I need HELP from a spider expert....

I have lived in the same area (on farms and in town) almost my entire life. I really never remember seeing black widow spiders but now I have feel like I have an infestation in my back yard. In the past month I have seen several. Both Northern BW's and the other (just with the red dot). I have no clue about spiders other than I hate them and want them dead.

My question is: What is causing them to come into my backyard all of the sudden? I haven't done anything different..I keep it clean and neat with no garbage, debris, woodpiles, etc. We mow frequently and keep all flower beds neat and trim. I have two little kids and I am terrified of them getting bit. What can I do to make them go away and NEVER come back.

BTW..our yard is a little under a 1/4 acre and there is only one tree (mimosa) in the yard. The yard stays dry and sunny.

I found 2 big ones this morning and I have had it. I DON'T want to use pesticide but will if I have too.

reply to post by Neopan100


At night is the area lit? If so is it a bright bulb that attracts all the bugs? I would recommend buying one of those yellow lights as bugs tend to stay away from those. Check out this link and hope it helps! pests.getridofthings.com...

reply to post by Irish614


No our backyard is not lit at night. The only exterior light we have is on the front porch. I have been looking elsewhere on the web in the past 10 minutes and it seems that I'm am not the only one that this is happening too. I mean I know that black widows live in almost every state..however, most of the time people and spiders don't make many connections..but according to some pesticide comment sections people from all over the midwest and the east are just now having problems with them. Seeing multiple BW spiders in a day when it was an almost non-existent problem in years prior. What's up with that?

reply to post by Neopan100


Where are you finding them exactly? Widows prefer cool dark areas like under the porch or in a stack of wood. Tell us a little more info about your situation and im sure we can come up with something

reply to post by DisturbedToo


one I found in the pool..trying to get out.
the two I found this morning were under a small step stool I keep out to sit on while weeding.
The others have been found on our concrete patio and in the yard just walking around.

What really bugs the piiss out of me is that we finally have our yard so nice and neat with a rock garden for the kids big swing set and a nice clean patio to sit out on and we now have this..I mean it was never a disaster of a yard just a plain ole yard..now we have it fixed up nice and pretty to sit out and watch the girls play in the fluffy grass..but now have a fear of letting them out without shoes! What kind of childhood is that if they cannot run around barefoot

reply to post by Neopan100


That is weird that they are out in the lawn.
They usually stay in dark, damp areas.
And are you sure it is a black widow?

Originally posted by Neopan100
reply to post by DisturbedToo

 

one I found in the pool..trying to get out.
the two I found this morning were under a small step stool I keep out to sit on while weeding.
The others have been found on our concrete patio and in the yard just walking around.

What really bugs the piiss out of me is that we finally have our yard so nice and neat with a rock garden for the kids big swing set and a nice clean patio to sit out on and we now have this..I mean it was never a disaster of a yard just a plain ole yard..now we have it fixed up nice and pretty to sit out and watch the girls play in the fluffy grass..but now have a fear of letting them out without shoes! What kind of childhood is that if they cannot run around barefoot

You are finding them in odd places...except for under the stool.
I'm going to wager a guess and say there was a nest of them somewhere in your yard or near by at one time. If they are not adults you could have a whole mess of them running around and not really know it. This is something you need to call a professional for, I for one wouldn't want to mess with those little buggers!
Maybe give Billy the Exterminator a call! That guy is awesome! Great show.
Anything with 8 legs is clearly evil and should die!

Good luck!

Yeah, take this ^^^^^ guys advice.
Call an exterminator.

The swing set concerns me...that's a prime nesting spot if it is the hollow metal version

reply to post by Neopan100

one I found in the pool..trying to get out

I think it's the pool that attracts them. It must be the moisture of the water and the mass amount of insects a pool attracts. It's the perfect feeding ground for them. I can't begin to tell you how many times I've seen Black Widows around swimming pools. Usually under the escutcheons (round plates) that are around your hand rails or ladder and also in the pool skimmer so be cautious when you reach in to pull the basket out.

reply to post by GmoS719


I am 1000% positive. I shiny black with the red dot. I thought I was finding them in weird spots too.
I am concerned because of what others were saying on the pesticide website comment section..I guess others are having problems too when it was not a concern before.

The swing set is not metal. It is a big cedar one ( I have a pic of it in my photo gallery).

The pool is not an above ground nor inground. It is one of the blow up ones that are like 4ft x 8ft

We keep the baby pool up on the concrete patio.