• Responding to email notices you receive.
    **************************************************
    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

  • IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!! About the Google Adsense ads being displayed

    =====================
    Posted 08/15/2025
    =====================


    Yeah, I know. They are a pain in the butt. But they pay the bills to keep my server running. Just a fact of life, I am afraid.

    Want to get rid of them? Simple. Just become a Contributor level member or above and they will be gone. -> Please click HERE."

    Is that too much for me to ask of you to keep this site running? Well, sorry about that. I too wish I could get everything for free. But alas.....

    =====================
    Addendum: 01/10/2026
    =====================


    Google Adsense ad revenue for December, 2025 was just $30 over the cost of the lease for the server running this site. So, in effect, the money providing the incentive for me to continue running this site is coming SOLELY from the paid memberships and sponsorships here. Which honestly ain't much....

Help with pest spider elimination...

LifelessForm

LifelessForm

New member
Joined
Aug 13, 2009
Messages
51
Reaction score
1
Points
0
Location
Mechanicsburg, PA USA
Over the past few months, I've had an ever increasing problem with spiders infesting my reptile room. The spiders that come in the cricket boxes, Thanatus vulgaris, I believe. I have killed every one I see, when I see it, vacuumed webs up and generally tried to control it. It has however, gotten out of hand. I cannot seem to get rid of them and they apparently breed and reproduce like rabbits jacked up on red bull. They are beginning to form webs inside some of my tropical vivs, and every effort I try to get rid of them has failed.

Is there a safe pesticide or something that I can spray around my house to get rid of them permanently? I just placed those insect glue traps around to help with the cricket and fruit fly escapees, but I truly believe that I am overrun at this moment and I don't want it to adversely affect my geckos and PDF's.

From everything that I've read, they are mostly harmless to the herps, eat the escapees and aren't generally dangerous in any way. I just don't like walking through webs and I've started finding them in other areas of my home. I just want them gone or back under control.

Anyone have any experience with this or offer any suggestions?
 
Well there is something called diatomaceous earth that you can sprinkle along the baseboards. When an insect crawls over it their body gets cut open and kills them. Its kinda like tiny shards of glass. Another thing is chinese chalk that can be drawn along the baseboard and entrace to the room. It has worked wonders on killing bugs coming into our house via the front door. Then the last thing i have for you is call permethrin... We use permethrin on our snake mites. We mix 3/4 ounce to 1 gallon of water of permethrin 10 that we bought at tractor supply company the only thing about permethrin is i belive you can not use it around spiders. I would recommend only using it around snakes. If you use it for snakes take their water bowl out and spray the whole enclosure including the snake its safe to use directly on the snake. Permethrin is the only thing that worked to get rid of our mite infestation. Also leave their water bowl out over night.
 
Thanks. A little clarity, I don't want to keep the spiders, I want to eliminate them. They came in a cricket shipment and I can't seem to get them completely gone. I do not keep snakes either, is the Permethrin safe for geckos and dendros? What about dogs, cats and kids?
 
All 3 things i listed are to kill the spiders. I do not know if permethrin is safe for geckos since i dont own any. For people its safe just dont.go spraying it on people. As far as dogs go i believe so because a friend of mine owns a dog and he sprayed it in his house just fine. Cats no clue and dendros i dont even know what those are lol. I have only used it around snakes that why i only recommended using it around snakes maybe someone else on here has experience with it around some.of the things you have. I hope this helps...
 
Never tried that stuff nick. But it deff worth trying. What have you used it on? Bugs in general? We been looking for something for knats also. Know anything for them lil buggers?
 
I spray everything with it (mostly ants though) and haven't had a problem other than the strong smell. It has natural ingredients like rosemary oil and some other natural oils, but the smell is pretty potent and not like pesticides. It would actually be an enjoyable smell at a lower concentration.
 
I have an ongoing spider issue, as do most people who use huge numbers of feeder insects ( i.e. spider prey). I can tell you from experience to avoid sticky pest strips. I put them up once for the spiders and, overnight, killed every spider, cricket, fruit fly, and roach in a 10 foot radius. At least $200 in feeders. I've resigned myself to trying to keep up with the vacuum hose.

Noelle
 
I actually have a bottle of that stuff. used it on aphids, cabbage caterpillars and spider mites on my outdoor plants and veggies. Never occurred to me to use it on the spiders.

Mark, there is a pretty substantial list of insects that it kills on the inside of the label, pretty much everything.
 
Do you happen to have hedge apple trees anywhere close by? Take some hedge apples (aka Osage-Orange), cut it up into slices and put them in an old sour cream bowl (or similar). Make sure and use gloves, as you don't want that stuff on your skin. I don't think Hedge apples are a quick fix or even a forsure fix as they don't repell all insects, but it's worth a shot considering your situation, and there free. I use 3-4 of them in my snake room.
 
Back
Top