Brown Recluses Invading Beds

Lived in our current home (small 80s ranch-style house) in the woods for nearly 8 years. In that time we have found several brown recluse spiders in almost every room in the house, and my daughter gets bitten in bed every year by a brown recluse while she is sleeping, usually in the Spring, twice last week. (I have been bitten in bed once. Not pleasant to wake up to!)

We are the only people in the neighborhood not visited by Pest Control people, and I know very well why all the neighbors constantly have them out. I do not want to do this. I have to do something effective though! Every year the presence of six- and eight-legged critters in our house increases. Our house seems permeable. I've had a katydid and a praying mantis come in just in the last week. Mostly though, I just really want to stop the nocturnal spider bites. Glue traps in the rooms manage some of these spiders, but not all.

Recommendations?

I had one drown in our sink one day while we had a pan soaking.I have been smashing brown spiders since,not sure if they are brown recluse or not,i dont care, HULK SMASH! We have lots of regular critters but this is the first brown recluse i have found.

I have heard and mt grandma swore it worked,she would have us gather a few osage oranges and she would place them around the inside f her house,not sure if it worked or not personally though.Cant hurt anything i suppose,just place them in a dark corner on a paper plate,see if it works.

Spreading diatomaceous earth, or even simple chalk, along baseboards certainly discourages insect mischief.

However, if things were bad, I would call an ozone treatment company, remove anything living, silver, laptops, or that I cared about, and have them nuke the whole place. It's my house, not yours, spiders. Go play outside. If you bite me in bed, I will bite you back with bigger fangs.

Unlike insecticides, there are no known long term effects from an ozone treatment, to the best of my knowledge. My 2c.

i am agog at you all getting bit multiple times. i thought we had it bad here! (bites here mean hospital)
we regularly take everything out. move the beds, move the mattresses. wipe down the walls with something stinky/fragrant for cleaning. smack it all around, take the pictures off the walls, vacuum or sweep everything. we do this maybe once a year and it's enough to keep them out. they do not like anyone in their business and will move to somewhere quieter (like my attic....). You have to be scrupulous because these guys are very smart- i remember once finding one in a USB port of my computer.....

We do see major spider traffic at the change of seasons, which makes it a good time to do this kind of cleaning.

Hi Rachel,
That is a rough problem to have. I know there are solutions with vinegar and various essential oils that are supposed to deter spiders, but then they would probably just move to a different part of the house.

It does sound like you might need to do something drastic initially. The ozone idea seems interesting. I remember these flea bombs my parents used when I was a kid. Nasty things, but I have recently heard about some all-natural products for mold that deliver the remedy similar to those old flea bombs. I wonder if there is anyone making a natural product like that for spiders.

Whatever you do for the initial steps though, you want to make sure you do the normal things you do for any pest. You need to really dig in and find where they could be coming from, living, or hiding. Seal all those holes. With something like spiders, this is going through all the trim boards, windows, doors, vents, etc. Make sure you have caulking to seal things up. Reduce clutter, this also provides fewer places for things to hide. Remove food sources. For spiders, this would be stopping bugs that they feed on from coming in. Good luck and keep us updated on what things help.

I'm in the "figure out where they are coming in" camp. If you have that many bugs wandering in, figure out where, and close it off. Make sure screens are tight, check where water pipes come up through the floor, dryer vent, any other vents.

As far as ozone treatment, I do it often for mold, but have not heard of it for bugs, it would take a bigger machine than mine to do that much concentration. It is not toxic, BUT you need to let it dissipate before going back in. Ozone is O3, three molecules of oxygen bound together. It's not a stable configuration. Your body uses O2, which is stable. So if you breathe O3 in concentration, you get no usable oxygen out of it. It's NOT toxic, but you CAN suffocate from lack of O2. O3 drops back into O2 fairly quickly, the concentrations my machine will get to take about 30 mins to go back to O2. A company that does industrial ozoning will know how long to vent or wait after their machines have run. After it's dropped back into O2, there is no residue, no risk, no problem. Which, if it will stop bugs, is much better that pest sprays. Those leave me sick for months.

Wow, that's bad. Based on my own experience, I'd second Douglas's suggestion of diatomaceous earth. It doesn't have the "nuke everything" effectiveness of some insecticides, but it greatly reduces bug problems without any of the side effects of other solutions. I'd also look for entry paths from under the house, as that has been a problem spot for us in the past.

The Ozone solution sounds interesting, but as I have no personal experience on that one, I'll let others speak to it.

On the topic of the Brown Recluse... Two years ago I found an unfamiliar spider in our house, and I remembered images of the Brown Recluse.  I'm not an entomologist, and we don't have a specialist like that in our neighborhood or friendship circle. So I didn't capture, I just killed the spider.

Checking out photos on the internet, that spider definitely resembled a Brown Recluse. Coloring, form, and size range. Then I did a web search for our general region -- not just southern-interior British Columbia, but Washington state that lies just south of the national border. Well, turned out BRs are not common, but not unknown.

So when I spotted a second spider resembling the first, a few days later, I killed it too. Habitat? Most of us live in clearings in the forest around here, with substantial gardens. I made a point of mentioning the spiders I'd found in our home to friends, because of the fact that the BR bite can cause more than pain: it can result in flesh necrosis. I haven't come across any others yet. Hoping they're not proliferating.

Use a magnifying glass to look at the eyes, brown recluse have 6 eyes in 3 pairs,other spiders have 8 eyes.

My experience with arachnids and diatomaceous earth is that it's ineffective. We've actually done experiments with critters we've caught and directly sprinkled it on them, or placed in containers with the stuff already in, noted the time, then we go back periodically, to check. Nada. Days later, they're still active and angry. The reason it doesn't work is that they don't have an actual exoskeleton protecting them, but something more like our skin, so the effect is pretty much the same as putting it on yourself - it's somewhat drying to the skin, but not in a life threatening way - it just causes discomfort. Works great for fleas, cockroaches, beetles, etc, but not so much, for spiders, scorpions, and other soft-bodied critters.

I'm curious, though. Are you sure they're brown recluse? Brown recluse are shy, and generally avoid places that are frequently occupied (hence the 'recluse' part of their name), and their bites tend to rot human flesh in chunks up to a pound, in size. Multiple bites in any given season would (even without the rotted flesh and scars) typically leave a person very weakened and sickly. There are, however, several other spiders that are frequently mistaken for brown recluse, because their appearance is very similar - it's part of their defense against predators. Maybe it would help ease your mind - and possibly give some insight as to how to get rid of them - if you could capture one, and confirm it's identity.

Carla Burke wrote: I'm curious, though. Are you sure they're brown recluse? Brown recluse are shy, and generally avoid places that are frequently occupied (hence the 'recluse' part of their name), and their bites tend to rot human flesh in chunks up to a pound, in size. Multiple bites in any given season would (even without the rotted flesh and scars) typically leave a person very weakened and sickly. There are, however, several other spiders that are frequently mistaken for brown recluse, because their appearance is very similar - it's part of their defense against predators. Maybe it would help ease your mind - and possibly give some insight as to how to get rid of them - if you could capture one, and confirm it's identity.

Hmmmm. Thank you. We have killed spiders and observed the corpses that seemed to match up with the descriptions/images of brown recluses, and right or wrong I had just assumed these mysterious bites were from the same spiders. Perhaps not--the flesh around the bite does not rot, but it turns dark like a burn for a little more than a week, and there is a pin-sized scab in the center where the fangs must have gone in that oozes for the first couple of days. (Sorry if TMI!) We always treat the bites like burns, and they seem to heal like burns, so maybe not Recluse bites, after all, but I didn't know enough about North American spiders to know--besides black widows and brown recluses--what might bite us in our house.

cats, essential oils and de dusting


Spiders are probably there because there is food and shelter.

I would clean, clear and seal you space.  Wide open clear spaces and empty corners, don't give them places to be.  


You can just disturb them gently, you don't have to hurt them.  Spiders will go away if a place is too busy.  Then start sealing up the cracks.  Treat everything with food grade diatomaceous earth.

I would clean behind and under the bed and between mattresses.  Wash all bedding.  
I would treat myself, children, pets and bedding with essential oils before bed.   I would use light colored sheets and blankets, put cats in the bed and leave a night light on.  Anything that walks across the bed spread will seen.

It works great to have way too many cats, especially kittens.   They will hunt anything that moves in you house and yard.

I would clean or disturb every little corner on the outside of the house too.  Pressure wash and dust with Ditamatious earth.  

Get chickens if you are allowed.   Muscovy ducks will clear your area of spiders and insects.  

...do you find the spiders in your beds?
we have always lived with a few spiders, recluses and long legs most regularly and other odds and ends and have never seen them in our bed.  Clothes on the floor yes...sinks, behind pictures on the wall, unlidded jars...lots of other places.
I wondered if your mattresses are on the floor? That would seem possible then.

I suppose something like bed bugs might leave more bites more frequently but your description sounds more like them than a recluse bite to me.

Pets? An occasional flea bite?

Judith has a good point. Maybe they're in the pajamas, if she's picking them up off the floor to put on? Or, in making the bed, if the covers ever get tossed on the floor,  until their turn to go back on? We do very occasionally get spiders (& a couple times, even scorpions!) in the bed. It's not as frequently as you seem to be struggling with, though.  

Carla Burke wrote:My experience with arachnids and diatomaceous earth is that it's ineffective.

Hm! I didn't know that. Thanks for the info!

Rachel Lindsay wrote: Perhaps not--the flesh around the bite does not rot, but it turns dark like a burn for a little more than a week, and there is a pin-sized scab in the center where the fangs must have gone in that oozes for the first couple of days. (Sorry if TMI!) We always treat the bites like burns, and they seem to heal like burns, so maybe not Recluse bites, after all, but I didn't know enough about North American spiders to know--besides black widows and brown recluses--what might bite us in our house.

If you use a drawing salve, the oozing should stop in less than 24hrs - more likely within several hours, and it will heal much faster. A bandage over it will keep it from getting everywhere.

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:

Carla Burke wrote:My experience with arachnids and diatomaceous earth is that it's ineffective.

Hm! I didn't know that. Thanks for the info!

We only found out because we were getting frustrated with ourselves, thinking we were missing some key place they (mostly the scorpions) were getting in. One day, John asked how long it was supposed to take, to work. So, I looked it up for fleas - 2hrs. Other critters took a little longer - essentially, the thicker the carapace, the longer it takes, which makes sense, to me. But, I couldn't find anything at all on arachnids, so we decided to find out, for ourselves. It blew our minds, that all it succeeded in doing was pissing them off.

seal all of your baseboards.  silicone of some sort.  If you have exposed cement. seal it and any exterior cracks at base walls.
Vacuum!!  shower nightly before bed, and change your bedding weekly. The bigger insects go for smaller prey that reside in our dead skin cells/etc. and that cascades up the insect chain.

worst case scenario a torch moved swiftly around will kill spiders without burning down your house.   just use common sense.

Seems like there should be a photo.

Thanks everyone! We will be getting a cat next week--had planned to anyway, so it was nice to see that it may help us with our critter problem. I shake out all sheets and pillows every night before bed now--and will use essential oils and begin a serious decluttering program in the bedrooms.

Everyone should watch this,some of it is hard to keep watching but just speed it up to get to the spider biting.

This guy gets bit on purpose by all kinds of insects including a brown recluse,do not do this but listen to what he is saying about the bites and how to keep it from becoming worse than it should be,its interesting but again hard to watch some of it.

To keep spiders away, I use orange essential oil in a spray bottle. I add 40% alcohol and 50% water and  10% orange essential oil. You can probably use less, but I don't measure and actually just pour a bit of essential oil in. It is around 10%.   The alcohol keeps the essential oil in suspension. I put this all into a glass bottle with a spray top and it lasts forever. Spiders do not like it and it helps keep them out of areas where they are not welcome. Unfortunately, it does volatilize and disappear. Orange peels might also work and last longer, but I have not tried them.  Guess I should.

As far as Brown Recluse bites, I have treated myself as well as others, including individuals with terribly bad bites that have had severe necrosis.  I use sodium bentonite clay mixed with Echinacea tincture (must be good Echinacea tincture - You will know if you have good Echinacea tincture as it should make your mouth tingle a lot, and cause you to salivate profusely when you put it in your mouth without diluting it). Usually, you would mix dry powdered clay with water, but I substitute Echinacea tincture.  This clay/Echinacea mix is then applied to the bite as soon as it happens. It is changed 1-2 times per day and should keep the bite from progressing to necrosis. If the bite has started to become necrotic, I then also give the person Echinacea tincture internally. The Echinacea/clay mix can be kept in the refrigerator for some time. I really have not paid attention to how long it lasts, but if you leave it in for months it will mold. Be careful to not contaminate it and it usually lasts for weeks.

Why do I use Echinacea? There are constituents in Echinacea that have been shown to inhibit hyaluronidase.  Hyaluronidase is an enzyme that catalyzes the breakdown of hyaluronic acid. Hyaluronic acid is like an intercellular glue. Hyaluronidase which is found in venom of some snakes, and spiders, and is secreted by some bacteria can break down the intercellular glue, causing tissues to break down and allowing the venom or microbes to move more freely through the tissues.  So, by stopping the hyaluronidase from working, it slows down and stops necrosis. I am very liberal about my use of the Echinacea and clay as I have seen what happens if you are not on top of this and it is not a pretty picture. Don't try to save money by mixing water with the Echinacea either.

I find when someone has first been bit by the spider, if you put the clay and Echinacea tincture on immediately, it does not progress, but if you wait you will get some progression and scaring, but it will stop it from getting worse, and you can usually see results in 24-48 hours. I expect to see necrosis stop within 24-48 hours minimum and if not, something is not working correctly as this is how it always works for me. You have to really be on top of this. If necrotic this is serious and you have to be using a lot of clay, and Echinacea tincture as well as take a lot of tincture internally. If necrotic, it is best to work with a practitioner such as a Naturopath, or any other practitioner who has experience treating these bites so they can decide what you need to do as far as how much and how often to use the Echinacea tincture internally. Each person is different and you might have some special need that they can address.  Call and ask them if they have experience with Brown Recluse bites before going, so you don't waste your time.

Sharol, THANK YOU!!! Living in the woods, our (not used as much as it ought) workshop, and the summer-vacant goat barn are a frequent concern, for us. We've (thankfully) not had any issues yet, but it seems like it's just a matter of time! Now, I'll know what to have on hand (most is already here, yay!),  and how to combine it, should the need arise!

This turned out long so I’m putting this at the top because it’s that important in my opinion: best thing ever is a SansBug tent. https://www.sansbug.com Your daughter CAN’T get spider bites inside here, as long as you’re careful to keep it zipped up all day and you don’t bring the spiders into the tent. In my experience of living with these infestations, nothing provides the comfort and peace of mind like sleeping in a SansBug. My specific setup in the worst infestation: SansBug with all bedding and pajamas kept inside tent, tent sitting on top of mattress, mattress on metal bed frame (I read brown recluse don’t climb very well—don’t know if it’s true—so I thought the slick metal is better than wood), and at the base of each bed frame leg is a glue trap. In a lesser infestation, SansBug on the floor with glue traps lining the baseboards.

Ok here’s the rest of the post I wrote before putting that first. I hope any of this helps you.

I have had way too much experience with brown recluse, so I wanted to mention a few things in case it helps. Both infestations I have dealt with have been so bad that I ended up getting professional grade pesticides and spraying the houses; I didn’t like it and I’m not promoting it, I just couldn’t find an alternative that worked as quickly as I needed at the time, and both situations had extenuating circumstances that made them even more difficult. That said, the site I got them from had some “eco-friendly” pesticides I believe, but of course who knows what that means. The site is diypestcontrol.com if you want to check. As part of my approach, I removed all outlet covers and light switch plates from the walls and blew pesticide into the wall voids (where the spiders often live), and I think the pesticide I used for that specific application was an “eco-friendly” one. I also think I remember reading that citronella, eucalyptus, and some other essential oils repel spiders. I diffused eucalyptus and burned citronella incense.

I also bought an electric blower from Amazon, full-body PPE from the diy pest control site, and I blew diatomaceous earth all over the attic. I used diatomaceous earth instead of pesticide in the attic because components of our hvac system and other systems were housed there, and I didn’t want anyone hired to work up there to be exposed to pesticides in such an enclosed area.

But in all my research (which has been years ago, so I’ve forgotten some) and ALL my experience, I’d put the two most important steps to control an infestation as 1) seal every crack and 2) store nothing on the floor. To seal cracks I stuffed backer rod (comes in different sizes and is fairly easy to stuff) into big gaps between the floorboards and base boards. (This house didn’t have the small finishing board below the baseboard, whatever that’s called…it just had gaps everywhere.) I caulked any cracks, I used great foam to fill giant holes left by previous owners behind the refrigerator and around all pipes entering the house, I replaced weather stripping around doors. Look everywhere. Old houses seem to have cracks everywhere. The spiders live in the attic or in wall voids (or basements I guess, I’ve never had a basement). You want to seal those areas off, away from you and your living space. In the house I rented with an infestation, I couldn’t take permanent measures to seal, so I sealed every crack with blue painters tape.

And to keep items off the floor, I used a ton of plastic bins. I read these spiders aren’t great climbers, so those clear plastic bins may be too slick for them to climb. I have NEVER found a recluse inside of a clear plastic bin with a good-fitting lid. In bad infestations I even keep my shoes in bins and my hanging clothes in bins. I make sure there is NOTHING on the floor except bins, basically. For bins with longer term storage in them (don’t need to access until next season), I tape around the lids of the bins. (It’s worth mentioning I don’t own furniture, except that metal bed frame I mentioned. I don’t know what I’d do under couches and such, except glue traps. I’d definitely empty dresser drawers and put those clothes in plastic bins.)

I can say from experience that even if you DO spray poison and DON’T seal and remove items from the floor (aka hiding spots), the poison isn’t enough to defeat the infestation.

My advice on glue traps is add more glue traps. Glue traps are invaluable in my experience. I’ve had outstanding success with catch master from Amazon. (They make scented and unscented, so heads up to decide which you want.) I put them EVERYWHERE. 20 of them in a 10x11 bedroom, for instance. These are a critical component of fighting an infestation in my opinion because you trap AND, if you watch the traps closely, you can monitor how your interventions are doing based on how many you catch. With glue traps everywhere in the house, for instance, I was able to see in real time how much the backer rod helped reduce the numbers of spiders in the house—far fewer spiders caught as soon as this step was taken.

I read that recluse, by their nature, don’t want to be anywhere near us, so if you see 1 you have at least 10 more you haven’t seen. I personally think people don’t take it seriously enough. I know they don’t typically bother humans, but I’m starting to think every house in TN is infested with them, and I, for one, don’t enjoy my house with this problem. **if you get a cat, be careful to fold your glue traps and try to keep the cat away from them. My cat has learned the hard way not to go near them. (She got it off but it took a little hair with it. I would have helped her but I couldn’t catch her mid-freak out. If you catch something on them you didn’t mean to catch, I’ve used vegetable oil to unstick it.) Also, my cat doesn’t eat or kill bugs at all…hope yours does! Best of luck with your situation. I would encourage a strong, multi-faceted approach. My OCD tendencies don’t help with much in life, but I think a little OCD for this problem is helpful.

One of my best friends who is also living as Expat in Thailand is a professional "Arachnaphorbist" (LOL) meaning that NO spider is small enough not to freak him totally out at first sight.

Now we also have giant Huntsman spiders visiting the inside of a house regularly (Thanks to them I have no Cockroaches)
and a Huntsman gives him only the option by meaning to faint and wake up when the spider is gone.

He developed the below frame all around his house and according to him he hasn't had a spider for years in his house..

Maybe it works or it is the chemical Spray Can he empties randomly every other day in all his rooms...

Made me at least laughing as I have seen the construction all around his wall and at the 2nd stair of his porch...