Spider probs (Seattle: cinema, to live, eat)

[cmswazey]

Agreeing with the others here. I, too, have had kitties who ate spiders. Wasn't a problem. Cats eat insects and small arachnids.

[Unicorn hunter]

Please read this: Myth: Spiders come indoors in the fall | Burke Museum


Some spiders are living with you all year and only coming out now looking for mates. They are not coming inside to get warm or help you decorate for Halloween!


I have battled big house spiders for years! I have found the best ways to eliminate them is to get rid of all clutter, (I have found them living on the underside of furniture, etc. in storage) put sticky spider traps in corners and storage areas, screen off any entry to the house through crawl space vents, seal up any cracks along baseboards and if all else fails or to kill anything else they might be eating, have a professional service spray along outside perimeter and also place traps for ants or other insects. I have found all of these things a huge help! I think my house was a spider hotel before I moved in!


Good luck!

[homesinseattle]

Maybe if you established a colony of these in your basement, it could help: Control Insects By Bolstering Your Bat Habitat - Nature and Environment - MOTHER EARTH NEWS

[catycat]

I'm happy that some of you have cats that can stomach bugs, but mine was the sickly runt of the litter, so he has more issues than the everyday tabby. I've been a cat owner all my life, and for the most part HAVE had cats that can eat all sorts of gross things, but that just isn't in the cards for this one.

Essentials oils/ herbs could be ok for the outside, but most are toxic to cats, so I can't use them indoors. And, I have no intention of spraying chemicals inside my house, nor do I relish spraying them outside. We have nasty wolf spiders in Michigan, but they would die off after the first freeze (usually in October). Since Seattle has a much milder climate than Michigan, I wasn't sure if that was the case here, or if they are a year round problem.

Has anyone tried those ultrasonic repellers? I've also used hedge apples (or osage oranges) to repel them, but does anyone know if you can buy them here?

Thank you to those who have responded without being patronizing

[catycat]

Originally Posted by CrazyDonkey

We hear you. We also think you're being irrational. Cats cough up hairballs and stuff all the time - I've never seen a cat cough up a spider.

My cat doesn't get hairballs, but he does get serious diarrhea that lasts for days when he eats things he shouldn't. Forgive me if I'd like to avoid that.

[catycat]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

It's the middle of our annual spider season. You can't really fight it, they will find ways to come into the house. An exterminator is going to use chemicals that will be far worse for the cats than eating a healthy spider. We don't have a lot of the bugs that people in other states suffer with, spiders are the only real annoyance. Well, besides slugs. You can try to
carefully seal up any cracks around doors and windows to slow down their entry to the house but if they want to come in they will. You can also keep the outdoor lights off at night, they attract flies and moths, which then attract spiders. Some natural repellents that can be scattered around the doors are eucalyptus, mint or lavender sprigs but again, they will find another way in.

As long as there is an end to "spider season" I suppose I can continue killing them one by one (I'm not a catch and release type of girl, especially not if spiders the size of Aragog decide to cozy up to my sister in bed, lol). I left Michigan because I was sick of the polar vortices every winter, but the only good thing about the cold is that it kills off the creepy crawlers.

Another question for the pet owners: do you have to protect against fleas year round because of the mild climate?

[Diana Holbrook]

Some years, we do have to protect all year around (on the fleas).

Most years, though, there is at least one cold snap of several days of very cold temps.

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by catycat

I'm happy that some of you have cats that can stomach bugs, but mine was the sickly runt of the litter, so he has more issues than the everyday tabby. I've been a cat owner all my life, and for the most part HAVE had cats that can eat all sorts of gross things, but that just isn't in the cards for this one.

What evidence do you have that eating spiders or other bugs has made your cat sick, other than your own irrational fear? Cats ingest all sorts of things, including their own hair (and anything that gets in their hair, including cleaning products, de-odorizers, insecticides, etc.). Good luck stopping your cat from eating things he likes (like tasty protein-rich spiders).

Note: As has already been posted, you're seeing spiders now because "spider season" is spider-mating season - the spiders you're seeing are males braving being splatted by humans or eaten by house cats, in broad daylight, in their instinct-driven search for females. The rest of the year, they are nocturnal critters, who you won't generally see during the day, unless trapped in bathtubs while seeking water, for instance.

So, let go of the fear. Spiders are good guys - without them you'd, literally, be over-run by other bugs.

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by catycat

As long as there is an end to "spider season" I suppose I can continue killing them one by one (I'm not a catch and release type of girl, especially not if spiders the size of Aragog decide to cozy up to my sister in bed, lol). I left Michigan because I was sick of the polar vortices every winter, but the only good thing about the cold is that it kills off the creepy crawlers.

Another question for the pet owners: do you have to protect against fleas year round because of the mild climate?

When I refer to spider season it's when we get the most activity inside, and a huge increase in spiders outside. We do still have some all year. As for fleas, we have been here 23 years and until recently with 2 dogs. We never had to deal with any fleas, no treatment of home or dog in all that time. Perhaps it was luck, or the fact that we have a large yard and didn't take our dogs to places where other dogs have been, such as dog parks and hiking trails. I would consider our experience unusual, but others I know with pets have found the flea problem to be less than in a warmer, drier climate.

[phlinak]

Originally Posted by CrazyDonkey

What evidence do you have that eating spiders or other bugs has made your cat sick, other than your own irrational fear? Cats ingest all sorts of things, including their own hair (and anything that gets in their hair, including cleaning products, de-odorizers, insecticides, etc.). Good luck stopping your cat from eating things he likes (like tasty protein-rich spiders).

Note: As has already been posted, you're seeing spiders now because "spider season" is spider-mating season - the spiders you're seeing are males braving being splatted by humans or eaten by house cats, in broad daylight, in their instinct-driven search for females. The rest of the year, they are nocturnal critters, who you won't generally see during the day, unless trapped in bathtubs while seeking water, for instance.

So, let go of the fear. Spiders are good guys - without them you'd, literally, be over-run by other bugs.

Catycat doesn't need any evidence.


She knows her cat and if she says eating spiders make her cat sick, who are you to challenge her statement?


Spiders do serve a necessary place in our ecosystem, just like snakes, but let me find either one on my property or in one of my vehicles, and like Catycat, I'm not the catch and release type either.