As much as we welcome the warm summer months in Eastern Idaho, we all dread the inevitable onslaught of hobo spiders. They are freaky-looking, are somewhat poisonous (babies are supposedly the worst), are fast, and can be tricky.
We had our home sprayed inside and out by a local pest guy for $75. The guy was great at explaining how the spray worked, and how to reduce environments that hobos like. Unfortunately, it can take a few sprays each year to effectively kill hobos. You just cannot get them all in one spray.
I tried the Ortho Home Defense Max spray ($10, found at Wal-Mart, Cal-Store, etc.), and have found it just as effective as the $75 professional spray. One jug will cover the inside and outside of my home, and I generally buy two or three jugs throughout spring and summer.
Be sure to spray the bottom and top of your foundation. The bottom being the part where concrete meets the patio or earth, and the top being where your siding starts. Spray around shrubs and bushes, even if they are across the lawn from your home. I find many hobos overwinter in my lilacs, so I make sure to spray them a lot. I also spray along fences, because you don’t know how many hobos your neighbor’s yard is harboring.
Spray especially in your garage, along the top and bottom of the foundation. If you have some open studs like in my garage, be sure to spray in between the studs. In the house, I try to spray when the kids are gone for a few hours. I make sure to hit all over the basement along baseboards, and especially under and behind the washer, dryer, stove, and refrigerator. I spray in the kids’ rooms only when their toys are all picked up, and then just along the walls.
The sticky spider traps can be good and bad. Bad because they are ridiculously expensive, and because they stick to everything if you accidentally step on it or flip it over. The are good because they can capture the spiders as they run around in the night, and several other bugs you had no idea were around. Spiders generally travel along walls, so it is best to place the sticky traps right up to a baseboard rather than in the middle of an open area.
I find ants start coming in our home no matter how much I spray, but I can kill them effectively by laying out those ant poison boxes. The ants carry the poison back to their nest and infect the entire hive. I’ve found the ant poison is effective when left around the garbage can, but of course you’ll want to leave it in any path of ants you find.
The past few years we had many yellowjackets (hornets) around our home, and I noticed they had made some nests in our roof overhangs. Spraying the nests down with a hose can help, but the yellowjacket traps at home improvement centers really do work. You pour a tiny sweet scent packet over a cotton ball, put it inside the round trap, and hang the trap from a tree nearby where you see yellowjackets. They crawl inside, but cannot crawl back out. We captured around 70 hornets last year, and made our front entrance much safer.
What are your bug experiences, and how do you treat the problem?
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Gato got runned over by Marcus many moons ago. Be ye daft, 2486? 
Let's have a new poll, alright, Joe?
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I have tried to depend less on chemicals for the past few years so I use the sticky traps. You are right, they are ridiculously expensive. But if you shop around, you will find that CAL Stores usually advertises a 4-pack on sale for $1.99 or so, and regular price is only $2.99. Some places charge 6 or 8 bucks for the same thing.
I have live in my home for about 15 years now so I have experienced many cycles in bug populations. I noticed that this past fall and winter I only caught 2 hobo spiders when I usually get many more. I don’t know if it was a bad (or good) year for them or just my neighborhood got lucky this year. My immediate neighbors still have a lot of good spider habitat so maybe it was the weather last summer that kept the population down. What was anyone else’s experience this past year?
I was just having a conversation with a friend yesterday evening about spraying for spiders. This person is very afraid of them, and wants the best protection they can get. I will tell them about Joe’s experience with the Ortho spray. Unfortunately it’s that time of year when we will have to deal with bugs. That’s the best thing about winter, that and skiing.
I have a feeling that mosquitos and West Nile Virus will be hot topics of discussion around here this year. I hope everyone takes the necessary precautions.
We get large numbers of hobo spiders at our place. I use the Ortho Home Defense like Joe with good results. I have a crawl space and use the Ortho Home Defense to spray around the perimeter in the crawl space. Then, for variety, I use a different brand (I don’t remember the name, but I picked it up at Home Depot) that requires mixing and spraying – and spray around the foundation on the exterior. I’ve done this for 2 years now, and the number of hobos that I find in my house has dropped from between 40 and 50 each Spring to less than 5 last year.
Now, on to the mosquitos.
I was told that the hobo sticky trap things are “baited” with some type of hormone or something that will attract the hobos to it. That is great unless you put them outdoors and then you start attracting the neighbors spiders as well. Yuck. I have no clue if its true or not but I don’t use them anymore after finding a dead and none to tasty mouse decomposing on one that got pushed behind some boxes in our garage. SO GROSS!
Coming from Florida I never knew about the “hobo” spider until I moved here. It was all about black widow’s and brown recluse’ down there. I tell you what though, this “hobo” is quite a nasty little spider! I’ve heard the bite is similar to the brown recluse.
We use the sticky traps and they work really well, but we also couple that with some good spider spray as well. (don’t remember the name at the moment) I was also amazed at the amount of misquitos you have here! WOW! I mean in South Florida, any place west of I-95 and near the Everglades, they have the biggest misquitos you’ve ever seen! But the misquitos there don’t compare to the quantity you have up here which just blows my mind. I would have never thought a place like Idaho would have such a large infestation of this type of insect! Very interesting indeed. Luckily I’m not one to really get bitten much by them, I’m not sure why. Last summer while camping for the weekend, my friends would be standing right next to me and get eatin alive and I’d be lucky to get bitten twice the whole weekend. Not sure why, but I’m not complainin!
Anyways, I’m going to definately try that spray Joe mentioned.
Thanks, great post!
Yeah, the hobos are nasty just because they are fast and aggressive. My brother-in-law once stomped a hobo with is boot, and watched it. After a minute or so, the mangled-up spider started moving, worked it’s way out between the boot treads, and tried running away again!
The worst spot for mosquitoes in Idaho Falls is unfortunately along our beautiful greenbelt. I wish we would spray the greenbelt or do something to get rid of them.
Any good solutions for the mosquitoes and no-see-ums in my backyard?
Roxy is correct about the baited sticky traps. We used them for a couple years and had spiders everywhere in our house. I have not used them for the past three years and see only a small handful the whole season.
Another spider tip is to get rid of large bushes that grow right up next to the house. Also, look around for entrance points and seal them shut.
Joe,
Did you get paid by Ortho to write this piece? Just joking.
Chrisr, I’ve spent a fair amount of time in south FL too. Never lived there, but sometimes would have to visit 2-3 X/month.
If you want to see a “real” mosquito, prepare for Alaska.
When I was in Alaska, they had a T – shirt at all the local tourist traps that showed a picture of a huge mosquito. Then, underneath it said, “Alaska’s state bird.”
I prefer not to talk about creepy crawlers. Their only good use, in my mind, is for research.
So I hope the rest of you can exchange great ideas so I can some day glean them.
I used the Ortho last year, and it was great. Over the winter, we got an ‘inside’ dog. He weighs about 15 lbs, should I worry about using it again this year with him around?
good tips, davin. Regarding landscaping, hobo spiders love those big river rocks that have been popular. They look awesome, but even the sprayer guy told me they are one of the biggest homes for hobos.
Ok4Now, no but i should, huh? There are very few commercial products that I advocate, but this is one that has consistently helped.
For spraying around the dog, the spray guy and the ortho instructions all indicate the spray is safe, you just might want to keep the living beings outside or away from the home for an hour or two after spraying.
Still no mosquito remedies? The citronella candles marketed for that purpose never seemed to do much good.
LOL @ Ok4now’s comment! That’s interesting, I would have never thought the misquitos would be that bad in Alaska either. It just boggled my mind when they said Idaho was the leading state in cases of West Nile. There’s a woman I work with who’s brother in law passed away last year from a misquito bite in which he caught the West Nile virus. I just hope the CDC does something to combat the problem this year. As bad as they are in S.FL I must say they do an excellent job keeping them at bay with all the spraying they do. I’m not sure if they spray around here, but I definately think they should.
I know those Citronella candles are a waste of money. At least none of the ones I’ve ever used have worked.
Heh. Gone are the days when Pop would tell me to go spray for bugs. So I’d mix up 30 gallons of Malathion on the back of the tractor and spray everything, house, trees, you name it I sprayed it. It usually took a couple loads. When I got to the corrals, I’d mix in a pound of sugar to attract flies, etc. It worked well. The ground would be buzzing for days with dying bugs. Crunch, crunch, crunch across the concrete or deck.
So flies eat mosquitos? Attract flies for awhile, then try to get rid of the flies after they eat mosquitoes?
I’m so chemically sensitive that when they spray “fertilizer” and “weed and feed” @ Community Park I can’t go there for several days afterwards.
I hope they don’t start spraying that crap @ the greenbelt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Maybe they do and I have just always missed it by several days.)
Some of us are HORRIBLY affected by sprays and I wish we would stop applying them – more people every year come down with autoimmune diseases and few stop to wonder why that might be.
What’s even worse – people like me, with MCS issues, are made fun of, told we are being “oversensitive”, and we get eye rolls in our general direction – as if we are hypochondriacs.
I say – those of us who have bodies sensitive enough to be sicken by chemical posions are the SMART ones.
As much as I despise hobos I despise nasty chemicals more. I use those sticky papers, I’ve had to pull off a few mice in my day (tricky – they try to bite). I’ve had to shoot one mouse that got so stuck I could not save it. I had a foster dog ROLL in several and I had to cut his hair off in patchwork chunks.
I gladly take all THAT inconvenience over poison spray. And I don’t even have kids. Those of you who do – think long and hard before spraying anything that “kills bugs”. It might not show up immediately – but when your kids become autoimmune afflicted adults you can be relatively sure that some of the toxins they were forced to be in close contact with probably have had something to do with it.
The government says “it’s safe when used in moderation”? So was DDT @ one time. Not only that but what EXACTLY is “moderation”? @ home? @ the park? @ school? @ their friend’s home?
Moderation may indeed be “safe” but in our world of constnat toxic exposure moderation is almost laughable. I would say I get exposed to such stuff “in moderation” – and I do all I can to avoid it.
Hobos – bad.
Toxic chemicals – badder.
That’s this Gypsy’s opinion.
Cripes the spiders are out in full force!
I sprayed in the spring and was good all summer, now we’ve seen three in the last couple days. Two were in the house (one by our shoes by the door and the other on my boy’s wall) and another tonight on the siding by our front door.
I sprayed the house inside and out after we saw the first two, but obviously by the one we saw tonight I need to spray another time or two.
This spray also appears to work well on those weird hornets that make the little dirt mounds everywhere.
Be extremely vigilant where hobos are concerned. I was bitten about 6 years ago and still to this day experience pain and numbness around the bite site. At first I thought I had an ingrown hair on my leg right above the knee. Within a matter of hours the site was getting very sore and swelling. By the next day, an open sore had appeared. When I finally went to the doctor (3 days after being bit), the sore was about the size of a quarter. It was like having a flesh eating disease. The pain was horrible. I had to go to the hospital 2X a day for IV treatments (anti-biotics) for 5 days and to the doctor each day for treatment for 2 weeks. By this time the open sore was about the size of a silver dollar. The scar that is left is circle shaped and measures about 3″ across. I was also told that if I had waited much longer to seek medical help that it wasn’t beyond the realm of possibility that I could have lost my leg. So again, be extremely vigilant and seek medical help as soon as possible if you are unlucky enough to get bit. And take all precautions to rid your home of these spiders. They are extremely fast and hard to spot.
I’ve been using the Ortho Home Defense that Joe suggested earlier in the year and have and nothing but great results. I spray religously every two weeks. In all the corners of the house, behind the fridge, washer & dryer, door entrances under our beds, closets, etc. We haven’t found one spider (let alone any other insects) in our house since we began spraying.
Before we started using the spray, we used those expensive sticky traps. We caught a few hobo’s in them, but occasionally saw a couple in the house, so we started using the spray. I suggest buying the large bottle that Joe has pictured above. That’s what I bought and it’s lasted me all summer, plus I still have just under a half a bottle left. Plus the detachable sprayer makes it very convienent when spraying in tight places. Great product!
Personally, I recommend getting a little educated about the creatures themselves for a more lasting effect.
Of course they come back – you create a perfect environment for them to come back to – no competition and more bugs. You might be well pleased to know what they are dining on deep in your timbers, Joe.
It’s like spraying for dandilions instead of using proper watering and mowing height. Makes more room for more seeds to thrive.
Of course these people spraying poisons are happy to come do it – they know it guarantees they will be back again.
Sonic repellers work well for keeping bugs out of the way. Just move the wasp nests and if they are an immediate problem a narrow necked bottle with a little jam in it will trap them all. Ants? sweep them up and move them to a new home where they don’t bug you. They follow the pile in my experience.
Point is, the bugs are part of your environment and if you are willing to live with spraying Home Defence around your home after reading the warnings thoroughly (and probably skipping some of the safety reccommendations) because it hasn’t hurt you maybe you should read up on the spider, too.
Many “hobo bite” victims can’t actually say they know they were bitten. It’s an easy answer for mystery necrosis.
One landscaping idea is to avoid that bark mulch. Also, seal up those cracks and entrances.
Don’t forget that those products are petroleum-based too, thus furthering our dependance.
I hope noone takes this personally, It’s really a matter of save your monies and live and let live (somewhere else).
Now if I can just figure out what Californians don’t like we’re set.
I failed to mention yesterday, but a brand called Victor makes many safe (and minty fresh!) products for killing various bugs.
I’ll stick to the “Home Defense, by Ortho” product as well. I’ve used this product for years and know it works great. If you use is as directed, it’s just as safe as anything else on the market. Problem is some people can’t read or would rather not read the label in order to inform themselve how these products are to be used safely. I haven’t had a bug or spider in my house or garage all year.
Now the yellowjackets are another story. We’ve got a nest of them under the eave of our garage and I’ve got to go get some wasp spray today. The Ortho just isn’t cutting it on these guys, unless you actually drown them in it.
And you can forget about me getting a bottle and putting some jelly in it to attract them. That’s not the smartest thing in the world to do. Then what do you do when you’ve got them trapped, throw it in the trash so the garbage man gets stung?
And you honestly think people are going to “sweep up” ants and move them to a new home?? Are you freaking kidding me?? Now THATs funny!
Whatever works for ya I guess. Good luck with your insect relocation project. For me….I’ll stick to the toxic stuff.
A fun summer activity I have discovered is banging on the siding near doors and windows. If you have hornets, first you hear the angry buzz, and two seconds later they come flying out at you. Good times.
Whammo, I want to thank you for your perspective. I read a book about how these pesticides, herbicides, and chemicals are showing a strong correlation autism, a.d.d., and other problems. Though it’s not feasible to completely eliminate, I’d like to not spray these kinds of poisons anywhere near my home and kids – especially not inside!
Though it may be the easiest quickie McDonalds solution in the short term, I have a hard time believing that’s the best solution.
I love to shoot Hobo’s with a BB gun lol its funner than a video game.
My brother in law used to kill spiders with the air puffs from an empty bb gun.
One day my sister in law decided to try it on a spider in the window, but didn’t realize a bb was loaded.
New window.
Funny family story.
We have used ortho defense for 2 years now at our apts, in Albany Or. It works so well I can’t belive it! Try it
Thanks Joe.
The cheap sticky traps from Cal Ranch work the best in our home. This past month we’ve caught several baby spiders too, haven’t seen those in years past. I suspect there may be a nest somewhere but have no idea where it could be, too many places to look.
I read that Hobos are immune to typical bug and spider sprays, but the sticky traps snare them better. I will be glad when we get a few good freezes!
Hobo’s are note immune to Ortho Defense. Before I moved into my house, I noticed a few hobo’s running around, after a thorough cleaning and moving in, we still had a hobo problem. I started using Ortho Defense and it’s been 2 years now since I’ve seen ANY spiders, hobo or otherwise. They may be immune to your regular “bug spray”, but if you want to completely rid your house of them, try this stuff! It works great.
We used the sticky traps in the past, and occasionally we’d catch a spider, but after awhile we’d see them on the ceilings and you cant exactly put a sticky trap on the ceiling. Well you probably could, but it wouldn’t look very attractive.
It is SOOO confusing…
All the sites that advocate the traps, naturally say that by spraying you kill the other spiders that compete for the food.
They say Hobos are resistant to the spray, so spraying makes it worse.
We use the traps here in SE Montana. We get FRICKIN’ craploads of hobos!!! Too bad they are not worth money.,. we’d be rich!
We finally got tired of replacing full traps every month, so we used the ortho spray. It worked for a while, but then they came back full-force.
When I sprayed, there was one exterior wall by the foundation outside that was positively crwaling with big hobos. I realized the sprinklers spray there and keep it wet. Prime insenct territory. It also washes away the ortho spray!!!
AAAAAAAAARAARGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
I HATE THESE DAMN THINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It’s that time of year again……
As huge as they are I’m surprised I haven’t heard them knocking on the front door. Cats and the preying mantis are hobo killers. I need to try that spray though, hobos creep me out.
This is really creepy!!!
Do the sticky hobo traps kill good spiders too?
What exactly do hobos eat? What eats hobos? Do they hide like the recluse?
Are sonic devices available for combatting spiders? I know they can work for rodents.
I have a dog and kids to worry about, and a dauntingly huge area to “de-hobo.” Sounds like they will be less of a problem on the second story? Do I treat attic spaces? Gazebo?
Thanks for all the good info!
Oops #29 says cats and praying mantis are hobo eaters, has anyone tried buying a bunch of praying mantis and letting them loose around the exterior? More experience with this or cats?
The website that Darwin K. Vest created for information on these interesting arachnids is at
http://hobospider.org/
If this link doesn’t work just type in ‘Darwin Vest’s Hobo Spider website’ or something to that effect. (I thought I saw a link to it on Joe’s site here before the layout change.) The website is full of excellent information.
Very useful site. Now I’m even more creeped out! They recommend controlling habitat, and have a lengthy discussion of why spray poison is not an effective solution. Problem with praying mantis is it is diurnal, while hobos are nocturnal. Other spiders sound like one of most effective measures, esp. the wolf spider, and other jumping spiders, but don’t wolf spiders bite? YUCK!
Go to Wikipedia and type in jumping spiders. Find the ones Darwin referenced on his website (phidippus workmanii, salticus, et al) and you will know which ones not to kill.
I haven’t had a problem with wolf spiders. I’m not sure I’ve even ever seen one. Read about them while you are at Wikipedia. I found a black widow nest twenty years ago but once discovered and eradicated, have not seen any again.
Yellowjacket queens roam ’round this time of year. I finally followed some advice and set out a “queen trap” in April. Lo and behold, I caught a LOT of queens. I figure each queen captured now is worth a ba-zillion yellowjackets later. It’s mano y mano with the queens this time of year. They’re smart, they’re aggressive, and they know how to survive. It’s up to YOU to find a way to WIN! As far as I am concerned, I will do anything, go anywhere, and freaking use plutonium to beat yellowjackets.
SO me the way and show me the light. Show me victory over yellowjackets and I will crown you King! (Or Queen, as the case may be.)
I dont know where you get off thinking you should kill every bug you see.. or why a grown human being would have fear of any bug in north america.. maybe besides a black widow, but still there is no reason to fear them as they will only bite if you give them no choice. BUGS SAVE OUR PLANET>ALL OF THEM!
people like you are a contributing factor in the demise of our earth…Did you know: HOBO SPIDERS ONLY INJECT VENOM ABOUT 40 % OF THE TIME THEY BITE? AND THAT MOST SPIDER BITES THAT OCCUR ON HUMANS DO IN FACT COME FROM HOBO SPIDERS AS THEY ARE ONE OF THE MOST COMMON SPECIES IN WESTERN NORTH AMERICA. OR THAT THERE HAS BEEN NO SCIENTIFIC ANALYZATION OF HOBO SPIDER VENOM THAT CONCLUDED THAT IT WAS IN FACT CAPABLE OF CAUSING NECROSIS TO TISSUE., YET IT HAS BEEN ANALYZED CONCLUDING THE EXACT OPPOSITE. DID YOU KNOW THE COMMON WOLF SPIDER HAS BEEN KNOWN TO CAUSE NECROTIC LESIONS ON HUMAN BEINGS?
hobo spiders are a BIG part of a properly functioning ecosystem, they kill alot of bad bugs that you ACTUALLY DO NOT WANT AROUND FOR GOOD REASON.
I dont know why you feel the need to write such an article given the fact you have been greatly misleading to anyone reading this.
It is sickening to know the human race as a whole is so irresponsible, ignorant and just plain disrespectful to the planet we need in order to survive.
So keep killing every bug you see, keep spreading false information and maybe one day you or your children will die of real threats to your health caused by illnesses or diseases that originate from a bias ecosystem that people like you have helped so greatly to create. HUMAN BEINGS ARE THE WORST THREAT TO EVERYTHING ON THIS PLANET, YET IT IS ILLEGAL TO EXTERMINATE THEM. EVEN IF YOU CATCH ONE IN THE ACT OF DESTROYING ANOTHER.
Something is seriously wrong with our western society today. We have things all wrong. Ask questions, think independantly, and maybe we can turn this horrible reality around and our grandchildrens children will have a planet to live on when they are born.
in essence:
People will say anything to make a buck. Your local exterminator or insecticide company is no different.
Dont be so gullible.
Haha….now THAT was a funny comment Phelix. Thanks for the laugh. Obviously you have never had an actual encounter with a hobo spider before. If you had, you would know how aggressive they are without being provoked. Not to mention their extremely fast so trying to catch one and throw it outside (as not to “harm” it) just isn’t realistic, so extermination is the only real alternative aside from co-habitating with them. Thank you for your “words of wisdumb” but I’m going to continue using Ortho Home Defense that I’ve been using for years. It works great and I don’t know about you but I prefer not to have bugs or spiders in my home. Especially the evil hobo spider. As for “killing every bug I see”, I’m willing to wager most of us don’t take such a drastic approach. I see bugs all the time outside and I have no problem sharing our beautiful world with them. And try to relax a little bit. Perhaps some meditation would help calm the nerves. There’s no need to get so worked up and angry over exterminating spiders in ones home.
You have a nice day now.
A list of those BAD BUGS would be nice to have Phelixx so I can kill them too. I will however put a sign outside my door and let all hobo spiders and other BAD BUGS know that you have opened up a safe house for them and will offer them the perfect environmentally safe place to live. Your comment about humans is ridiculous. I hope you were kidding.
Hmmm, we are in an age of awareness with going green…ha. Yeah lets all pollute the environment with more pesticides. There are more natural ways to get rid of insects then toxins. Google it. How pathetic.
Poor little ol’ spiders!
What would Charlotte think?
APOCOLYPTO, what a joke… i got a hobo spider in my room in a jar(WITHOUT A LID ON, oh no!) LOL…and no it wasnt hard to catch and yeah it is aggressive..ONLY WHEN PROVOKED, PERIOD. i put crickets in there and it runs from them half the time. (comment edited by moderator due to foul language). what do you think its gonna do? jump on your body and KILL you? this isnt the movie arachnophobia bud. we arent in australia. you wont die from any spider bite in north america.dont try to talk down to me with an uneducated, biased opinion.
I am a biologist.
you are a fear mongering,gullible retard.
all these fear tactic style gimmicks are MADE for people like you.keep on spending my friend.
and i guess in general this whole forum is for people with an almost psychotic fear of insects.
i dont even know what to say.. you seem a little schitzophrenic if you ask me.
WATCH OUT FOR THE BUGS!
THEY’RE IN YOUR WALLS!
..and your precious “ortho home defense” doesnt take care of that.
(comment edited by moderator due to foul language)
and while im here:
PORTER…nice comment..
that has gotta be the worst attempt at being a smart-ass i have ever seen in my entire life. You remind me of that dude Brick tamland from Anchorman. thats all i could think of while reading your little comment there.
if you dont know that movie i highly reccomend renting it…very good..very funny.
LOL
You just lost all credibility with your immature comments phellix.
We get your point. You like bugs and that’s fine. Most of us don’t and will use bug spray to kill them in our homes whether you approve or not. Get over it.
Phellix, I am very glad it was a poor attempt at being a smart ass instead of a perfect example of being a dumb ass like……. I will leave it at that. Thanks for you comment.
“Why Can’t We Be Friends?” is a song by the band War (1975)
Hum hum hum hum hummmmm
(oops, did I hum that out loud?)
I like to grab a can of WD-40 with the little nozzle on it and a lighter. Light the lighter and hold it outstretched in one hand while spraying the WD through the flame with the other hand. Aim carefully at previously discussed hobo’s, yellowjackets and any other vermin you see and watch them sizzle and fry never to bother you again. Works well with the spiders and bugs in my steel shed. And it leaves a pleasant yet rancid chemical smell that keeps other bugs away for a week or two. Repeat as necessary.
(DISCLAIMER: Attn: homeowners, children, the elderly and environmentalist wackos. Please don’t try this at home. Please don’t try this IN your home or any other structure that may burn to the ground when presented with a flame. Actually it’s best just to leave this type of extermination to the professionals like myself. or ask felix to loan you his little glass jar) And btw….Would you believe I’m an astronaut? Seriously. Ok, maybe just that one night in college! I’m really a research analyst for the study of nocturnal butterflys.
Do praying mantises eat hobos? I’ve seen a few around here the last few summers but I’ve only seen them eat grasshoppers.
I like the Ortho Home Defense spray also. It keeps everything out – hobos, ants, earwigs, door to door salesmen….
LOL Cafe, that was good!
We had our house professionally sprayed a week and a half ago. Since then we have had six hobos in our house. All but one of them are in a new addiotion that we just had built this summer. Wondered if digging or something disrupted their home or something. I brought one to our County Agent and they verified that it was a hobo. As quickly as I get to the store I am going to buy gobs of Ortho spray, and ask for my money back from the professionals. I am a fraidy cat when it comes to spiders, esspecially ones that might hurt my grandkids. Who in their right mind would take a chance that one of their grandkids might get bit.
But Smokey….they only inject venom 40 % of the time! I had to LOL at that one. Get the Ortho, that stuff works great and lasts a good 3 months between sprayings. All you need is a light spraying aroung the baseboards, behind and under your furniture and large appliances and you’re good to go. Now is a good time to do it too with this cold snap coming up, they’ll be looking for the warmth of your house. Good luck.
I am terrified of my three year old getting bit by a hobo. I have traps everywhere and have caught everything from dust bunnies to louse spiders but not one darn hobo! I have tried the ortho spray and it works but lord does it smell and im worried about killing the other spiders that prey on the hobo. I can handle the large amount of wolf spiders and louse spiders even though they have som MEAN looking fangs but those hobo spiders terrify me, other than buying an army of praying mantis is there any other alternatives to get rid of those guys???
After my bout with the hobo spider (see Comment #15), I have tried to be quite vigilant about them. They seem to stay close to the walls and are very fast. Since I have moved to Idaho Falls (a few months after being bit), I have not seen any even though my neighbors say they have. Some of the things I have done is get rid of bedskirts, spiders do hide out in them, and I try to keep the baseboard areas vacuumed and keep clothes off the floors. I’ve gotten quite lax and am not vacuuming as often as I should and so far have not had a problem. Have you checked out Darwin Vest’s website? He offers some good ideas. (See Comment #32).
In my experience, the only thing the sticky-traps caught were my cats.
I did have a cat awhile back that would eat them. The kitty was so adorable chomping on a huge spider with the legs all hanging out of his mouth *shudder*.
Crude but effective.
I had more hobos a few years ago than now… I don’t know what caused the decrease, other than I quit spraying bugs in the garden and started tilling in fireplace ashes and other stuff bugs don’t like. Maybe more of those little hobo predator spiders are out there now… I’m sure the spray killed them, too.
But a couple of months ago, I reached into my deep sink and pulled out the drain filter; there was a hobo in the lint ! We were both startled, and he ran across the top of my hand but didn’t bite me. I got him, though. Several times…about 16 extra swats did the completely flat trick.
You have to make sure they are good and dead. If they get away they will arrange reinforcements… and they know where you sleep….
gawd I hate spiders…
Darwin Vest had (and his family still has) a commercial interest in spreading fear about the hobo spider. Never trust research from somebody selling a product, especially when the research has not been corroborated. Remember when cold fusion was “discovered” over a decade ago? It is an important lesson that Americans forget all too easily: science requires corroboration to be validated. Furthermore, Vest never did any pathology to be certain that venom was present when “dry” bites did not occur. His conclusions are pure speculation. Vest was not an arachnologist, he was a toxinologist. He lacked the training and the tools to rule out microorganisms as the cause of necrosis in the specimens that actually were affected when they were bitten. If you force an small creature against your skin with so much pressure that it bites in reponse, chances are it will regurgitate into the bargain. Voila – you have infectious agents in your puncture wound. (Incidentally, doctors treat a “spider bite” of this nature with antibiotics; what do you think antibiotics do to venom? That’s right: absolutely nothing.)
The phenomenal ignorance of taxonomy expressed in these comments is incredible. Three spiders in the Agrestis genus are present in the Pacific Northwest; if you say you saw a hobo spider, you haven’t the slightest idea what you are talking about unless you subjected it to microscopy and you have a darn good handle on spider physiology. There many species of brown spiders, and those in the Agrestis genus are identical. They must be identified by examining them under magnification to look at the pedipalps in the males and the epigynum in the females – and identification is only certain when they are sexually mature. Otherwise, you cannot know the species short of sequencing the spider’s DNA. A guide is available for those with some basic equipment to perform the identification at :pep.wsu.edu/pdf/PLS116_1.pdf “How to Identify (and misidentify) the hobo spider.”
Incidentally, insofar as not “getting them all with one spray” goes, that is bunk. I have been in the pest control industry for twelve years, and I give recertification classes to other pest control operators so they can renew their licenses. I have more than a passing familiarity with the subject of pests and pesticides. The problem isn’t “getting them all,” the problem is that spiders (and other arthropodal pests) do not respect property boundaries (they’ll trespass at the drop of a hat, the disrespectful little buggers), so the problem becomes the residual effectiveness of the insecticide and how many more come across your home in their future wanderings. Sprays are more effective as a contact solution for spiders, because subsequent contact with the dried insecticide will not always kill spiders; they may not pick it up – they walk on tiny tarsi, resulting in a very small footprint, and thus less chance of exposure. Dust formulations around entry points are the most effective long-term solution, because it is virtually impossible for a spider to walk through dust without picking up a considerable amount of it. Pest control operators rarely use this approach because it is quite painstaking to do properly.
The genus name and species name is transposed above; the Tegenaria genus contains Tegenaria agrestis (the hobo spider), Tegenaria domesticus (the domestic house spider), and Tegenaria duellica (formerly T. gigantea, the giant house spider). The giant house spider is easily distinguished from the hobo spider if, and only if, it has reached maturity, due to its large size; otherwise, break out the microscope to eliminate it from the running of likely candidates. All three have virtually identical coloration, and coloration varies with individuals – not species – and is therefore an unreliable indicator of species.
This is why I love the internet, there’s an expert on every topic lurking around the corner. Personally I could care less if it’s a hobo, a brown recluse or a cute little red spider with a top hat and cane. They come into my house and these suckers are going down! (no questions asked) I’m not going to take the time to examine them under a microscope, I’m going to grab my Ortho Home Defense and spray the bastards till they die! End of story.
The huge spiders we used to get in my mom’s house, she referred to as “cellar spiders”. They were (still are) enormous, and yes, I would still go to the same lengths to make sure that they are eradicated inside. Outside, they can run free, but I can’t stand the thought of them in my house *shudder*.
I probably wouldn’t know a hobo from a recluse from a cellar spider unless they introduced themselves, but that doesn’t make them any more welcome in my house lol.
I have had excellent success with Ultra Sonic. A bonus seems to be that Mice don’t like them either.
I had a snake come into my house last year; the kindly neighbor who heard my screams and came over to help advised me there was nothing to fear, it was just a harmless “blow snake” (which I guess is Idaho’s term for “bull snake” ).
The point was, as made above by other posters, I don’t really care if it is a rattler or a “blow snake” or a garter snake or a cobra: I don’t want it in my house. I don’t choose to co-exist with a snake. Or any type of spider.
Sorry if that makes me “taxonomically ignorant”.
Easterner, let me help you out on your taxonomy and threat levels: H. sapiens kills more people than any other species on the planet, so based on pure reason, you might be exclude this species over all others.
If your objections are based on arbitrary fears instead of actual bodily harm, I can only point you to a therapista and wish you good luck.
“you might be exclude this species over all others…”
what does that mean, exactly? I can’t respond because I have no idea what you were saying…….
but I do admit to fears of spiders and snakes. . . not sure I need a therapist, or a “therapista” either……just a few good squirts of Ortho oughta do it…….
Didn’t you know easterner? A “therapista” is for those who have an unhealthy fear of snakes and are not total experts on the subject. I have a referral if you need one.
Thanks for the definition reader. (and here I thought it was just a spanish therapist)
Actually CR, a therapista is a bilingual snake charmer and people-therapist. You really get a lot of bang for the buck! I also hear you get free Ortho with every therapy session easterner! What more could you ask for?
Ah, good to be back.
I thought a therapista was someone who worked at Starbucks and gave helpful advice on the side : )
LOL
Hi All,
Are these Hobo spiders and mosquitos mainly a problem in the greenbelt/Idaho Falls area or you talking about the Boise area too?
Thinking of moving to Boise soon so doing some research.
Thanks
Boise too Richard but its not a bad problem. Take the necessary precautions and you’ll be ok.