[New 2 Las Vegas]

Hi, I am new to Las Vegas.
I am very worried about the HUGE spiders here. I have see several spiders our back yard, especially at night. And there was one big one in the house. Just wondering if they are all very big in size, and if they normally are in houses here. I do have a pest control service come to the house once a month, but they are still around. Shouldnt they all be dead? Do they only come out at night? Are there any other pest control divices I can buy?
I would really appreciate some info ....thanks.

[MoMark]

I don't know what you mean by huge, but when I lived there I always had a heavy black widow problem. Other people there say they've never seen one. I had dozens a week and I could kill 3-5 a night if I went specifically after them after dark with a flashlight. You can recognize them of course by their appearance..black with an orangy hourglass underneath the main body. During the day you can see evidence of them because their webs are erratic and crazily woven, like they took LSD before spinning. I had pest control out too, and it didn't clear out the spiders, but the black widows were my main problem. I never saw a scorpion or a camel spider, or a brown recluse spider (they have the white violin shapes on their backs). I've only seen a camel spider in photographs. They aren't truly spiders, but some other distant relation and they're known for being aggressive, but, they rarely bite and they aren't venomous, just scary looking and scary in their aggressiveness. The real spider danger in Las Vegas in my opinion remains Black Widows and I always checked inbetween my sheets before sliding my feet under the covers and under the cushions for my lawn chairs before sitting down on the patio.

[greatbasinguide]

Spiders are handy little critters, they eat large quantities of harmful and pesky bugs. Black widows and fiddlebacks are harmful to humans but humans rarely get bit. The big ones are not going to hurt you, they are going to help you.

[catpiperx]

I never saw the big spiders-just the brown ones and black widows too. I do recall those nasty "bug" that everyone said were water bugs-looked like giant cockroaches to me! They only came out during the hottest months-and we definately had pest control 1x a month-to eliminate that problem-and if you missed a month-those pesty creatures showed up. Also remember they made humming/buzzing noises? I did have a scorpion in our yard-but again,once we had a regular pest control, didn't see anymore after that.

Remember you do live in the desert--be prepared for creepy crawly things! I remember being told to never leave shoes outside--spiders love to hide in them and I was always careful if I did to shake my shoes first before putting on.

Those nasty creatures I do not miss!

[LizzyVegas]

I have a bug man come by once a month and when I remembered to ask him about the webs in a hedge bordering my driveway one month he explained that many spiders travel in the wind and some can even get carried up to a mile at a time.
I tend to agree with greatbasinguide that spiders do good for the most part, and now that I think of it in 15+ years as a Las Vegas local I have never had a spider bite although I have surprised more than a few black widows....

[RedWingsFan]

I lived in Vegas for over nine years and never had a spider problem. I'd see them from time to time but nothing more than any place else I've lived.

[frhrwa]

I agree, spiders are useful in their own way.. where I lived recently, they did away with a lot of mosquitoes.. (don't like them either, in fact, most likely more people are bit my them than spiders)... but.. being the absolute maximum arachniphobic that I am.. I do not like little bitty, big shiny, or even hairy spiders.. just don't like spiders period! Black widows are extremely common on your cinder block walls at night.. garages, and other dark places that I don't care to visit.. if they keep their distance they live, but if I encounter them in "my" space, they die... I lived here from the late 40's to the mid 70's.. my family is still here, scorpions, tarantula's, centipedes, snakes, spiders, and all those other desert thingies were here before you and I.. and we're the invaders.. just keep that in mind when you take up "their" space...

[PinkString]

Spiders aren't so bad. They won't bug you if you don't bug them. And they keep the ants away really nicely.

[yellowsnow]

The big spiders are usually not a threat to you. Those pesky black widows are nasty. Just don't go sticking your hands into dark places. Use a flashlight and look first.

As long as the spiders stay outside, fine. In the house, they are fair game and I will kill them. You can never get them all but you can keep the population down.

I saw lots of scorpions and tarantulas when I lived in Texas. I've never seen any in Vegas.

[jerichoswall]

ok so i guess i got bitten by a spider today i dont know what kind it was, i had seen one earlier today it was black but not big enough to be a black widow it was about an inch maybe inch and a half accross (including leg span) and like a midnight black i couldnt make out any details because i like to leave them alone and be left alone but it worries me the bite kind of itches and is raised just a little but other than that it seems fine its been an hour since i was bitten maybe a little less (not to sure i was laying down)