It would seem that a fear of spiders is common among most Americans.
In a poll among 1,000 people throughout the United States, spiders came in second for being the most frightening of pests, according to Insight Pest Solutions.
That particular fear was more prevalent among women (24 percent) than men (17 percent) in this particular poll.
One spider that seems to be more abundant this year than in prior years is the black widow, according to KUSA.
The good news is that they generally don’t bite humans, according to Paula Cushing, curator of invertebrate zoology at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.
Cushing collects spiders, and her collection is made up of several dozens.
“Don’t be worried about them,” Cushing said. “We all have them in our yards here in Colorado. We probably all have them in our garages.
“Even if you do encounter one, if you brush by one of the webs, the spider is going to run away from you,” Cushing added.
Michael Diaz, co-owner of Independent Pest Control, refers to the fall as “black widow season,” according to KXRM-TV.
Diaz said that fall is when most hatchings take place with black widows and their egg sacks.
In general, spiders may choose to hide in a bedroom, closet, laundry room or an area that tends to be cool and dusty like a garage.
Occasionally, a spider may be attracted to old shoes, according to Daily Mail.
If that happens, there are a couple of ways to deal with that situation.
“They eat the bugs, they keep the insects down… I’ll do whatever I can in my part to move them outside,” Diaz said, according to KXRM.
However, if the thought of that approach makes a person’s skin crawl, Diaz said wasp spray will work on spiders.
Another option is to get out the vacuum cleaner and turn it on so it can suck up the spider, according to Romney Pest Control.
Spiders are typically busy looking for a mate in the fall, and so they can be more active and show up more frequently in a person’s home, according to May Exterminating.
There are a few things that homeowners can do to give spiders less of an opportunity to wander indoors in the first place.
“Go around your house and calk or foam areas of access. Or they could put tighter screens on. Or use glue boards or sticky boards in their basements,” Diaz told KXRM.
“It’s not going to kill you, but you might wish you were dead. Because apparently the pain can be excruciating,” Cushing said, according to KUSA.
Cushing added that doctors’ offices have access to anti-venom.
