Spider Exterminators Serving Milwaukee, Racine and Kenosha
Milwaukee Area Exterminator Eliminates Spider Infestations Thoughout Southeast Wisconsin
Unfortunately, spider infestations are extremely common in Wisconsin, especially in winter. As the colder months approach, spiders seek refuge in warm, dark places. Spiders often hide in basements, HVAC duct work, closets and, yikes, even bed sheets. When warmer weather returns, spiders become more active, venturing out into your living spaces and the outdoors in search of food.
Whacking a spider with a newspaper and spraying bug spray is fine if you’re dealing with an occasional spider or two, but it’s no way to deal with a spider infestation. If it seems like spiders are taking over your house, you may have a spider infestation. Unless you’re going for a House of Horrors theme, you’ll probably want to get a professional exterminator out to your house ASAP. For fastest response, give us a call at 414-303-6926.
From our home base in Milwaukee, Ehlers Pest Management serves not only the greater Milwaukee area and it’s suburbs, but also Racine and Kenosha to the south of us. Our experienced exterminators will identify the type of spider infestation you have and use proven pest control methods to ensure results—including pet-friendly, organic pest control formulas. We’ll also determine probable entry points to help you prevent future infestations.
Signs You May Have a Spider Infestation
- Spiderwebs everywhere – A couple spiderwebs can be common in most homes, but seeing webs in every nook and cranny of your house may indicate a more pervasive problem
- Egg sacs – A sure sign of an infestation are seeing egg sacs hanging from webs and crevices, which indicate the spiders are reproducing.
- Seeing the spiders – Spiders often like to hide in areas like closets and attics, but some might hide where it’s damp, like basements and bathrooms.
If you think you have a spider infestation in your home or commercial building, call the professionals at Ehlers Pest Management today to take care of the problem for you. Our expert exterminators know all the best methods of getting rid of your spider infestation quickly and in an eco-friendly manner.
Ehlers Pest Management provides superior pest control solutions for:
- Brown Recluse Spiders
- Black Widow Spiders
- Fishing Spiders
- Garden Spiders
- Grass Spiders
- Ground Spiders
- House Spiders
- Jumping Spiders
- Weaver Spiders
- Wolf Spiders
Milwaukee Spider Identification
Black Widow Spider
The black widow spider is glossy black, or dark to light brown, measuring up to ¾ inch with an abdomen 3/8 inch in diameter. Black widow spiders can be identified by the asymmetrical, scaffold-type webs they commonly spin near the ground. The webs are typically found in areas offering protection, like piles of boxes, boards, and firewood. Black widow spiders are also identifiable by their harmful bite. Intense cramping and body pain are common symptoms of a black widow spider bite. People are often bit in outhouses where the black widow hides under toilet seats and when picking up or putting on items the spider crawled into.
Brown Recluse Spider
The brown recluse spider is dark or light brown, with a 5/8 inch body length and about a 1.5 inch leg span. The brown recluse spider is uniquely identifiable by the violin shape behind the head. Brown recluse spiders construct webs in any suitable corner indoors or out where activity is minimal and food is plentiful. Basements, crawl spaces, and garages are areas brown recluse spiders are typically found. An effective way to distinguish brown recluse spiders from other spider species is by their bite. The brown recluse spiders’ bit is usually unintentional, often occurring after a person puts on a shoe or clothing the spider crawled into. The brown recluse spider bite is very harmful, causing ulcerating sores on people. Infection and massive tissue necrosis can occur if the bite is left untreated. Due to the severity of the bite, brown recluse spider control treatments are more intensive than traditional spider treatments. The safest method of brown recluse spider control is hiring a licensed Milwaukee spider control expert from Ehlers Pest Management.
Cellar Spider
The cellar spider is cream colored, with a very thin shape measuring up to ¾ inch long. Cellar spiders are identifiable by the huge, tangled webs they spin and hang upside down in. Cellar spiders attach additional webs to their existing webs, resulting in noticeably vast amounts of cobwebs. The webs are commonly found in dank, dark areas like basements, sheds, crawl spaces, garages, and warehouses.
Daddy Longlegs
Daddy longlegs are not spiders, belonging instead to a group of arachnids known as harvestmen. Daddy longlegs and other harvestmen are distinguishable from spiders by their appearing to have a one piece oval body and their lack of venom and silk glands making them harmless to humans. While most daddy longlegs are varying shades of brown, some diurnal species are yellow, green, and black with black and reddish mottling. Most daddy longlegs are predators feeding on insects and plants near outdoor lights, while others are scavengers feasting on dead organisms and fecal matter. Outdoor lighting lures insects to the daddy longlegs’ web for easy consumption.
Domestic House Spider
The domestic house spider is brownish gray with numerous multi-colored markings, with bulbous bodies measuring up to one inch with a two inch leg span. Domestic house spiders are identifiable by their flat webs featuring a funnel-shaped hideout on one side. Domestic house spiders are proliferous web-spinners, choosing lighted areas where flying insects are easily found for food. Domestic house spiders prefer to spin webs near holes and cracks offering ideal locations for the funnel hideout. The webs are commonly found in outdoor vegetation, crawl spaces, garages, and basements. Domestic spiders’ bite is harmless, making domestic spiders relatively safe.
Funnelweb Spider
Most funnelweb spider species are brown with dark head stripes, measuring ½ to one inch long. Funnel spiders are recognizable by the presence of huge, flat webs featuring a funnel at one end. The spider hides in the funnel waiting prey. The webs are usually constructed in thick shrubs, ground debris, and tall grass. On very rare occasions a wandering, lost male will enter a home.
Garden Spider
The garden spider is commonly black and yellow, measuring up to 1.5 inches with a 3 inch leg span. Garden spiders are identifiable by the enormous, flat sphere-shaped webs they spin across open spaces between trees and shrubs. The webs are spun along the flight paths of insects posing as potential food. The webs are commonly found in fields, forests, and yards.
Ground Spider
The ground spider is typically brown, occasionally dusted in orange or red markings, usually less than ½ inch in length. Ground spiders are non-web-spinning hunting spiders preferring to chase prey on foot. Ground spiders nest in piles of stones, logs, mulch, and natural ground coverings like ivy. Ground spiders can be found dashing down baseboards and hiding under appliances and furniture. Some ground spider species, like the white breasted Parsons spider, invade buildings.
Jumping Spider
The jumping spider has earth-tone coloration, identifiable by its eight different shaped eyes and stocky legs. Jumping spiders are one of the fastest moving spider species, capable of jumping 25 times their own size. Jumping spiders live worldwide in deserts, scrublands, tropical forests, near windows of North American homes, and the Himalayas’ in rocks, leaves, and tree bark. Indoors, jumping spiders live near insects in planters, wall cavities, and window sills. Jumping spiders are carnivorous hunters who stalk other insects to eat as opposed to snaring insects in a web.
Orb Weaver
The orb weaver is vibrantly colored with red and black markings on a white abdomen, usually less than a ½ inch long. Orb weavers inhabit the United States’ southeast coast, particularly enjoying the sunshine of Florida yards. Orb weavers are named after and identifiable by the orb-shaped webs they weave in trees and shrubs, windows, soffits, and other building crevices and their colorful appearance. Orb weavers are not harmful, unintentionally invading homes when nesting in potted plants.
Wolf Spiders
Wolf spiders are hairy with dull coloring, measuring up to 1.5 inches long. Wolf spiders are non-web-spinning hunting spiders, leaving no distinguishing web structures like other spiders. Wolf spiders nest in piles of clutter and mulch, under decks, porches, and baseboards, and near entry points like door and window frames.
Yellow-sac Spiders
Yellow-sac spiders are pale, yellowish-green, measuring about ¼ inch in length, uniquely identifiable by two rows of four eyes. Yellow-sac spiders are identifiable by the presence the silken sacs they rest in during the day. The silken sacs are found under and behind furniture, and in corners along baseboards and ceilings. The yellow sacs are found under tree bark, in stone and log piles, and along soffits, windows, and door frames. The yellow-sac spider inhabits the eastern U.S., with a heavy presence between New England and the Midwest. The yellow sac spider is one of the most prolific spider biters in the United States. The bite is non-severe, leaving a reddened area between one to several inches round with a white pustule.
