Bug Bombing House

[Freshy]

OK, so I am wanting to build a SW tank after having been into FW for a long time. But I am concerned given the more sensitive nature of SW tanks. I live in a house that has had a history of brown recluse spiders. The first summer my wife and I lived in this house, I don't think a day went by that we did not kill a half a dozen or so. I have spoken with a number of people in the pest control business, and I have been told that the "professional" treatments are not terribly effective at getting rid of them. What we have found that works to a fairly good extent is, every year or so, to set off a few (three or four) bug bombs at once inside, with another up in the overhead, and one in the crawlspace.

Has any one with a tank bombed their house, and did it have an effect on your tank? I am concerned that with all that poison in the air, some of it might find its way into the water and harm the tank's inhabitants. Or, I could just be worrying about a non-existent threat.

Regards

 

[PeterB113]

OK, so I am wanting to build a SW tank after having been into FW for a long time. But I am concerned given the more sensitive nature of SW tanks. I live in a house that has had a history of brown recluse spiders. The first summer my wife and I lived in this house, I don't think a day went by that we did not kill a half a dozen or so. I have spoken with a number of people in the pest control business, and I have been told that the "professional" treatments are not terribly effective at getting rid of them. What we have found that works to a fairly good extent is, every year or so, to set off a few (three or four) bug bombs at once inside, with another up in the overhead, and one in the crawlspace.

Has any one with a tank bombed their house, and did it have an effect on your tank? I am concerned that with all that poison in the air, some of it might find its way into the water and harm the tank's inhabitants. Or, I could just be worrying about a non-existent threat.

Regards

I've never heard of anyone doing this but I can't imagine it would be good for your tank lol. I walk into a different room just to put cologne on...so bugbombs would DEFINITLEY be a no go IMO. Best advice would to bug bomb the house before and then setup a tank. But if your spider problems gets bad again idk what you would be able to to in that scenario. Maybe setup a room for the tank that won't be bug bombed?

 

[Jekyl]

Completely cover the tank and sump. Run the airline to the skimmer outside.

 

[Jekyl]

On a side note, if I had that problem with brown recluse spiders I would just burn the house down.... gross

 

[Onewolf]

On a side note, if I had that problem with brown recluse spiders I would just burn the house down.... gross

I'm not an expert, but the general consensus on R2R is that there is a high likelihood of a bad result when bombing/tenting a house with marine aquariums.

With that being said.... A house infested with spiders?

 

[Freshy]

Thank you for the quick replies.

Yeah, we were pretty grossed out as well the first year. The house had been foreclosed on and was a huge mess when we got it. It was a ton of work just to get it livable again.

As for the spiders, they are livable now. I think I may have killed 5 or 6 this whole summer, and given how hot it has been, I am mildly surprised. If we let it go for a couple of years, they definitely increase, but as long as we keep up the bombing, they stay manageable.

Regards

 

[Malcontent]

@sfin52 might have some suggestions.

 

[C. Eymann]

Im kind of a spider geek, I have quite a few of them as pets.

First off are you 100% positive you have brown recluses? because they are misidentified sooooooo much!
Loxosceles is a neat genus of spiders, and they really have a undeserved bad reputation only a very small percentage of their bites progress to necrosis, plus their fangs are super short and usually have to be pressed up against your skin to envenomate

Many years ago I actually collected Loxosceles reclusa specimens for a study headed by Jamel Sandige (recluse expert) at Kansas University dept of entomology.

you are wasting your time with bug bombs trying to combat L. reclusa infestation. Loxosceles are an incredibly resilient genus, making them very hard to get rid of. Bug bombs can actually make the issue worse as Loxosceles will scavenge feed and usually not be effected by the insecticide that killed the other bugs in the house

Your best tools are going to be a silica gel dusts like Drione, Demon WP and diatomaceous earth powder, -sticky traps may help dent the population but will generally only catch males as females tend to stay in one spot hidden, usually under base boards, inside walls and attics, they can also "double and even triple clutch- she can store the males sperm to make multiple egg sacks
attics are actually the place that will have the highest density of population in a house with Loxosceles, esp if you have a wood shingle roof.

Get a "puffer" tool and some drione dust on diy pest control dot com , this is what Dr. Sandige found most effective in treating BR infestations when he owned his company in KC "brown recluse solutions"

much more effective than bug bombs, much safer for you, your family and your reef aquarium.

Again there is a ton of misinformation and fear mongering around Loxosceles, they aren't nearly as bad as you think.

Hope this helps

 

[Jekyl]

Im kind of a spider geek, I have quite a few of them as pets.

First off are you 100% positive you have brown recluses? because they are misidentified sooooooo much!
Loxosceles is a neat genus of spiders, and they really have a undeserved bad reputation only a very small percentage of their bites progress to necrosis, plus their fangs are super short and usually have to be pressed up against your skin to envenomate

Many years ago I actually collected Loxosceles reclusa specimens for a study headed by Jamel Sandige (recluse expert) at Kansas University dept of entomology.

First off, you are wasting your time with bug bombs trying to combat L. reclusa infestation. Loxosceles are an incredibly resilient genus, making them very hard to get rid of. Bug bombs can actually make the issue worse as Loxosceles will scavenge feed and usually not be effected by the insecticide that killed the other bugs in the house

Your best tools are going to be a silica gel dusts like Drione, Demon WP and diatomaceous earth powder, -sticky traps may help dent the population but will generally only catch males as females tend to stay in one spot hidden, usually under base boards, inside walls and attics, they can also "double and even triple clutch- she can store the males sperm to make multiple egg sacks
attics are actually the place that will have the highest density of population in a house with Loxosceles, esp if you have a wood shingle roof.

Get a "puffer" tool and some drione dust on diy pest control dot com , this is what Dr. Sandige found most effective in treating BR infestations when he owned his company in KC "brown recluse solutions"

much more effective than bug bombs, much safer for you, your family and your reef aquarium.

Again there is a ton of misinformation and fear mongering around Loxosceles, they aren't nearly as bad as you think.

Hope this helps

Very helpful post here. Couldn't help cringing the entire time reading though.

 

[fish farmer]

Here's a recent thread about protecting your tank during pest application.

Need help with an aquarium (semi) Emergency! Fumigation & Tenting

Hi everyone. I have got terrible news that my house needs to be tented and fumigated. There is no other way around it. I asked if it can be sprayed but the infestation is so bad they need to tent. I have a 32 g tank right now and decided to buy a 15 g tank to house my livestock while the...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[C. Eymann]

Spider Man

It’s just after 8 on a chilly autumn morning. Jamel Sandidge sits at the kitchen table of a two-story house in a cozy neighborhood north of the University of Kansas in Lawrence. Remnants of this morning’s breakfast clutter the counters. A child and a pet have scattered toys throughout the...

www.thepitchkc.com

 

[fish farmer]

Im kind of a spider geek, I have quite a few of them as pets.

First off are you 100% positive you have brown recluses? because they are misidentified sooooooo much!
Loxosceles is a neat genus of spiders, and they really have a undeserved bad reputation only a very small percentage of their bites progress to necrosis, plus their fangs are super short and usually have to be pressed up against your skin to envenomate

Many years ago I actually collected Loxosceles reclusa specimens for a study headed by Jamel Sandige (recluse expert) at Kansas University dept of entomology.

you are wasting your time with bug bombs trying to combat L. reclusa infestation. Loxosceles are an incredibly resilient genus, making them very hard to get rid of. Bug bombs can actually make the issue worse as Loxosceles will scavenge feed and usually not be effected by the insecticide that killed the other bugs in the house

Your best tools are going to be a silica gel dusts like Drione, Demon WP and diatomaceous earth powder, -sticky traps may help dent the population but will generally only catch males as females tend to stay in one spot hidden, usually under base boards, inside walls and attics, they can also "double and even triple clutch- she can store the males sperm to make multiple egg sacks
attics are actually the place that will have the highest density of population in a house with Loxosceles, esp if you have a wood shingle roof.

Get a "puffer" tool and some drione dust on diy pest control dot com , this is what Dr. Sandige found most effective in treating BR infestations when he owned his company in KC "brown recluse solutions"

much more effective than bug bombs, much safer for you, your family and your reef aquarium.

Again there is a ton of misinformation and fear mongering around Loxosceles, they aren't nearly as bad as you think.

Hope this helps

You're one of those creepy bug people . My dad was a Federal Cattle Inspector, so creepy crawlies is his expertise. His third wife is equally weird, collecting all sorts of critters. They live in Arizona where the collection was housed on their dining room table. My dad is known for setting out meat to collect maggots for science.

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

If you do bug bomb, will they consider you a terrorist and retaliate?

 

[Tamberav]

If I had even one pet spider… my mom would never come visit ever again lol

 

[C. Eymann]

You're one of those creepy bug people . My dad was a Federal Cattle Inspector, so creepy crawlies is his expertise. His third wife is equally weird, collecting all sorts of critters. They live in Arizona where the collection was housed on their dining room table. My dad is known for setting out meat to collect maggots for science.

Creepy bug people?

Meh, why am I "creepy"? I think spiders and insects are fascinating creatures? Unlike the majority of people, I dont dislike an animal for simply existing.
They can be beautiful too !

My juvie poecilotheria metallica for example

 

[Jekyl]

Creepy bug people?

Meh, why am I "creepy"? I think spiders and insects are fascinating creatures? Unlike the majority of people, I dont dislike an animal for simply existing.
They can be beautiful too !

My juvie poecilotheria metallica for example

I would throw a lamp at that thing and sell my house if I missed.

 

[Privateye]

Im kind of a spider geek, I have quite a few of them as pets.

First off are you 100% positive you have brown recluses? because they are misidentified sooooooo much!
Loxosceles is a neat genus of spiders, and they really have a undeserved bad reputation only a very small percentage of their bites progress to necrosis, plus their fangs are super short and usually have to be pressed up against your skin to envenomate

Many years ago I actually collected Loxosceles reclusa specimens for a study headed by Jamel Sandige (recluse expert) at Kansas University dept of entomology.

you are wasting your time with bug bombs trying to combat L. reclusa infestation. Loxosceles are an incredibly resilient genus, making them very hard to get rid of. Bug bombs can actually make the issue worse as Loxosceles will scavenge feed and usually not be effected by the insecticide that killed the other bugs in the house

Your best tools are going to be a silica gel dusts like Drione, Demon WP and diatomaceous earth powder, -sticky traps may help dent the population but will generally only catch males as females tend to stay in one spot hidden, usually under base boards, inside walls and attics, they can also "double and even triple clutch- she can store the males sperm to make multiple egg sacks
attics are actually the place that will have the highest density of population in a house with Loxosceles, esp if you have a wood shingle roof.

Get a "puffer" tool and some drione dust on diy pest control dot com , this is what Dr. Sandige found most effective in treating BR infestations when he owned his company in KC "brown recluse solutions"

much more effective than bug bombs, much safer for you, your family and your reef aquarium.

Again there is a ton of misinformation and fear mongering around Loxosceles, they aren't nearly as bad as you think.

Hope this helps

Excellent pics! So many people mistake wolf spiders for recluses.

 

[C. Eymann]

Excellent pics! So many people mistake wolf spiders for recluses.

Thanks ! indeed they do!

Here is a pic of a baby L. reclusa I took many years ago when I lived in KS.
Notice eye arrangement 3 pairs of two, six eyes

Here is a pic of an adult I found in a sink one day.

 

[flexiblewater]

Thanks ! indeed they do!

Here is a pic of a baby L. reclusa I took many years ago when I lived in KS.
Notice eye arrangement 3 pairs of two, six eyes

Here is a pic of an adult I found in a sink one day.

And don’t they always present with the fiddle on there back like the one pictured?

 

[C. Eymann]

And don’t they always present with the fiddle on there back like the one pictured?

Most do,but there are actually many different species in the Loxosceles genus, 5 of which occur in the US, and some of those species like L. deserta and L. arizonica have very light, hard to see markings, the fiddle maybe too light to make out, esp if its in premolt.



This is a great video that dispells the fear mongering that surrounds the genus.