Mold, Colds, and Insects? Questions about Seattle Life. (apartment, home)

[VeronikaW]

Originally Posted by wannabeaTexan

Luckily, I haven't seen any this year yet and I really don't recall seeing any last summer either. I wonder why.

I've had 2 in my house in the last 2 weeks. Ick!

[jamesandveybe]

Originally Posted by rayneinspain

Sorry, no. I lived in Washington for 42 years (greater Seattle area), and I can totally vouch for the fact that spiders are prevalent year-round. They certainly don't die off in the fall (wishful thinking lol), it's mating season for many. And I really don't know what you're talking about as far as them being trucked in. WA has an abundant supply of local arachnids, as do other states.

No, dear. They die off in the Fall, unless people fail to insulate their homes well, in which case they are more than happy to stay over 'til the next season, by which time they have multiplied! East WA spiders do not survive the West Washington climate without shelter. They do indeed come from warmer climates, as you can see from the WA state department of agriculture website about pest management.

We found two brown recluses in a neighbor's eave last weekend... wanna say hello?

-JD, former licensed WSDA structural pest inspector

[allforcats]

My experience for two decades with spiders in Seattle and Bellevue has been that a few join my party inside in September every year, and April once every few years.
Not being an arachnid specialist, I'm just assuming that in April they flex their muscles, so to speak, and are looking for food and a new life.
September I've always heard is when they look for attractive dance partners and warmer digs than what's happening outside.
Is that about right, jamesandveybe?

[wannabeaTexan]

Originally Posted by allforcats

My experience for two decades with spiders in Seattle and Bellevue has been that a few join my party inside in September every year, and April once every few years.
Not being an arachnid specialist, I'm just assuming that in April they flex their muscles, so to speak, and are looking for food and a new life.
September I've always heard is when they look for attractive dance partners and warmer digs than what's happening outside.
Is that about right, jamesandveybe?

Well I don't know what's going on now then because my friend had a huge one in her place last night.

[mmcguy]

Spiders live here along with all of the other bugs (fleas, mosquitos, daddy longlegs, centipedes, milipedes, potato bugs, etc....) . There has not been a documented case of a Brown Recluse spider bite in Seattle in decades so stop worrying. The vast majority of spiders in the Seattle are harmless. Even the ones with a little venom in their bites cause little more than a swelling at the bite site. Bugs and spiders are our friends.....

As for mold, one of the posters on this board equated mold with moss. These are two completely different things. Moss grows on shingles and the north sides of trees and houses. It can be safely treated with a number of different natural and not-so-natural products. It will ALWAYS grow back and is HARMLESS!. Face it... this is Seattle...moss happens!

As for mold, EVERY (repeat...EVERY) house in Seattle has one type of mold or another. I would venture to say every house in the country has mold. We NEED mold. There are only a hand full of truely toxic molds and most of those need VERY warm temperatures and very high humidity to proliferate. We don't have those types of temperatures or relative humidity in the northwest. Most people who claim allergies to mold really have allergies to something else but have never had a work-up done by a professional allergist to determine the real source of the problems.

Too much attention has been given lately to mold by the media (due primarily to some lawsuits in Texas where the juries relied on junk science). If mold scares you, do this.... Get a spray bottle with a 40/60% bleach & water mixture and spray the mold. Let the dampness dry in the open air (or fan), cover with a primer-sealer (KILZ is my favorite) and BAM!, problem solved. If the problem persists, determine the source of the moisture and fix it (since mold needs moisture and moist, stagnant air to grow).

Any professional home inspector who finds mold in a home should tell you the same thing (unless they have a hidden agenda such as ownership interest in a so-called mold abatement business.....). It's like finding asbestos on old pipes in the basement of a 100 year old farm house. There is greater danger to the owner/occupant in having the asbestos removed (disturbing the fibers and sending them airborne) than in simply leaving it alone (or maybe spraying with a lacquer sealer). Again... ask any expert and they will agree.

[allforcats]

BAM!! What an intelligent, rational, thorough discussion of the subjects of bugs and mold! Thank you, Mmcguy! Superb!

[Seattletony]

http://www.city-data.com/forum/membe...ybe-44466.html

bingo what this person said lol

[jwb123]

1. I never equated mold with moss - it was two seperate comments.
2. I have been allergy tested.

Welcome back SeattleTony!!! It's been too long

[seattlenextyear]

It seems like here, the best way to combat mold in the hot humid summer is to run the a/c. In houses I've been in with mold, its usually because the residents don't run the a/c very often (to save $$). In Seattle since there's no a/c, would a dehumidifier work?

[jenlion]

I was allergy tested a few years ago. I was off-the-charts allergic to grasses and weeds and everything like that... they said they measure the size of the skin reaction... they couldn't for me because all the welts grew beyond their little boxes.

But then they got to molds, and I wasn't allergic to them at all! I was amazed!

I am, however, very allergic to something out in the air right now. No idea what it is, but the past week or so, my allergies are going absolutely haywire. I hope it's not simply "summer"....