Do You Know Your Spider Facts?

While you consider how to protect your Lexington home from spiders this spring, we've put together this fun fact sheet about spiders and spider prevention. Brushing up on your spider facts could save you from a painful bite or an infestation. Read on.

• There are over 4,000 species of spiders in the United States and all of them have venom.
• Only 60 species of spiders are capable of biting humans because the mouthparts of most spiders are too weak or too small to pierce human skin.
• Of the 60 species of spiders in the U.S., only 4 are capable of injury. The black widow, the brown recluse, the hobo and the yellow sac spider. All have powerful venom that will have you driving to the hospital.
• The majority of spider bites only produce mild swelling, and often irritation.
• A spider problem can sometimes be a lighting problem. Flying insects are attracted to lights, and these are food for spiders. To reduce flying insects, consider changing your light bulbs. Hg vapor (blue light) is 112x more attractive to insects than NA vapor (yellow light).
• Spiders eat their food in a similar way house flies do. They must use digestive fluids to liquify their food before sucking it up.
• By weight, a spider's dragline silk is 5x stronger than steel, 30% more flexible than nylon, 2x as elastic and can absorb 3x the impact force of Kevlar.
• Female spiders do not generally eat their mate after copulation, not even the black widow, which gets its name from this bizarre behavior. It does happen though.
• Spiders have hair tufts called scapulae on their legs that allow them to grab onto bumps and pores invisible to the eye. This allows them to climb on floors and ceilings.
• To keep spiders out of your yard, eliminate wood piles, clutter, rocks, debris, construction materials, and open trash, which attracts flies.
• Humidity makes cold feel colder and hot feel hotter. Dehumidifiers inside a home can make your home more comfortable and make spiders feel unwelcome.
• Baby spiders fly through a process called ballooning, in which they use strands of silk as a wing to ride air currents.
• All spider are predators.

The most important fact to remember is to call Action Pest Control if you have spider issues in your home. Their trained specialists have a proven track record of eliminating pests. Spiders may be fascinating, but they don't belong in your home or business.