How to tell you have them
Webs in the corners of eaves, garage ceilings and window frames are the obvious sign. The southern house spider builds flat, messy webs around crevices in block walls and window frames. The brown widow, now common across Florida, hides under patio furniture, inside mailboxes, under pool equipment lids and in stacked pots; its egg sacs are round and covered in small spikes, like a burr. Wolf spiders are large, hairy hunters that run across the lawn and sometimes into the garage at night.
What they damage
Spiders do not damage the house, but heavy webbing looks neglected, and widows nest where hands go: under rims, handles and lids. Widow bites are rarely serious but can be painful. If you are bitten and feel unwell, call your doctor or Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222. Brown recluse spiders are not established in Florida, and most spiders reported as recluses here turn out to be other species.
What treatment looks like
Spiders follow their food, so we treat the insects that attract them as well as the spiders. Every visit includes a sweep of webs and egg sacs along the eaves, a perimeter treatment at the foundation, windows and doors, and a treatment of the corners and crevices where widows hide. Swapping white porch bulbs for yellow ones and switching off lights you do not need helps a lot: fewer night insects at the door means fewer spiders waiting for them.
How long it takes
Webs come down on the day of service, and new webbing slows within a couple of weeks. Spiders keep arriving from the yard, so the quarterly sweep is what keeps the eaves clean.
Florida notes
Golden silk spiders and spiny orb weavers build big webs in Pinellas yards from late summer into fall. They are harmless, and we leave garden webs alone unless they block a doorway. Spiders are covered on every plan, starting with Quarterly.