Pest of the Week - Brown Recluse Spider

The brown recluse spider is a common insect that lives in the Midwest and can also be found in Iowa. The brown recluse spider does have a poisonous bite that can cause serious problems is not treated by a medical professional. However, the brown recluse spider does not intentionally attack humans, in fact they are very fearful of humans and do all they can to remain unnoticed. This is why they are called the brown recluse, they are very reclusive. 


Brown recluse spiders like to hide in dark places, in the Iowa outdoors brown recluse spiders can be found under rocks and in hollow logs. If indoors brown recluse spiders usually find refuge in quiet dark places where humans rarely go but there is a supply of food (insects). Places such as Iowa basements and closets are perfect places for the brown recluse spider to hide. 


The brown recluse spider is also nocturnal, they do most of their hunting in the evening hours. During they day, brown recluse spiders hide in their webs. Compared to other spiders the web of the brown recluse is very messy, stands of web seem to have no pattern and seem to be randomly strung. Most brown recluse spider bites are caused by humans accidentally invading the brown recluses space or disturbing their hiding place. 


According to BrownRecluse.org:


The bite, in general, is the result of pressing the spider with the skin during the night when the person sleeps (38%), or when people get dressed (32%) with clothes that were hung on walls or closets for a long time. Normally, the bite can be found on the face and the extremities. The spider is seen in the 60% of the cases but only identified in 13% of them.

It is very important to know if there is a presence of brown recluse spiders in your home. Most often there is not. Most often the spiders in your home are cellar spiders that are harmless to humans and they are actually beneficial because they eat the bugs that invade your home. But in rare cases brown recluses spiders are in homes, and they are a hazard to your health. Because brown recluse spiders are so secretive it can be very difficult to know if they are in your home or not. You can always place sticky traps in dark corners to monitor insect activity in your home.

We offer affordable preventative spider and brown recluse services in Des Moines and central Iowa to monitor and prevent brown recluse infestations and we also offer affordable pest control services to eradicate a population of brown recluse spiders from your home in Des Moines or central Iowa. We offer free pest inspections so do not hesitate to call us at 515-309-2089 or visit our Des Moines, Iowa pest control website for more information .

The University of Kentucky also has a very informative web page about brown recluse spiders that you can visit to learn more.