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Okay so I know how good spiders are for the garden. But you must understand the pool cage horror that I walk into everyday. Not delicately spun orbed webs, but massive cottony webs of doom filled with giant brown wooly spiders, two inch long black and yellow striped ones, and long strings of their brethren-filled egg sacs. When I go out to my garden I knock down at least one new web a day just to reach my plants. So I finally went to Ace Hardware and purchased Orange Guard - my idea was to eradicate every last eyeball with a single blow, but due to its organic nature (i.e. weak), I used more than half the bottle. I got the majority of spiders and eggs dead and smashed, also with the help of a good old-fashioned can of Raid (away from the plants, of course).
Any suggestions for other products or ways to keep this infestation gone? Normally I don't mind spiders in the least, but this was ridiculous. My parents have stopped caring about the outdoors as they've gotten older, so I should at least help them out too.
Super Moderator
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I live in spider heaven with millions of them along the lakeshore!
I use Raid Spider Blaster which is a residual type specific for spiders. There are other brands available such as C.I.L SpiderBan. It lasts 2 weeks!
It is non-toxic to people, pets and birds once it dries.
I don't bother with the spiders in the gardens but do spray the exterior of the house and the gazebo and deck area, and especialy around doors and windows!
Every two weeks I spray from may until September!
Super Moderator
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LOL!!!! From the other side of the fence........ I embrace the spiders with the exception of the widow family of the brown recluse. Those big brown and yellow spiders , commonly called banana spiders in Florida, are your best pest protection for your plants! They are harmless to humans and really have no interest in you. Annoying yes, as they rebuild their webs in the exact same place you moved them from. Slow moving and very entertaining they are a thing of natural beauty. But I do appreciate your sheer terror of them. grab a neighborhood kid and get them to catch and relocate the spiders for you
Super Moderator
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Now that is organic spider control!
Nancie, care to come an embrace my spider invasion?
Super Moderator
Staff member
As long as they are not widows!
Do you have the black , brown or red widows up there Ron?
Super Moderator
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No widows up here, but the recluse is slowly moving north!
Haven't seen one of those yet!
I have to keep them out of the house, especially the jumpers!
The jumpers do bite if they get into our clothes!
So far, so good this year. Been keeping up the spraying every two weeks and have only seen a few in the house which I swat when I see them!
The birds are keeping the windows and eaves clear since they are feeding their young. But once the nesting season is over they spiders take over!
The spiders grow fast with the constant supply of fish flies to feed on!
Lol now I feel kinda bad for killing all those harmless spiders....hundreds of them no joke! A few survived and have rebuilt their webs but I'm leaving them alone....a couple won't hurt but I'm going to make sure to take care of their egg sacs before they pose a problem again.
Super Moderator
Staff member
awww I didn't mean to make you feel bad.
Yes I am a nature hugger LOL! I try to walk softly and do no harm. Oh don't get me wrong if it's eating my veggies I'll remove it if possible or , if the pest warrants , smash 'em. but good critters I try to keep.
Super Moderator
Staff member
Red,
You would more then likely freak out over all the fishflies we get during the warm months!
Spiders grow fat quickly, and produce endless generations with such a glut of food to consume!
There are literally tons of fishflies that come out of the lake over a span of 5 months!
Big spiders are the result, and millions of them all along the shoreline with webs ready to collect the flies as they emerge from the lake!
Super Moderator
Staff member
Ron
Lucky you with no widows, but the brown recluse is really a bad dude. My son and I still play with the jumpers. I usually pick them up and toss them out the door when I have had my fun.
My daughter had a pink toed tarantula and it escaped into her house. She never saw it again.
No I am not fond of that big of a spider, but I still don't think I would swat him.
Coastal Florida gets the fish flies, midges, or blind mosquito's as they are commonly called and they pile up dead under lights.I can look under my windows and around doors in the mornings and there are 1000's of them. I have used them for organic fertilizer but they do smell so don't put them in plants in the house.
Luckily it is only from about June through Sept. Just like love bugs.
Super Moderator
Staff member
Same here!
I have to use the power washer to clean the window sills!
The small ones can pile a few inches high!
The spiders. (need to stay on topic too), toads and frogs can only eat so many!
Being from fresh water the decomposing corpses do not smell!
Most of the flies get caught up in all the spider webs and drop from the shear weight of them!
That's the price we pay for living so close to the water!
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