Tag Archives: spider removal

Are spiders attracted to light? 

Canadian spiders are mostly harmless and generally don’t pose a risk to our health, despite this, these creepy crawlies still make many people uncomfortable. One common misconception is that spiders are attracted to light in the same way that insects are, likely because spider webs are often seen illuminated by lamposts or porch lights at night. However, spiders are also famous for hiding in dark corners, so which one is it? Are spiders attracted to light or not? 

Quick Answer: Are spiders attracted to light? 

Most spiders are not attracted to light itself but, instead, are attracted to light because it attracts the insects that they prey on. However, some nocturnal spiders will use light to help them navigate and hunt their prey. Others, need to get enough sunlight to make their webs nice and strong. 

To learn more about which spiders are attracted to light and how to deter them from your property read on. 


Did you know?
Spiders are not insects but a completely separate group called arachnids! Insects are defined by their six legs and three distinct body segments, whereas spiders have eight legs and only two body segments.

What types of spiders are attracted to light?

Some spiders are active during the day (diurnal) while others are active at night (nocturnal) this affects their relationship with light. 

Diurnal spiders are not attracted to lighting fixtures as they operate during the day when light is abundant. They do however need exposure to the UV light that the sun provides, this has been shown to strengthen the silk they build their webs out of. Without enough UV exposure, these spiders will spin weak webs that are poor at catching their prey. 

Nocturnal spiders sometimes use the moon or stars to navigate and find their prey, however in urban areas artificial lights can confuse and disorient them. They still sometimes use these artificial lights to try and navigate their hunting. They are also incentivized to hunt near lights because they attract all sorts of prey like mosquitos, moths and flies. Most spiders that are found in Canadian homes are nocturnal and are most active after sunset. 

Spider at Dusk

Do LED lights attract spiders?

As mentioned above spiders are not directly attracted to LED lights however they may hang out near them to hunt other insects that are attracted to the light. If you’re trying to keep insects and spiders off your property try switching to warm or yellow-toned LED bulbs. They are the least attractive type of light to insects and in turn will also attract fewer spiders.

Spider in Home

How to Keep Spiders Out of Your House

Spiders are a common household pest that can cause fear and discomfort for many people. Fortunately, there are several steps you can take to prevent spiders from entering your home and keep them at bay.

Prevent Insects: Keeping your home free of other insects is the best way to discourage spiders from invading your home. Spiders tend to live where their food is, so eliminating the food source will reduce the spider population. 

Seal Cracks: Spiders often enter homes through cracks or gaps, keeping your windows and doors closed and properly sealed will help stop them from entering. Seal or caulk any cracks or gaps in your foundation.

Clean: Keeping your home clean and dusted will eliminate many nesting places for spiders and help prevent other insects that spiders like to hunt. Removing spider webs from your home can also help discourage spiders from returning.

Proper Humidity: If you have a consistently humid home a dehumidifier can help reduce the excess moisture making the space less appealing to spiders.

Turn Outdoor Lights Off: Outdoor lights are a hotspot for insects and spiders looking for their next meal. 


Did you know?
Most spiders have 6 or 8 eyes to help them detect movement around them, but ironically, even with all those eyes most spiders are near-sighted!

When to Call a Professional

Spiders act as natural pest control by eating other unwanted creepy crawlies so keeping one or two around is not always a bad idea. However, if you are dealing with numerous spiders or they are intruding on the calm of your home it’s time to call in professional spider exterminators. 

Are you in need of spider removal services? Terminix Canada has you covered! We offer expert pest & wildlife control services for both residential and commercial properties with locations across Canada including BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. Call us today to get rid of your spider problem for good!

Quit Making The Same DIY Pest Control Mistakes & Learn Proper Pest Control

If you’ve encountered a pest control problem in your home, it’s likely you’ll try and control the problem yourself using DIY pest control. Well, after you shake your fist and ask, “how could this happen to me?!” like you’re the main character in your own Shakespearean Tragedy.

We hate the be the bearer of bad news, but sometimes DIY pest control can cause more harm than good. Especially if you’re treating pest control as a one-size-fits-all solution.

To help you avoid falling at the first hurdle, we’ve gathered the most common mistakes. This way, you can learn from other’s errors and become a master of proper pest control.

Mistake #1: Squish And Move On

The litre of orange juice you drank earlier is wreaking havoc on your bladder. So, in a hurry you dash off to the basement bathroom. There, you encounter a handful of cockroaches casually strolling along the bathroom floor. Nature is urgently calling, so you quickly squish them and continue to take care of your own business. Once done, you wipe the roaches’ remains off the floor with a paper towel.

“Goodbye cockroaches!” you say smugly as you toss them in the garbage. However, if you thought that was going to be the last time you encountered roaches, you’re sadly mistaken.

Without finding the original source of cockroaches, spiders, ants, or any other household pest problem, you’re likely to have a new problem pop up in a couple days. Until you discover how those buggers got into your home in the first place, you’ll be dealing with a whole new group of creepy-crawlies on the bathroom floor tomorrow or the next day.

Once you’ve discovered how they entered your home, it’s important to seal any cracks, gaps or holes surrounding your windows, doors, seams, and foundation.

From there, it’s a good idea to spend some time researching the proper pest control methods for your pest. This could mean setting pest-specific traps, utilizing insecticide, or hiring a pest control company like Terminix Canada.

Mistake #2: One Trap Doesn’t Fit All

Just like bigger critters, each pest is unique. As much as you may hate them all equally, wants, needs and desires differ from pest to pest. You wouldn’t use honey to attract horses or a mouse trap to catch a dog, so why are you using the same traps for all pests?

Buying a generic trap for all pests is one of the most common mistakes made by homeowners. In order for your traps to be successful, and not just a waste of money, you’ll have to investigate exactly what kind of penny-sized monster you’re dealing with. This will allow you to successfully buy the necessary traps, insecticides, or other insect deterrents.

If you are unable to decipher what kind of pest is wreaking havoc in your home, now is a good time to put the traps down and pick up the phone. Consult with a local pest control company that can identify the pests that are plaguing you, and help you sort the problem out effectively and efficiently.

Mistake #3: Know Your Enemy

Even once you’ve determined exactly what pest has invaded your home, do you really know the best way to wage war? It’s important to truly understand who and what you’re up against.

Many homeowners place traps where their pest adversaries aren’t hanging out. For instance, you won’t find rodents in the middle of a room. Instead, you should be placing rodent traps along walls, behind the refrigerator, and in other dark corners.

Additionally, you may catch a few adult mice in a couple of days with your traps. However, odds are that there are still young mice lingering around. Therefore, it’s best to leave rodent traps out for a few weeks, so you can catch the remaining runts of the litter.

If you don’t get rid of the entire infestation, then they will simply multiply back to the levels they were at when you first discovered you had a problem. Two mice is all it takes to soon create a mischief of mice. 

Mistake #4: Don’t Neglect Your Pet

We know you would never purposely neglect your pet. However, it can be easy to do when trying to remove an unknown infestation from your home. If you think you may have a flea, tick, or parasite infestation, you must also treat your pets for the potential problem.

If you leave your pet untreated, you risk causing them prolonged health problems. Additionally, you’ll never fully be rid of the infestation until your pet is pest-free. Your loveable fur-ball is the perfect vessel to smuggle pests into your home or provide them a safe shelter to continue to procreate in.

Mistake #5: Not Calling The Experts

Sometimes you’ll be tasked with a pest infestation too great to handle on your own. In these circumstances, it’s best to swallow your pride and call in the pros!

If you are looking for tried-and-tested pest control services in your home, contact Terminix Canada today for a free consultation. We can help you get to the root of your pest control problem and implement effective, efficient, and affordable pest control solutions.

Find your local Terminix Canada branch today, so you can stop waging a losing war against pests.

The Most Venomous Spiders In Ontario

So you want to read about the most venomous spiders in Ontario. If you suffer from arachnophobia, reader discretion is advised!

In short, no pest elicits the same kind of fear and revulsion that spiders do. With their spindly legs, multitude of eyes, and venomous bite, they’re nature’s favourite little nightmare machines. But luckily, we Canadians don’t really have to worry about the truly dangerous varieties of spiders, right?

Think again.

With over 14 million people calling Ontario home, it’s Canada’s most densely populated province. As such, it’s no wonder that human and spider have endured countless face-to-face interactions over the years. But what happens when you encounter venomous spiders in Ontario head-on?

Carry on reading to learn more about deadly spiders in Ontario, how you can identify them, and what you can do to remove them.

How Common Are Poisonous Spiders In Ontario?

Firstly, it’s exceedingly rare to encounter dangerous spiders in Ontario. This isn’t to say they’ve never been discovered in the province however.

Back in October 2010, CBC reported that a fourth black widow spider had been discovered in the Greater Toronto Area. Frighteningly, Mississauga resident and winemaker Tony Nicoletti discovered the black widow spider dangling beside a broom in his garage.

In a rare spate of black widow discoveries, it was the fourth time in quick succession that a GTA winemaker had encountered a black widow spider. The first two black widows were located in Woodbridge with a third discovered in Newmarket.

With a terrifying appearance and a bite 15 times more poisonous than a rattlesnake’s, the fact is black widows make arachnophobia seem less like a phobia and more like a legitimate fear.

However, if you arm yourself with relevant black widow spider facts, you won’t have to worry about black widow spider bite symptoms in Ontario ever again.

Seriously, Are There Black Widows In Ontario?

So you’re questioning, “are there black widow spiders in Ontario?”

Would we lie to you?

Black widow spiders are more than just the most venomous spiders in Ontario. They’re the second most venomous spider in the world, just behind the Brazilian wandering spider. However, whereas Brazilian wandering spiders are located solely in South America, black widow species can be found across the United States and Southern Canada, in British Columbia, as well as Southern Ontario.

Of course, everyone’s favourite black widow spider fun fact is that the females eat the males after mating. However, did you know that black widow hatchlings have amber and white colouration? This is until they mature into that slick black carapace with sinister red markings. You know, the spiders we’ve all seen in our worst night terrors.

However, despite their sinister appearance and vicious neurotoxin, black widow spiders are actually quite docile. Ultimately, they will not attack humans unless provoked, even going so far as playing dead. Even if you do have the poor fortune of getting bit by one, a black widow spider bite has a less than 1% mortality rate.

Even for the second most venomous spider in the world, spider mandibles are made for neutralizing very small prey, not fully-grown humans. While a black widow spider bite has a variety of deeply unpleasant symptoms, a healthy adult should be able to recover in a matter of days. Of course, if such an unlikely event should occur, you should still seek immediate medical attention and call Terminix Canada for expert spider control and removal.

What About Other Venomous Spiders In Ontario? Is The Brown Recluse In Ontario?

The brown recluse spider is not common in Ontario. However, there have been one-off encounters and reported bites over the years. Sometimes, spiders like these can sneakily find their way to Canada in cargo vessels shipping goods from the United States.

You won’t want to come face-to-face with the brown recluse spider either.  A brown recluse spider bite contains venom, filled with a complex collection of enzymes. This causes hemolysis; characterized as the rupturing of blood cells. Bites are painful but they very rarely kill people. Read more about the brown recluse spider here.

Leave Spider Control And Spider Removal To The Professionals At Terminix Canada

Worried about whether there are black widows or brown recluse spiders in Ontario homes like yours? Don’t hesitate to call Terminix Canada for a free consultation. In both Ontario and across Canada, we’re a leading provider of spider control and spider removal. Call us today and let us alleviate you from your spider fears.

Beware The Brown Recluse Spider

The brown recluse spider is much like its reclusive human counterpart. It’s an unfriendly, unhinged sort that will happily seclude itself from the world.

Rather worryingly however, the brown recluse spider is still small enough to be comfortably hidden and nestled in your home.

Armed, Dangerous, And Intent On Being Left Alone

The brown recluse spider isn’t usually out on the prowl. But consider these eight-legged-loners lock, stock, and smoking barrel if they’re disturbed or feel threatened. Much like you when you’re unwittingly throwing on a pair of pants they’ve inhabited.

The Aftermath Of A Brown Recluse Spider Bite

A brown recluse spider bite contains venom, filled with a complex collection of enzymes. This causes hemolysis; characterized as the rupturing of blood cells. Bites can lead to fever, convulsions, itching, nausea, muscle pain, and in extreme cases, necrosis (the death of living cells). Necrosis involves painful, purple and black, ulcerous, slow-healing wounds.

Needless to say, these anti-social arachnids aren’t in the business of making friends.

What Is The Average Brown Recluse Size?

An adult brown recluse spider is typically 1/4 to 1/2 inches long. As the name suggests, these spiders are brown to tan in colour. Moreover, a brown recluse spider’s legs are smooth and the same colour as its body.

Brown Recluse Spider Found! What Brown Recluse Locations Have Been Revealed In Canada?

The brown recluse spider’s roots lie in the south central regions of the United States. While the spider’s presence in Canada is often debated, there have been countless bite cases cited throughout the country. Similar to a nomadic drifter who plays by their own rules, brown recluse spiders sneakily find their way to the Great White North. They’ve been known to infiltrate cargo vessels shipping goods into Canada from the United States.

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire and where there’s spider bites, there’s spiders. The strength of any recluse (spider or human) is stealth. More common than not, you won’t find anyone who doesn’t wish to be found.

All Artists Are Recluses

Many virtuoso violinists are known for their strange, anti-social behaviour. A lack of understanding of the outside world is part of being an artist, right?

Similarly, the brown recluse spider has violin-shaped markings on top of their cephalothorax (fused head and thorax). These point towards their bulbous abdomen. This is why the brown recluse spider is often called the violin spider too.

The violin-like markings have unique intensities that vary with age. Older brown recluse spiders have darker violin shapes. For their younger siblings‚ the markings are brighter.

How To Spot And Where To Find A Brown Recluse Web

Consistent with their oddball nature, the brown recluse spider builds irregular webs. These webs are usually found in woodpiles, sheds, closets, garages, cellars, and airflow systems. They shelter themselves from the rest of the world within the confines of disorderly thread.

Once they’ve snuck into your home, they’ll construct their avant-garde webs in cardboard. This mimics the rotting tree bark they typically inhabit. They’re also found inside shoes, dressers, seldom-used bed sheets, and work gloves.

What Brown Recluse Spider Bite Treatment Exists?

A brown recluse spider bite is rare and seldom kills people. When bites do take place however, it’s important to know what to do next.

You should contact poison control if you are ever bit by a venomous spider and seek medical attention too.

Leave Spider Control And Spider Removal To The Professionals At Terminix Canada

We don’t know about you but we certainly have the heebie-jeebies. Fear not however! Terminix Canada practices environmentally friendly spider control and spider removal. Using tried-and-tested techniques, a Terminix Canada spider exterminator will keep the mysterious brown recluse spider out of your home.

Even if these creepy eight-legged outcasts aren’t littering the streets of Canada, there are legions of other insects and wildlife that are capable of burrowing their way onto and into your property.

From pest removal to wildlife control, call us today and get a free consultation.