Black Widows in basement

[GetITCdot]

Ok so i have googled a ton and have found a bunch of "oh i have kids and dont want to use harsh chemicals" yada yada yada.

I have a HUGE black widow problem in the basement of the house I just bought in Houston, PA.

I have fogged the place 3 times. Kills all the pesky wolf spiders/etc but those damn black widows are impossible to kill.


There is about 10 - 15 that i have seen and im sure they have a ton of egg sacks etc. Short of calling an exterminator is there just a bad-ass chemical for mass extinction?

[knight0334]

Flame thrower!!

Seriously though, sometimes one of my kin will get an infestation of widows or recluses. We will sometimes use an old Rainbow vacuum that has the water tank. We'll just suck them all up using the extension nozzles, spiders, egg sacks, webs, and all. What gets to the tank drowns, what manages to not get sucked all the way to the water gets flushed out with a garden house on the driveway pavement smashed/set afire.

[Gunny1969]

Quick search of the web produced this info:

Vacuum is the number one method. Pesticides don't prevent, but will kill if sprayed onto the spiders. If you have a confirmed infestation of either black widow or brown recluse spiders in your home, contact a licensed pest control company, the Penn State Department of Entomology, or the Penn State Cooperative Extension office in your county for additional information.

[camper]

I'd just call an exterminator, honestly. Probably would be expensive, but it would be worth it to me to know that the little spiders that could kill me, my wife, or my kids are gone.

camper

[wa3ra]

They won't kill you or your wife...but I'd worry about the kids.

We hardly ever see them up here in the northeast corner of the state, but those damned brown recluse SOBs turn up once in a while. They won't kill you, either, but man, does one of those bites make a mess.

[MuzzleFlash]

I say you take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure. Really though I can't think of any simple spray that might effectively kill them aside from maybe spray adhesive or Chisel gasket remover which eats nearly everything except metal and wood. I have a can of spider spray that "kills on contact, guaranteed!" They're right, one whack with the can and they're dead, the contents are pretty useless though.

[JoeWilliams]

They won't kill you or your wife...but I'd worry about the kids.

We hardly ever see them up here in the northeast corner of the state, but those damned brown recluse SOBs turn up once in a while. They won't kill you, either, but man, does one of those bites make a mess.

A dude just died in southwest Indiana, they think killed by an untreated brown recluse bite

[camper]

A dude just died in southwest Indiana, they think killed by an untreated brown recluse bite

My wife worked with a girl up in Mass that thought she had the remnants of a tag in her pants (they were new, in the back of the closet) and kept swiping at it throughout the morning because it was bothering her. Finally she went into the bathroom to be rid of it (didn't have a chance before then), and actually saw the brown recluse spider on her leg along with half a dozen bites. The girl left work and drove to the doctor immediately. The doctor told her that if she wasn't on very strong antibiotics for whatever it was (I can't remember--abcess or something), she'd most likely be dead due to the number of bites and all the venom or something.

I don't know much about that, but that's all I need to hear

camper

[Curmudgeon]

Automatic Choke Cleaner.

I've never seen anything kill any "bug" faster. It is literally instantaneous!

[PA Rifleman]

Automatic Choke Cleaner.

I've never seen anything kill any "bug" faster. It is literally instantaneous!

Ditto, Gumout=instant death in the entomology world. About as fast as wasp spray on wasps, but kills a *much* bigger spectrum of insects. Use caution around plastic, it's hell on most types.