AboutWalter Hintz Expertise I can answer any questions about insects and spiders
Experience I have taught science for over 50 years. I am presently teaching biology at the college level. I have done extensive graduate work in entomology.
Question We have spiders! I don't even know what all we do have but we have lots of different looking ones.
Living in the Ozark mountains I know that Black Widows are poisonous and we have those as well as the brown recluse.
I can idenify the Black Widow only. We have been told by pest control people there is really nothing we can do about them. We spray our house but it does not help.
The problem at hand is this:
I was making my son's bed the other morning and found a rather large spider in his bed, right between the covers. I tried to get it but it was tooo fast. My husband and I searched but was unable to locate it.
Now my husband will not let our son sleep in his room. He worries terribly about it. ( I worry to but I don't think to the extint he does)
It has been about a week now. Are spiders territorial? Is it likely to still be in there? What should we do? Thanks.
Answer Spiders are everywhere and although we cannot get rid of them (they are a vital part of the ecosystem) we can keep them from our immediate environment. Widows and recluses are the only ones that can harm you in any way. I would be surprized if either one would be in a bed. They are looking for food and there is nothing to eat in a bed. I am sure that the one in the bed will not return there. Siders do establish a territory but a bed is not one of them. If the spider in the bed was brown, furry and long legged with a fairly small abdomen it was probably a wolf spider. Wolf spiders look ominous but are harmless. Just check before your son goes to bed. Contrary to popular spiders do wander around at night looking for someone to bite.
There are worse things in this world to worry about than spiders. In fact the ones you have are eating a lot of insects that would otherwise pester you.
Be careful with any sprays you use around the house. Some of them are dangerous and do not believe the labels that state otherwise.
