Can't help you there, I just let the spiders be. Odd that your neighbor got bitten and had a strong reaction to the venom. Widows are well known for being reluctant biters (and most verified widow bites don't result in serious reactions). Hope they're doing better.

I only saw a black widow spider once when we moved here in 2009, and after that, I only saw brown recluse spiders, which eat black widows and replaced them. The brown recluse spiders may have a worse bite, but they are extremely shy and really try to avoid humans. I have lizards in my yard that eat spiders, especially the alligator lizards, even the baby ones. I like to keep spider webs over the tops of my bromeliads to keep the mosquitoes from breeding there.

I have lizards here as well but I guess I have more spiders than the lizard population can eat.

Anyway, I am very tired of cleaning spider webs. Hopefully, someone will chime in with a helpful tip.

Bleu, we're also in SoCal and had black widows under patio furniture at our previous home that's less than a mile from our current home. We also had them under the rims of planters. Totally creeped me out. All I did was check frequently with gloves and broom. We don't seem to have a problem in our current home. We do have an enormous lizard population here, so maybe enough to handle the spiders.

Brown recluse = violin spider = really creepy.

If you increase your lizard numbers by providing more habitat for them, rock and stick piles plus water, they will help naturally control the population.

To repeal spidrs from the furniture spray it with pyrethrin.

.", I only saw brown recluse spiders, which eat black widows and replaced them. "

Funny you should say that, Lars. Generally it is the other way around. Brown recluse often fall prey to widows and other tangle webbed spiders. Recluse do not have the capability to navigate a tangled web -- particularly the sticky threads. This often results in their becoming prey to the web owner. They themselves do not use a web to hunt but only build a shelter from webbing. Instead they hunt more actively, somewhat like wolf spiders.

There are no brown recluse spiders in California.

CA spiders (UC Riverside)

There is a brown widow in So CA as well.

It’s fall, spiders always make a lot of webs at this time. Turn chairs over and brush off webs with a counter brush.

I grew up in Sierra Madre, CA. I think what we had there when I was a kid were South American (Chilean) violin spiders. They had them in jars in the city library so people knew what they looked like. They also put up a statue in the local park of one of the spiders. I'm guessing that was in the early 70's. Not sure about now. This link mentions Sierra Madre under "Distribution of Brown Recluse Spider in North America."

https://www.heartspm.com/fascination-with/spiders/some-facts-about-the-brown-recluse-spider.php

I looked it up, and what I have is brown widows instead of brown recluses. However, they are quite reclusive. I keep an outdoor brush on a long handle that I use to remove spider webs, mostly from my pergola. Anyway, the brown widows have definitely replaced the black widows in my back yard.

If you are determined to get rid of spiders, you might have to hire an exterminator.

We expose ourselves to enough toxins as it is without the exterminator's help. :-)

The easiest way I know of to tackle the brown, and now less common black, widow population in SoCal is to take a wooden paint stir stick and flashlight, and go hunting at night. The light will cause a shadow to show the presence of even small widow spiders, and they will remain in place out in the open part of their web, rather than scurry into hiding the way they do during the day. Tap the spider with the tip of the paint stick, and they will drop to the ground. Usually they will curl up, but sometimes they will slowly walk off. Smash them with the flat of the paint stick. Take care of the egg sacs, if found, also. When the population was high, I'd make rounds at 1-2 week intervals. Now I only need to do so 3-4 times per year, and the finds are much reduced.

For longer repelling power under patio chairs and tables, you might need to travel the chemical route. I have no idea if it is still available in CA, but Hot Shot Spider and Scorpion Killer sprayed under the outdoor furniture was effective at repelling them for at least 3-5 weeks. It is still sold on Amazon, but I don't know the current CA regulations on that product, since I have not purchased it for some years.

I have had a different experience than Lars. I find the black widows to be much more reclusive and darker crevasse hiding, and the brown to be much less sensitive to light, and therefore much more likely to be encountered during the day. The brown widows even build webs and egg sacs in my plants, such as leucadendron branch tips and the leaves of cast iron plants. I have experienced some very scary hand encounters while pruning, that were never a concern with the black widows.

"...take a wooden paint stir stick and flashlight, and go hunting at night."

Yes, we would pretty much do that and it was effective. Totally creepy (big fear of spiders here!)... but effective.

One thing to keep in mind, is the risk posed by widows is far less than that of being harmed by many other animals -- including humans.

Another tip from a friend who was bitten - The brown widows like to hide under the edges of the big plastic trash bins most of us now have. Wear gloves when you take out the garbage.

gyr_falcon,

Hot Shot Spider and Scorpion Killer is available, even locally. I just placed an order. Thanks a lot for the very helpful advice. :)

Hi chloebud, how are you?

Yes, the lizzies here are all over too :). A momma lizard, tailless and very pregnant, disappeared a couple of months ago. I feared the roadrunner that visits my garden every now and then had feasted on her but, luckily, she's fine and her tail has grown back. Now we have the sweetest little lizard babies ever. They are SOOO cute! Irresistible lil things. Their daddy is quite large, loves to spend the afternoons under the plumbagos.

lgteacher,

Thank you so very much for that tip! From now on I will certainly wear gloves when taking out the rubbish.

Hi Bleu, I'm doing well...thanks! I just looked out our kitchen window and noticed two lizards doing their "push-ups" on a garden hose. I couldn't agree more with the cuteness of those tiny babies. :-)

Here in Texas we just let the scorpions control the spider population.

Another natural control is mud dauber wasps. Spiders are their diet. These are large and scary looking wasps, but they will be completely docile if you can control yourself and not swat or wave your arms around trying to keep them out of your face. I told that to a contractor last week and he immediately swatted at one of them, so I know it is hard to relax around wasps. They are almost all your friends. TIP: the ones that live in the ground are never your friend, but the ones that live in your eaves or garage are.

"TIP: the ones that live in the ground are never your friend, but the ones that live in your eaves or garage are."

A very erroneous statement, Dchall. Wolf spiders and funnel weavers, for example are groundlings and are harmless but valuable. For that matter, all spiders are valuable as they kill more insects than all the birds, bats, and amphibians combined. Furthermore, considering the danger posed by cows, horses, and dogs one would be far wiser to spend more time being worried about them ... not to mention the danger posed by other humans.

Hmmmm, my earlier post has vanished; I recommended sweeping, vacuuming, and using a blower....just like the rest of us do. I also suggested that frequent exposures to pesticides aren't healthy for humans of all ages and our pets.

Speaking of nasty reactions, I've been suffering terribly from a sudden and bizarre reaction to, of all things......mosquito bites! I'm on antibiotics to prevent a bacterial infection.

Paul MI, I understood dchall's comment about ground/eaves to be referring to wasps, not spiders.

@Gyr -- Hmm, I thought Dchall was still referring to spiders as there are not many wasps that are ground nesters and of those few that are, they are typically solitary wasps which have no interest in humans.

@Rhizo: Severe allergy to mosquito bites? And you living in AL!

We get ground nesting wasps, generally I find one to two nests every year. They look like yellow jackets and there are many individuals, they are not solitary. I doubt that they have much interest in humans per se, but they'll sting like crazy if you interfere with their nest, which is often in an inconvenient spot (for me!)

Paul, fortunately for most of us in AL, I live no where near the coast nor a swamp, lol. It has been a rainy summer, though, and my neighbor isn't good about emptying the kiddy pool. I typically have only a handful of bites over a long summer of outdoor activities.

lgteacher: took out the cans yesterday and felt a web inside the handhold and thought of your advice. I didn't get bitten... this time, but will remember for the future.

I did a through vacuuming of the garage yesterday and, hopefully, got most of the egg sacks of the various spiders that inhabit the ceiling and corners. I also got some of those poison sticks that are suppose to go inside a perforated box but I just throw one in each corner behind whatever is stored there. Best I can do.

Kate, I'm not familiar with those sticks. What's their name?

A few days ago I applied Hot Shot Spider and Scorpion Killer (thanks gyr_falcon for the recommendation) and it does seem to have worked. I still see the little spiders around but no new webs from the big ones. We'll see how long that lasts. I'll keep you posted.

I live in south OC CA and we now have brown widows infiltrating our area... more so than blacks. Widows are very resistant to poison and drowning and we have them under everything and in every dark crevice. I found that the best way to to actually smash the ones you see and clean webs up, then go through the outdoor furniture and plug all holes with a cut thin packing foam. It is weather resilient and any spider inside will also die off. We have been allowing our dozens of lizards in our yard to have at them but now there are just way too many and I have grandchildren I don’t want bit. A widow bite is extremely painful and can put people in the hospital. Good luck everyone.