Wolf Spider Prevention Tips

Wolf Spider Prevention Tips

Have you seen a wolf spider? Would you know one if you saw one? There are actually around 200 species of wolf spider found in North America, and they don’t all look the same. The most common wolf spider we see in Tennessee homes is brown with two dark parallel lines on the back of its head. This spider is sometimes mistaken for a grass spider, and your grass is actually where it prefers to be. But, all too often, it finds its way into places it does not belong, or even particularly want to be, because, unlike the grass spider, wolf spiders don’t hang out in webs and wait for their food to come to them. In fact, they don’t make webs at all. They prowl for their food.

Wolf spiders are drawn to moist or humid areas, and places where they can get a meal. This will bring them into garages, sheds, and basements in search of crickets, cockroaches, beetles, flying insects, and more. While it may be nice to think about having a creature taking care of these other pests in your home, it is better to have all the pests removed from your home.

The bite from a wolf spider is not medically important, but it does hurt, and it can leave you with a red, itchy welt. For those who are allergic to the venom of a wolf spider, it can take several days for this wound to heal. In all cases, it is possible to get a secondary infection if a wolf spider bite isn’t properly treated.

Wolf Spider Control

  • Reducing insects around your home can reduce wolf spiders. Make sure all exterior trash is sealed, and consider replacing outside lights with yellow insect-resistant bulbs, or simply keep them off.

  • Removing vegetation that is near your exterior walls can deter these spiders from exploring where you don’t want them to be.

  • If they get on your wall, it is important to make sure they don’t find an entry point. Repair or replace any damaged or missing screens on your home, and use a caulking gun to fill in any holes that have developed in your exterior walls.

  • Remove clutter that is next to your walls.

  • Make sure your doors have working door sweeps.

  • Reduce the humidity in your basement and other areas these spiders may explore.

  • Have a professional pest controller give your home year-round protection.

There are a lot of bugs that try to get into Tennessee homes this time of year, and wolf spiders are one of them. Make sure your home is protected with a year-round, seasonal pest control you can trust. Find out about our Power, Power Gold, and Power Platinum pest plans, and how they guard against over 30 common household pests.

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Are Wolf Spiders Dangerous?

Are Wolf Spiders Dangerous?

Wolf spider – It sounds like a very dangerous name for a very dangerous pest, doesn’t it? Doesn’t your mind just instantly jump to a pack of spiders surrounding a ‘herd’ of crickets and running them ragged until the weakest falls behind so they can pounce on it and kill it? Or maybe your mind envisions super extra-large howling spiders with heavy footsteps that chase people down to feed off from them? Perhaps your mind can see thousands of wolf spiders sitting atop a hillside howling at the moon? Well, if your mind automatically jumped to any of these conclusions, you will be happy to know that none of these are true.

In fact, wolf spiders are relatively harmless creatures. They only bite when they feel threatened or when handled, but their venom isn’t potent enough to cause any harm. Truly, the biggest danger to you is a good scare from their unique and creepy eyes. They have three rows of eyes with 4 small eyes on the bottom, 2 large eyes in the middle, and 2 medium eyes on top. All of those eyes peering at you can tend to elevate your heart rate!

If you are seeing a lot of wolf spiders in or around your home, it may be that you actually have a problem with small insects. These spiders go where their food sources are; which is why it is a really good idea to get a pest inspection done by a professional pest control company if you have these guys in moderate numbers. Remember, wolf spiders do not have webs; therefore, webs are not a good indicator of wolf spider activity.

There are several things that you can actively do to reduce the occurrence of spiders, and small insects, in your home. These include:

  • Inspect your foundation and fill any small holes, cracks or gaps.

  • Make sure that all doors and windows have properly fitted screens that are completely intact.

  • Install door sweeps under all exterior doors.

  • Install yellow bulbs in outside lighting sources to keep from attracting insects which are a food source for wolf spiders.

  • Be sure that all utility and pipe entrances are securely sealed.

With a bit of common sense and hard work, you can keep wolf spiders at bay; but if you have done all of these modifications and you are still seeing wolf spiders in your home, it is time to call the pest control experts here at Russell’s Pest Control. We offer several affordable pest control packages with year-round protection from insects, spiders, and other pests. Contact us today and rest assured that when wolf spiders come crawling around your home, Russell’s Pest Control has you covered.