So as I settle into my new life and home here in beautiful western North Carolina, I’m noticing that there are a lot of bugs. A lot of bugs. Just yesterday two bees, a wasp and a bumblebee, got into the house and had to be murdered. Then I came across a spider in my bed just before I laid down- now will be checking bedclothes obsessively before retiring. I killed what may have been a black widow in the house the other day, amidst a lot of screaming at the top of my lungs- much to my son’s amusement. There’s ants in the kitchen, and the little bait traps I’ve put out seem to be used as skateboard ramps and obstacle courses by them.
I know it seems odd and unusual, but I do not like spiders. I am, in fact, scared of them, and I don’t even like to get close enough to kill them. I would like to learn to either not be scared of them, or how to ban them from the house entirely for the rest of my life. I woke up five times during the night and checked the bed for spiders- I can’t live like this! And how the hell do bees get in the house, when nobody has let them in, anyway? And what do I do about these ants- maybe there’s some kind of natural alternative to bait traps and sprays… like sprinkle baking soda around during a full moon while chanting “die, ants”, backwards three times? Anything like that?
I am, at heart, a city girl, and all these bugs may end up being my mental undoing. Help?
Get a pet tarantula. It doesn’t have to be an expensive exotic one. Once you get one as a pet and raise it like one of your children, you’ll eventually love it and your fear of spiders. Gone. But you have to actually take care of it though.
How long have you had the bait traps out for the ants? Sometimes in the first couple of days you’ll see more ants as they’re attracted to the bait and come out to get it, but then it should die off. If you can find the anthill and destroy it, you’ll have better luck. Check around the property. If you find it, pour boiling water into it.
Wasps and bees, same thing – you can’t eliminate them entirely, obviously, but it’s worth checking to make sure you don’t have a wasp’s nest anywhere near the entrance to your house. (Or in the chimney. Which happened to us. And it sucked.)
Fortunately, ants have not been a problem here. I haven’t seen any in the neighbourhood. There are large bees that explore under the patio roof, and later there will be wasps. Not too many, though. When wasps get obnoxious, they get sprayed.
Spiders? This is Kingdom of the Spiders. Big ones, little ones, orb-weavers, and hunters. Yesterday I was in my car and an orb-weaver had a web on the side-view mirror. When I got to a stop sign I picked off its web and evicted it. It didn’t want to leave its new home, and started climbing up toward my hand. I had to use both hands to get the web off so that the spider ended up on the ground. As long as spiders aren’t in my ‘space’, I don’t mind them. If they are intruding, they go into the ‘penalty jar’ until I get round to taking them outside for release.
You probably didn’t kill a black widow, unless you’re living in a barn or crawlspace. They like dark, quiet areas, so don’t panic. I share your hatred of spiders, so my first instinct is murder as well. Keep in mind, though, that spiders are natural predators to many different kinds of insects, so they can actually be beneficial to you.
As far as the ants, wipe your surfaces down with a solution of vinegar & warm water. The vinegar masks the scent of the ant trail, which confuses them. Do this every time you clean the kitchen and the ant problem should go away.
Wasps & bees. Yeah, them you probably just have to deal with. Have a walk around the house & check any overhang for wasp nests. A lot of the commercial wasp killers can be used from a distance, so if you find one, spray that sucker down and hope for the best. This was a regular summer ritual for us in Oklahoma. Maybe someone else will have a better solution, but I’ll tell ya, we never found one.
I’ll trade our ticks for your spiders. We’ve had more ticks this year than I can ever recall.
Bugs seem to be an inescapable part of country (and especially southern) living. When I lived in Texas, I thought the state license plate motto should be “Something Bit Me”.
I’ve only had the ant bait traps out for a couple of days- new ones, anyway. I will try the vinegar solution starting today- thanks for the tip. Johnny- if a spider got on my hand, I would be requesting you to visit me at the asylum- the horror! I will check for bee and wasp nests close to the house. Tarantula pet- I can appreciate the logic, but am pretty sure that I’m not strong enough emotionally to have a spider as a pet, that touches me.
As for ticks, I’m just waiting, and I’m going to freak out when that happens. Many years ago, I found a tick on my head and my mother and I vaguely recalled that you’re supposed to put a match on it to get it to release. So my dim but well-intentioned mother comes at me with a lit match. I was like, “I’m no expert, but I’m pretty sure you’re supposed to blow it out first!”
Do you live in a house or an apartment? If you’re in a house, spray inside and out with bug spray. If an apartment, just the inside. I use this but Ortho has one too, probably others.
Every year when I see a spider inside I go spray the perimeter and that seems to work for the rest of the summer. This year I sprayed outdoors but was having a problem with spiders in my bedroom so I moved the bed and cleaned everything thoroughly (with the help of my brother because I was so scared) then sprayed the outside-facing edges of my room with this spray. Haven’t seen anything scary since.
Oooh, that sounds awesome. It’s an old house in the country with lots of gaps and holes, just the kind of place that spiders love, I imagine. I never thought that I could just buy something to spray and that could be that for the rest of the summer. I will definitely be trying that stuff.
You could probably also find a professional to do the spraying for you. It might cost more, but if you can find someone with years of experience doing it, they might do a better job than you could.
When you say gaps and holes…are those areas you could caulk up to help seal the house?
I echo happycamper*5’s comment about beneficial spiders, although I certainly understand the desire not to have the spiders around. If they get in my way, they tend to die. If they’re just on the tree outside, they live. I’ve had one or two that INSISTED on having a web across my walkway. (Yes, I know that’s often based on how the wind blows.) That doesn’t work for me. I’d knock the web down. The spider eventually relocated.
Other than that, I like a bit of nature. They probably cut down on flies in the yard.
It’s just a rental, so there’s a limit on how much I’m willing to do to improve it. When I say gaps and holes, I mean seriously- it’s an old country house; there are things like an unfinished closet. (I’m getting it for cheap, so I knew what I was in for.) There were probably mice here in the past, but there’s also cats, so I’m not worried about them, plus I haven’t seen or heard any evidence of those as of yet.
I’ve found that the little “ant hotel” traps are worthless. Combat Ant Gel works wonders, though. It comes in a syringe thingy for around $8. Unless you have a really heinous ant problem, one tube should last you two seasons (at least in Virginia, it does, I can’t speak for NC). It has the look and consistency of dark honey; I think it’s boric acid mixed with corn syrup or something.
The ants here go absolutely wild for it, you just need to find a very high traffic area for them that’s out of the way. If you locate an entry point or an ant superhighway, that’s your best bet.
I’d be careful if you have young kids or pets, as I have neither, I can’t speak to whether or not it’s safe to use around them.
The only thing that really squicks me out in bed (in this context, at least) is spiders- would netting keep those out? (Although, perhaps I should keep in mind that the 7 spiders I swallow in my sleep every month probably significantly adds to my protein intake.)
I have tried sprinkling cinnamon for the ants and it works for a day maybe, and then they come back. Plus, it just gets messy and irritating with cinnamon getting on everything. This has worked fairly well at keeping the ants at bay. I also use the Terro spray for the ants in the kitchen and it has been two weeks now…no ants.
I am also deathly afraid of spiders and just swat them while screaming out loud.
My friend/neighbor recently told me that she gets the outside of her house sprayed by those Terminix guys once every three months for $90 and she hasn’t seen spiders or ants inside the house since. We live a pretty urban area, not the country though.
As far as I know, as long as you close the netting curtain properly, nothing larger than a noseeum can get in. Unless a spider comes in on your clothes.
I would like to add one thing to all of this, I am a former Pest Control Tech and if you use chemical pest control, please follow the label directions. Just because a regular dose is efficacious, more is not better. Persons with bug issues often IMHO spray the living you know what, seriously over treating and depending on the exact chemical can have a lot of unintended consequences. Baits and gels are very effective against ants and roaches, often they contain chemicals that affect the life cycle of insects but not mammals, they do take some time to work. Given the description of the house you might want to consider a professional for a one time treatment of the exterior/underside of the house just don’t sign a contract, forget the franchises find a local and tell them upfront what you want. As mentioned earlier upthread it is unlikely that you saw a Black Widow, both the BW and Brown Recluse tend to avoid human activity, to get rid of spiders use a broom.
Ok that was more than one thing but…
Capt Kirk
