Brown widow spiders infest Southern California
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (BDCi) — When the subject of dangerous spiders comes up, people usually think about the black widow spider.
However, the most commonly encountered species of the group that people are finding around their homes in Orange County is the brown widow spider, KTLA reported.
Scientists are asking for help as they try to learn how to control the poisonous spiders.
Although the bite of a brown widow spider is much feared, the spiders are generally non-aggressive and will retreat when disturbed.
Bites usually occur when a spider becomes accidentally pressed against the skin of a person when putting on clothes or sticking their hands in recessed areas or dark corners.
Brown widows tend to build webs around vegetation, so there’s a better chance of getting bitten while outside in a garden.
If a spider problem still exists after sanitation work, insecticides may have to be used. Direct contact with a non-residual aerosol spray will remove live spiders when a vacuum is not available.
Spot treatment applications of a residual insecticide to locations where spiders build their web apparatus can be helpful to prevent new spiders from becoming established.
Although reduction of outdoor harborages and sealing of cracks and holes is the best approach to preventing spiders, insecticidal dust followed by the sealing of cracks will reinforce exclusion.
With your help, scientists can learn more about the species. If you spot any brown widow egg sacs, you’re asked to mail them to:
Rick Vetter, Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, 3401 Watkins Dr., Riverside, Ca., 92521
By: Adrianna Lobo Source: KTLA July 07, 2011
3:00 p.m. PDT