Spider Control: a Cape Town guide

Know what you are dealing with

The big hairy one that sends people running in late summer is usually a rain spider (Palystes), which looks fearsome but is reluctant to bite and best left alone or moved outside. Sac spiders (Cheiracanthium) are the small pale ones you find in folded curtains and behind picture frames, and they are behind many of the night-time bites people blame on other things. Violin spiders (Loxosceles) are shy, brownish and like undisturbed cupboards, garages and storerooms, and their bite can cause a slow-healing wound, so they are worth taking seriously. Button spiders (Latrodectus), both the black and the brown species, turn up under garden furniture, in meter boxes and around pool pumps on Cape Town properties. Daddy longlegs, baboon spiders in rural Boland plots and a range of orb weavers make up most of the rest.

Myths, mistakes and lesser-known facts

Brown button spiders have spread widely across Cape Town gardens and leave distinctive spiky round egg sacs. If you see those under garden furniture or a jungle gym, get them removed before children are playing there again.

Landlords and tenants often argue over spiders. A few webs are normal housekeeping, but a persistent violin or button spider problem in outbuildings is a property issue and is better handled before the next tenant moves in.

Spraying the skirting boards in every room is usually a waste. Spiders spend the day in voids, roof spaces and behind fitted units, so that is where the treatment needs to go.

Warning signs

1. Fresh webs reappear in the same corners, window frames and eaves within days of being brushed down.
2. You keep finding small pale spiders in bedding, curtains or clothing that has been left folded.
3. Untidy, tangled webs show up under outdoor chairs, in the meter box or around the pool pump.
4. Egg sacs, often round and papery or spiky in the case of the brown button spider, are stuck to brickwork or furniture.
5. Someone in the house wakes with a small, red, sometimes blistered bite that was not there the night before.
6. Outside lights draw a cloud of moths and midges each night with webs built right around them.
7. Cast skins and dead insects collect along skirting boards and in the backs of cupboards.

The vast majority of local spiders pose no real threat to people, and they do a decent job of keeping insect numbers down. Violin and sac spider bites can cause tissue damage that needs medical attention, and button spider venom is neurotoxic, so a bite from one should always be seen by a doctor. In businesses such as guest houses, clinics and food premises, visible webs and spiders lead to complaints and can count against you on a hygiene inspection.

Can you do it yourself?

Honestly, a broom, a vacuum and better outdoor lighting solve a lot of spider complaints without any chemical at all. Supermarket aerosols kill the spider you spray but do little for the ones in the roof void or wall cavity. If you suspect violin or button spiders, or you are seeing bites, get it looked at properly rather than guessing.

Seasonal pattern

Spider activity climbs from late spring and peaks in the hot, dry months from January to March, which is exactly when rain spiders come indoors and people start to notice them. Button spiders are most visible in summer around gardens and pools. In the wet winter months many spiders retreat into roof spaces and garages, so a treatment then catches them where they shelter.

Prevention checklist

• Swap white outdoor bulbs for warm yellow or LED ones so fewer insects gather, which means fewer spiders setting up around your doors.
• Shake out shoes, gardening gloves and clothes that have been left on the floor or in the garage before you put them on.
• Keep stacked wood, bricks and old pots away from the house walls, because these are prime spots for button spiders.
• Brush down webs regularly and vacuum the corners and the backs of cupboards, which gets rid of egg sacs before they hatch.
• Fit fine mesh to vents and seal the gaps around pipes and under doors with sealant or brush strips.
• Pull beds slightly away from the wall and keep bedding off the floor to reduce night-time bites from sac spiders.

What affects the price

The cost depends mainly on the size of the property and how many outbuildings, garages and roof spaces need treatment. A house with a heavy insect problem feeding the spiders takes more work than one with a few webs in the corners. We give a free quote after a quick look or a WhatsApp photo, and contract clients get spiders covered as part of their routine visits.

Frequently asked questions

Areas we cover for spider control