Shoo Brown Recluse SpiderSometimes, you’ll hear me talk about helpful spiders, but the brown recluse spider is not one of them. There is really not much I can say about this arachnid that is nice. My mama gnome told me that if I don’t have anything nice to say, I shouldn’t say anything at all. The danger posed by lurking brown recluse spiders is too great for me to be quiet about them, though. (Sorry guys!) The bite of this guy is not only painful; it causes necrosis to the surrounding tissue, which may have to be excised. In rare cases, it can even be debilitating to a limb. Recognizing the Brown Recluse in Your GardenThey are native to the southern and central United States. Your risk of being bitten by a brown recluse is highest if you garden within the native areas of the spider. But, I have been bitten twice over the years right here in my Pacific Northwest garden. No, garden gnomes are not immune to these guys.Sometimes, brown recluse spiders are transported out of their naturally occurring areas, but are unlikely to be among your plants. For those of you unlucky enough to live in the natural habitat of the brown recluse, you need to be careful when moving about your garden and working around the spider’s preferred habitat. Recluse spiders like dark, dry, quiet places. In the garden, they could be lurking under flowerpots or garden flats, near the compost bin or in rotting tree branches or trunks. Woodpiles and potting sheds are also favorite places for brown recluse spiders. When you work in a garden that could contain brown recluse spiders, it is important to take precautions to avoid bites. Never reach into a dark, dry, secluded corner of anything without wearing gloves or shining a light. Put your shoes on before going out there. If you keep your rain boots in your potting shed, shake them upside-down before putting them on. If you see what could look like a brown recluse spider, look for these telltale attributes: The back of the spider has a “violin-like” pattern, but so do many other spiders. Other, more specific attributes are as follows: their legs do not have color patterns, nor do their undersides. Their legs do not have spines. One of the most distinctive attributes, in combination with the markings is the placement of eyes. Brown recluse spiders have only six eyes, not eight. They are arranged in pairs. Only a few other species of spiders have only six eyes. Yes, I said eyes, not legs. All spiders have eight legs. Their body size is only about 1/4 inch wide and up to a 1/2 inch long (smaller than a dime), but there long legs make them appear larger than a quarter. Repelling ReclusesYou can take several precautions to lessen your chances of being bitten by a Brown Recluse. You cannot use most organic insect repellents to repel spiders because spiders are not insects, and the chemicals work differently in insects and arachnoids. To repel spiders, you need to create or purchase a repellent just for them. But, diatomaceous earth does work pretty well on spiders.There are a variety of traps that will attract spiders to them. Be certain to put the spider trap somewhere other than where you spend a lot of time gardening, because the sticky traps work by attracting and trapping the them. If you attract the spiders to areas where you spend a lot of time, you will be doing yourself a disservice and potentially putting yourself in harm’s way. Recluses in the home are much more worrisome than recluses in the garden, as you are unlikely to run into a brown recluse while you are out actively working in the garden. Practice all of the tips for keeping them out of the home to keep them out of your garden tool and storage areas. Get rid of cardboard boxes; use care when working around the woodpile. Shake out your gloves and shoes before putting them on. You can do more to prevent yourself from providing a friendly habitat for the spiders than you can repel them. Happy gardening, Geefrank
|
