> Secondly, spider bombing not only kills the spider you are trying to kill, but also its predators. The most effective way to reduce dangerous spider numbers is to make sure your home has many, many competing spider speices, and other predators and competitors that ensure the Recluse numbers stay down. Bug bombs, spray and other junk will eliminate these competitors, and allowing the brown recluse to re-establish itself, in greater numbers.
> 
> ...


Good lord that's a long time.  Well, maybe it's not worth it afterall.  They are recluses, I have been around them all my life and know how to identify them.    I've caught and kept spiders all my life and living in Missouri it was something I had to learn identify to avoid nasty bites.  

It wouldn't bother me if it weren't for me worring about my daughter getting bit.  Any other options?


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## Amanda (Jul 18, 2006)

Flooding my living space with pesticides scares me more than flooding it with bugs, but your case may be different. The brown recluse is the one bug that actually scares me.  If I found one in my house, it would be d.o.a. in a heartbeat (upon positive identification, of course). 

A brown recluse bite could be REALLY harmful to such a small child.

***I'm not trying to offend any recluse-keepers on the board.  I know this could turn into a pretty dicey debate.  They certainly aren't going to seek out a person to do harm, but with such high numbers in one spot, your chances of being bitten go up 1000s of times.

Could you maybe photograph one to satisfy the board that the identification is absolutely correct?


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## ShadowBlade (Jul 18, 2006)

Amanda said:
			
		

> but with such high numbers in one spot, your chances of being bitten go up 1000s of times.


If you live in a well established part of Loxosceles reclusa's range, then you will have hundreds of them inside and out of your house. A bombing would only temporarily eradicate them. They will be back.
Your chances of being bitten are not that high. But I do see your just really concerned about your daughter.

We just had a HUGE debate about ID'ing Loxosceles in the True Spider forum, lets not bring that back to life...


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