Three Anchor Bay Spider Control

Three Anchor Bay is a tiny pocket of the Atlantic Seaboard between Green Point and Sea Point, with the rocky bay and promenade at its feet. It is mostly apartments, so pest problems tend to be shared ones.

The local picture in Three Anchor Bay

German cockroaches breed in the kitchens of older flats and travel through shared ducts. Fishmoths and silverfish like the damp storerooms and basements.

Older apartment blocks from the mid-twentieth century stand next to modern glass buildings and a handful of converted homes. Shared ducts, garbage chutes and basement parking make it easy for cockroaches and rats to move between floors. Ground-floor units and those near the refuse rooms usually see trouble first.

The ocean is right there, so salt air and sea spray corrode vent covers and mesh quickly. Signal Hill rises behind the suburb, and its slopes give rodents a natural starting point. Winter cold fronts come straight off the Atlantic, pushing pests into the warmth of buildings.

What gives them away

1. You keep finding small pale spiders in bedding, curtains or clothing that has been left folded.
2. Egg sacs, often round and papery or spiky in the case of the brown button spider, are stuck to brickwork or furniture.
3. Someone in the house wakes with a small, red, sometimes blistered bite that was not there the night before.
4. Outside lights draw a cloud of moths and midges each night with webs built right around them.

From the technician

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.

What happens when we come out

We start by identifying the species, because a rain spider on the wall and a nest of button spiders by the jungle gym call for very different responses. Webs and egg sacs are removed by hand or vacuum first, which takes out a surprising amount of the next generation. We then apply a residual spray or a fine insecticide dust into the places spiders actually live: roof voids, behind fitted units, wall cavities, garages, eaves and window reveals, keeping it away from where children and pets play. Where insects are drawing the spiders in, we treat or advise on that food source too, because spiders follow their prey. Finally we point out gaps around doors, vents and pipes that need sealing.

Want the full step-by-step? See how our spider control service works.

Stopping a repeat visit

• Pull beds slightly away from the wall and keep bedding off the floor to reduce night-time bites from sac spiders.
• 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.
• Swap white outdoor bulbs for warm yellow or LED ones so fewer insects gather, which means fewer spiders setting up around your doors.

How much will it cost?

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.

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.

Questions we get asked in Three Anchor Bay

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