If that company is spraying some poison that is not solving your problem then they are not spraying the right material. However, whatever they are spraying, other than water, will most likely do more harm to you and your children then the spiders would.

Ask them the name of the chemical that they are using and let me know. You can just call the company and ask them unless BY CHANCE they have left an MSDS (material safety data sheet) with you. If so, the trade name and the ingredients will be listed on that.

Thank you. I will try to find out what they are spraying.

i dont understand the scenario ...

plagues come and go ... what is a problem one year.. may not be a problem again for a decade or two .... how long does this guy plan on separating you from your money .... w/o success??? .. and if he was successful why is he still spraying????

if he was successful last season .... why is there such a population still around ... is there any effectiveness to his protocol ???....

and.. as above.. what the product ... ????

and i dont understand your need to grow organic veggies.. when you are nuking your yard ... i mean i know why.. but .. i dont .. i dont.. something just isnt clicking????? .. its just such a bizarre dichotomy ....

on some level i fear this guy is not really accomplishing anything.. and i am wondering if he has any clue what IPM is.. and how to deal with these things.... this needs to be attacked thru INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT ... and that doesnt mean simply spraying ...

but if they are still there.. whats the point of what he is doing?????

ken

ps: and please dont tell us he is spraying them with an insecticide.. since spiders arent insects ...

Sorry, I wasn't clear. The spiders around our house are all dead - the spray works, but I still see their egg sacs all over the neighbors' trash cans and fences, so I assume they would soon come back if we stopped spraying.

I'm all-organic/sustainable/natural at heart, and these spiders are so shy (they play dead even when I'm coming at them to squish them) I can't imagine how anyone ever manages to get bit. My husband is the one who insisted on spraying. We couldn't walk through the garage or out the door or across the patio without getting a faceful of their tough webs, and he was worried about the kids getting bit since the brown widows were all over their play structure and under all the patio furniture.

It's kind of an ongoing natural vs. "conventional" struggle around here. :) I was just wondering if we did insist on continuing to spray for widow prevention, whether I should not be trying to grow vegetables nearby that are safe to eat.

I think we'll cancel the spraying service and see how we do. Thanks everyone!

Wait, don't go. It would be good to know what is sprayed so we can determine any health hazards. For Ken, Kimmsr or I to comment on dealing with poisonous insects would be out of place as we live where there are none. One of the benefits of living in a cold zone. Winter may have biting cold but at least it doesn't kill us...well, not usually.

I'm sure rhizo understands your plight much better than we can.

tj

If you're referring to the brown widow in the genus Steatoda, you need to know that they aren't dangerous to you or yours in any way.

Instead they & other spiders are valuable garden assets as they help limit the pesky insects that can damage your plants.

Apparently, there has been something of a population explosion of brown widows (Latrodectus species) in San Diego County and surrounding areas. This should worry anyone who is likely to come into contact with them. Children, of course, are more likely to suffer consequences if bitten. Brown widows have egg sacs that are unmistakable.

We had a huge explosion of Black Widows not too long ago around here. It was like the Twiilight zone or something on a creepy cable network program. Campgrounds, picnic sites, community recreation centers, etc., were closed down!

Ken, I don't know who ever told you that insecticides don't kill spiders, but you should disencumber yourself from that belief. They do kill them. I'd expect that foodie 's pest control company is using one of the pyrethoids or pyrethrins.

As a general rule, we shouldn't ever try to control spiders, even the poisonous ones. They are far too beneficial. However, if the population becomes out of control, then there's a problem.

The good thing is that these spiders, just like their kin, black widows, are not aggressive at all. Bites occur through accidental contact. Common sense should tell us that the more of them there are....the more opportunities for problems.

Once the population reaches 'normal ' numbers, then the spray people will have to find something else to do. Though wd still see many BWs in our garage and around the outside of our home, it's nothing that the shop vac can't handle. And I ALWAYS look under the patio furniture before I sit down.

Hmm, here's info from the University of CA.

Seems the brown widow (Latrodectus geometricus) was first ID'd in San Diego in the year 2000. Not all that scary, after all.

Lots of info from UC here:
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74149.html#BROWN

The above link includes these statements:
"Initial news reports exaggerated the impact of the brown widow. However, unlike the black widow, this spider isnâÂÂt much more toxic to humans than the typical spider."

Here is a link that might be useful: brown widow spiders in CA

Thanks jean001a. That was a helpful site. My experience tells me the same - they ARE true widows, not the "false brown widows," but they do not seem to deserve all the negative press.

The pest control guy drove up today (forgot to call and cancel) and I turned him right away. :) Forgot to ask what he was spraying, but I'll call the company and find out and let you all know.

The Universtiy of Florida has what appears to me better information about Brown Widow Spiders. It appears that the best means of control is a good cleanup, wipe away any webs and egg sacs from where they are just as many of use do with other spiders.

Here is a link that might be useful: About Brown Widows

Take a broom and knock down and squish the egg sacks. I give the 10 year old boys in the neighborhood this job. They turn over all the patio furniture and poke at the porch and garage ceiling corners.

They like to destroy wasp nests too. I don't ask them to do that because I fear they get stung. But I see them cleaning out louvered shutters when they are bored during the summer. Boys will be boys;)