Avoiding The Brown Recluse In Jacksonville

There’s a trade-off to living in beautiful Jacksonville. Sure, we have a warm sunny climate much of the year. But we also have spiders, lots of spiders. Unfortunately, Florida is home to some dangerous spiders, and we don’t get a break from them. They can live year-round in our temperate environment. Brown recluse spiders are particularly troublesome in that their venom can be harmful to humans. Brown recluse spiders can be hard to distinguish from other spiders so it’s always a good idea to be cautious and to have professional help in removing spiders from your home.

How to Identify a Brown Recluse

Brown recluse spiders are one of the most misidentified types of spiders. They are also known as the fiddleback spider, brown fiddler, or violin spider because of the violin-shaped marking on the rear of its body. However, the violin-shaped marking doesn’t guarantee it’s a brown recluse because there are a few other spiders with similar markings including the cellar spider and pirate spider. One of the best ways to identify a brown recluse is to count its eyes, most spiders have 8, but the brown recluse has 6. But let’s be real here for a moment. How many of us are going to purposely get close enough to a spider to count its eyes?! It’s important to take precautions around all spiders in Jacksonville.          

Dangers of the Brown Recluse

The brown recluse is one of three spiders with medically significant venom. The other two are the black widow and the Chilean recluse. While these spiders aren’t considered aggressive, they will bite if they feel threatened or disturbed. Initially, when bitten by a brown recluse, you may not notice it as the bite itself is not particularly painful. However, as the hemotoxic venom spread, it destroys red blood cells, disrupts blood clotting, and has the potential to cause organ and tissue damage. In rare cases, the bite can cause skin necrosis – the death of living tissue and can be life-threatening. It’s important to seek medical attention if you’ve been bitten by a brown recluse.

Brown Recluse Habitat

Brown recluse spiders build irregular webs in out-of-the-way places. They look for areas that are dry and generally undisturbed such as woodpiles, sheds, garages, basements or attics. Inside your home, you might find them inside closets or in cardboard, such as in storage boxes or shoe boxes.        

Prevention of Brown Recluse Spiders  

There are some steps you can take as a Jacksonville homeowner to help prevent brown recluse spiders from taking up residence inside your home.

• Make regular inspections of your home to make sure screens are intact. 
• Seal up cracks in your structure.
• Make sure door sweeps are present and in good working order.
• Sweep, vacuum, and dust in dark corners of your home on a regular basis.

If you are trying routine preventative measures but still have a problem with brown recluse spiders in your Jacksonville home, contact Lindsey Pest Service. We have year-round pest control plans that will keep your home and family members safe from brown recluse spiders.