Happy Halloween! Today I discuss spiders!

If you have heard me speak about indoor pest control, you most likely have heard me talk about trying to encourage people to not kill spiders they find in the house. The spiders can help to capture and take care of other insects that may be a problem in the home, so leaving them in place is part of a good IPM program. I also often answer the question of what I do for pest control in my own home. Since hubby and I are both entomologists, we really don't get too worked up about many things being in the house. Most things we either leave alone or capture and throw outside. There are some things that I do squish- flies that drive me crazy in the kitchen while I'm trying to cook or silverfish that plague the bathroom (one day the wallpaper will be gone and hopefully with it the silverfish problem). The fire ants in the yard are also baited for each spring and fall followed with treating any mounds that pop up with boiling water.

But spiders....we tend to leave them be. We've had the spider in the photo hanging out right by the kitchen sink for over a month now. No, it's not for Halloween decorating purposes (although that would also be suitable), it's not harming anyone so I leave it alone and it takes care of any other things that wander along. I have a window right above my kitchen sink along with a fly light just to the right of the sink, so it's a great place for a spider web. As you can see it's captured a beetle for breakfast.