Whether they are outside in the garden or inside the house, agrarian sac spiders can be unwelcome visitors for Doylestown area home or business. When outdoors, they do provide some helpful pest control, but they generally are not wanted indoors. Moreover, this spider is capable of delivering extremely painful bites.
Such bites typically occur during accidental encounters between people and agrarian sac spiders. These pests make their way indoors in the fall as a means of escaping the cold, rainy weather. They are well-adapted to live indoors as they are good at hiding. Consequently, bites happen when an agrarian sac spider secretes itself in a pile of dirty laundry on the floor or in the sheets on the bed. As soon as a person disturbs the spider, they receive a painful warning.
Because these bites do have the potential to destroy skin tissue, it is always advisable to avoid these wounds if possible. Unfortunately, spider control requires a complex response. No chemical control method that is available to the general public is known to be effective at specifically treating agrarian sac spiders. Accordingly, it is necessary to eliminate their food and look for ways to prevent these and other pests from coming indoors.
It is always wise to ask a pest management professional to help with eliminating the insects and arthropods on which agrarian sac spiders feed. A technician further can locate vulnerabilities in the home that are allowing these and other pests to make their way indoors.
WHAT AGRARIAN SAC SPIDERS LOOK LIKE
This species may be easiest to identify by its long, delicate legs. In fact, the front pair of legs is significantly longer than the other six legs. Another characteristic that helps to identify the agrarian sac spider is their coloration, which typically is cream-colored or light yellow. In contrast, the tips of the tarsi and the chelicerae are dark brown. The spider's abdomen may exhibit a lengthwise dorsal stripe that is darker than the rest of the abdomen. While males generally measure between four and eight millimeters, females may grow to between five and 10 millimeters.
WHERE DO AGRARIAN SAC SPIDERS LIVE?
This species is capable of spinning webs, but they do not use their creations to catch food. Instead, they spin a sac that is reminiscent of a sleeping bag. The agrarian sac spider will spend its days sleeping here. Shaped like a tube and measuring approximately one-inch long, this sac is one of the most obvious signs of an agrarian sac spider infestation.
Spiders like to place these sacs in spots that are rarely disturbed. Darkness and clutter can provide essential protection. Attics, basements, crawlspaces, garages and sheds are likely places to find sacs, but they also may be found in rooms that people frequently inhabit as long as there is an undisturbed corner. For instance, sacs often are sighted in the seam where a wall and ceiling meet. Leaf litter and plants are likely places to find sacs in the outdoors.
The spiders emerge from their sacs at night to hunt, sometimes spinning a silken thread that can help them float across surprisingly long distances.
WHAT DO AGRARIAN SAC SPIDERS EAT?
Agrarian sac spiders are active hunters who must run down their prey. Fortunately for them, they are quick movers, enabling them to feed on a wide variety of insects and other arachnids. Many of their common prey items are among the most serious pests in garden and agricultural settings. Should the female spider have difficulty locating food, she may consume her eggs.
DAMAGE CAUSED BY AGRARIAN SAC SPIDERS
Although a single spider may create and abandon several sleeping sacs indoors, this simply looks messy and must be cleared away by the homeowner. Beyond that, agrarian sac spiders do not destroy property, but the insects that they feed on might.
ARE AGRARIAN SAC SPIDERS AGGRESSIVE?
Because encounters with agrarian sac spiders tend to be unexpected and painful, this can seem like an aggressive species. In reality, these spiders prefer to avoid people, but they will defend themselves if they believe that they are being threatened. Although most bites happen when these spiders come indoors, bites also may occur when people are working in the yard.
DO AGRARIAN SAC SPIDERS CARRY DISEASE?
When agrarian sac spiders bite, a venom is automatically transferred to the victim. This is not deadly to humans, nor does it necessarily make a person ill. Most people who are bitten by a member of this species will develop a red welt, and in rare cases, it is possible for some of the tissue in the center of the bite to die.
This is largely attributable to the transmission of cytotoxin with the spider's bite. People who believe that they have a spider bite that is not healing properly are encouraged to seek immediate medical attention.
These bites also may become infected, especially if they are scratched excessively. Other people may experience an allergic reaction that consists of nausea, headache and dizziness.
HOW TO DETECT AGRARIAN SAC SPIDERS
Signs of an agrarian sac spider presence include:
• Yellow spiders found inside the home or in the garden • Spiders encountered in discarded clothing or bed sheets • Silken sacs founds anywhere in the home
HOW TO PREVENT AGRARIAN SAC SPIDERS
To help prevent against agrarian sac spiders the following steps should be taken:
• Locate and eliminate holes, cracks and gaps in the home's exterior • Ensure that yard debris piles and woodpiles are established well away from structures • Hire a pest management professional to provide regular services • Declutter the home and yard • Do not allow trees and plants to touch the home's exterior
HOW TO TREAT FOR AGRARIAN SAC SPIDERS
The agrarian-sac spider is a serious pest and one that must be removed immediately. If a home or business owner suspects that sac spiders are present, a professional should be called since not only can females produce as many as 200 eggs in a mating season, but also cause painful bites.
At Newtown Termite & Pest Control, we don't take your spider control problems lightly. That's why we use a multifaceted process including the treatment of wall voids, attics, and cracks and crevices throughout the premise with gels, dusts, and other specialized products.
Call Newtown Termite & Pest Control today for a free agrarian sac spider inspection.
