Would like to know what Spiders and critters around the Nashville area. (home, established neighborhood)

[MiddleTNresident]

I must kill 3 to 7 spiders daily in my home and I live in brand new construction. Of course there's still new construction going on around me, so I think they send the critters running to homes by stirring up the ground all the time. Either that or some nested in the walls while construction was still in progress.They are very small spiders with very long legs (and FAST runners) but they are not the "daddy long legs" variety.

Anyone know the type I'm describing? I have no idea how to keep these buggers under control. Don't want to spray indoors (dog). I've sprayed Raid outside by entrances, but it seems to do little good. Each morning, there's a new round of spiders hanging out in various corners of my house. They love corners. Right out in the open, too, just daring me to "get 'em". Hate them. I suspect they are harmless but still don't want anyone in the house to get bitten. I just can't believe I have to keep such an active vigil for spiders and every day there's more. There are no trees here (new construction), just a few holly bushes around the perimeter of the house.

There's also some kind a fly that isn't a fly. It's very small and fly-like (no sound when flying nearby, kinda looks like the stealth plane), almost completely black, and as fast as a fly when trying to swat it. We get lots of them wanting to follow us into the house whenever a door opens. I would also love an I.D. on what that bug might be.

I had a black widow spider problem in East Tennessee when I lived there, but have never seen that scary monster in the Nashville area (thankfully).

[ariesjow]

Originally Posted by MiddleTNresident

I must kill 3 to 7 spiders daily in my home and I live in brand new construction. Of course there's still new construction going on around me, so I think they send the critters running to homes by stirring up the ground all the time. Either that or some nested in the walls while construction was still in progress.They are very small spiders with very long legs (and FAST runners) but they are not the "daddy long legs" variety.

Anyone know the type I'm describing? I have no idea how to keep these buggers under control. Don't want to spray indoors (dog). I've sprayed Raid outside by entrances, but it seems to do little good. Each morning, there's a new round of spiders hanging out in various corners of my house. They love corners. Right out in the open, too, just daring me to "get 'em". Hate them. I suspect they are harmless but still don't want anyone in the house to get bitten. I just can't believe I have to keep such an active vigil for spiders and every day there's more. There are no trees here (new construction), just a few holly bushes around the perimeter of the house.

There's also some kind a fly that isn't a fly. It's very small and fly-like (no sound when flying nearby, kinda looks like the stealth plane), almost completely black, and as fast as a fly when trying to swat it. We get lots of them wanting to follow us into the house whenever a door opens. I would also love an I.D. on what that bug might be.

I had a black widow spider problem in East Tennessee when I lived there, but have never seen that scary monster in the Nashville area (thankfully).

^ You'd probably be better off biting the bullet and doing an insect bomb to get rid of the spiders since you don't know where they are coming from and you have a large number. They have ones that are not harmful to your pets after some hours.

That would probably be a good day to have a pet day. Just set the bomb off and take your dog to be groomed or to the dog park or one a Middle Tennessee adventure. The spiders should be done for when you get back and your dog will be safe.

[DonCorleone]

Good advice, aries...and I'd suggest a pest service again because they're going to be able to kill eggs and get to places Raid can't get to.

We had an issue about a month after moving in to our new construction home with spiders (a few brown recluses) and these beetle-like things after we moved into our new home, but since we hired a pest control service, we've not seen any of them.

[alleycat]

I don't know about anyone else, but the insects I seem to have problems with vary from year-to-year. One year, every time I looked around ants were coming in to get the cat food in the utility room. I put ant poison out all around the foundation of the house that year. I haven't had any problem with them the past two or three years. One year it was spiders. One year every time I left an outside door opened for any length of time (say, to bring the groceries in), a half-dozen flies would come in. So far, thankfully, this year has been uneventful . . . except for the moles.

[bran_smith]

those things you are talking about if they got lots of legs like a centipede it might be a house one..they are ugly and feaky loooking..LOL we have them and they are fast...
as for me all I see I live in White House, Tn and I see daddy long legs spiders...Im like you spiders freak me out I will not kill it bc I have this fear that if it is on the wall it will fall off and bite me before it dies..(You never know)....I have seen one black widow spider and thats when they were doing constructions at my old apartment I lived at..

[DonCorleone]

Originally Posted by alleycat

I don't know about anyone else, but the insects I seem to have problems with vary from year-to-year. One year, every time I looked around ants were coming in to get the cat food in the utility room. I put ant poison out all around the foundation of the house that year. I haven't had any problem with them the past two or three years. One year it was spiders. One year every time I left an outside door opened for any length of time (say, to bring the groceries in), a half-dozen flies would come in. So far, thankfully, this year has been uneventful . . . except for the moles.

At my old house, we had a problem with little ants coming in every year around July/August when the annual summer drought got the best of them and they'd come in for water/food. I couldn't get rid of them...even pest control services only kept them at bay for a few weeks.

As for moles...I have a special deep-seeded hatred of those critters. There's nothing like mowing and twisting your ankle after stepping into a mole track. The only thing I have found that helped get rid of them was having an outside dog (I've heard rat terriers are really good at getting them). Aside from that, grub killing sprays are helpful because that's usually what the moles are after. The problem is the moles will just go next door to your neighbor...and then come back. Ugh.

[mike1003]

Originally Posted by DonCorleone

The vast majority of spiders/bugs I've seen here are harmless. There are a variety of pest control companies around who can spray on a regular basis to keep the insects at bay in your home, but alley is right...keeping things tidy is one of the best ways to prevent seeing them. Common sense is also a good thing too...like making sure windows and doors are sealed properly.

(stop reading if you don't want specific spider/bug info)

Probably the most common "bad" spider that I've seen is the brown recluse. As it's name reflects, it likes dark places in your home. They are poisonous and a bite can be very nasty and painful, but aren't deadly that I'm aware of. They're brown, have a little black spot on their torso that looks like a violin, usually around the size of a nickle to a quarter. But simple preventative pest control should be able to eliminate them. We also have black widows, but I have only seen one in my 30+ years of living here. Bees & wasps are common critters as well. Finally, there is an increasing number of fire ants in our area. They are tiny, but very aggressive. They live in colonies and usually only bite when you've disturbed them. Generally, stay away from any large clumps of dirt that you see ants going into. There are poisons available to take care of the colonies...but from what I understand they generally just move to another part of your yard.

None of these critters are widespread enough to be considered a problem. It really shouldn't effect your lifestyle here or anything like that.

Termites, on the other hand, can be a problem. Our climate is perfect for them and they love to infest homes and eat the wood beams supporting your house. A simple termite letter from a qualified examiner is usually required to give a home the all-clear, but after you move in you should consider using a pest control service to make sure they don't decide to nom on your home.

The Official Brown Recluse Spider

[alleycat]

Here's a question for the original poster, or anyone else who has moved here from somewhere else. I'm being a little flippant, but I'm seriously asking the question.

We often gets questions about bugs, spiders, and snakes on the Tennessee forum. Tennessee, being in a warm temperate zone, has it's share of the creatures. We have a few that are primarily in the south, but bugs and spiders and snakes are common in most areas of the world. I'd certainly rather have our snakes than some of those in Australia.

Where is it that you're from that doesn't have its share of bugs and other little critters? I would guess some things are less of a problem in the high mountain areas, or possibly the dry desert (discounting scorpions and rattlers), but from what I've seen and heard, most of the areas in the US have bugs, snakes, and spiders. I know well that's there plenty of black flies and mosquitoes in the northern states. I'm just wondering why this is such a typical question for those moving to Tennessee.

Anyone care to often an opinion?

[MiddleTNresident]

Update to my story.

The spider problem at my home has been diagnosed. They are juvenile Daddy Long Legs after all. Species name: Pholcidae

I've seen the full grown adults in my garage in the corners near the street entrance. The ones I'm seeing in the house have to be their youngsters crawling in from the door between the garage and the kitchen. The young spiders look a lot different to me which is why I didn't figure it out sooner.

I feel a little bit better. They are relatively harmless to humans. Just a nuisance. I hope they are harmless to dogs as well.

I still don't know what those little black "flies" are. No they are not black flies. They, too, appear to be completely harmless, but annoying.

If you want to talk about BUGS, go to Florida. I don't understand the concern about TN bugs, spiders and snakes, either. I saw more poisonous snakes in surburban New Jersey than I've ever seen in the South. And I've seen more termites there, too. TN's "wildlife" isn't all that bad.

[fumanchu41]

Originally Posted by alleycat

Here's a question for the original poster, or anyone else who has moved here from somewhere else. I'm being a little flippant, but I'm seriously asking the question.

We often gets questions about bugs, spiders, and snakes on the Tennessee forum. Tennessee, being in a warm temperate zone, has it's share of the creatures. We have a few that are primarily in the south, but bugs and spiders and snakes are common in most areas of the world. I'd certainly rather have our snakes than some of those in Australia.

Where is it that you're from that doesn't have its share of bugs and other little critters? I would guess some things are less of a problem in the high mountain areas, or possibly the dry desert (discounting scorpions and rattlers), but from what I've seen and heard, most of the areas in the US have bugs, snakes, and spiders. I know well that's there plenty of black flies and mosquitoes in the northern states. I'm just wondering why this is such a typical question for those moving to Tennessee.

Anyone care to often an opinion?

I understand there are bugs and spiders in TN. I'm just trying to prepare and brace myself for the worst. That's all. We have spiders and bugs here too. Looks like the farther you go up north or higher in elevation, the smaller the spider. Although from what I've read, the info seems to be inconsistent.