[Lara Croft]

OK, we need to wage war on the white tail spiders that seem intent on invading our house. We've squished almost one each day for the past week... enough!!!

I've heard that you can spray something around the outside of the doors & windows to deter the little blighters... or fumigate inside...

We have 7 house cats, and a little boy, so whatever we do needs to be safe for animals & children. Before I start ringing the pest control people, can anyone advise successful - and safe - methods of getting rid of them?

Thanks,
J

[Smiler]

Jane

There's a big range of products in Mitre 10 or Bunnings. A couple of pyrethrum sprays that spring to mind are Ripcord and another in a yellow container. Some come with sprayers, but if you are concerned about spraying and want a bit more control, you could tip it onto a cloth and wipe it round the window frames etc instead.

Alternatively for a couple of hundred dollars or less, you could get Spiderban or a similar Welly company in. You'll need to go out for the day or at least four hours and cover pillows, toothbrushes and pet bowls, that kind of thing. Although the companies reassured me it would be safe for pets and humans, we ummed and ahhed over this as I react to some of the chemicals used and we never did our house in the end. Our neighbours have sprayed their houses with no ill effects though.....using Ripcord.

I know there was a thread on this quite a while ago too. Moorf (I think) uses Robocans, the automatic ones that spray a mist but she'll confirm that.

http://www.mitre10.co.nz/current_catalogues/ripcord_plus_138873.cfm?dept=0&subdept=0&sid=3&rid=91

HTH

D

[Tia Maria]

We've had the house sprayed and we use Robocans. Our children have been fine, as have our fish. :nice1

We did choose to stay out of the house for the afternoon and were advised to cover the fish tank with a tea towel.

Cheers

Tia

[CJ22]

This thread is important.

So, worth doing before moving into a property (e.g. rental)?

[Smiler]

This thread is important.

So, worth doing before moving into a property (e.g. rental)?

IMHO worth doing at any time rental or not, particularly if you've got white tails as guests :(

But if you can get it done prior to moving in, thats a good idea. :nice1

[Cardy]

we got in a exterminator who did the whole house in a few hours cost less than $200 and it works for about 6 months really good . No smell of chemicals afterwards but lots of dead bugs you wont believe it

[Kim39]

I'd go with what Cardy is saying as you could go on, and on buying stuff and it not doing the job, whereas with a pro he will use the correct chemical needed, along with a guarantee i'm sure. At least you'd have a come back, unlike with sprays.

I know Zardell did this and she swore by it


Kim

[KerryS]

I personally wouldn't bother with the diy stuff. The stuff exterminators use is far more effective and long lasting, and they can kill off multiple bugs with one spraying.
I had my house sprayed for ants, flies and spiders at the start of spring and haven't seen any since. I use Boracure for this. I think they're a nationwide company.

[Leccy-Lee]

A white-tail a day??!! i'd be on a plane by now! You poor souls....

[Nick88]

The commercial guys use Ripcord, too. It is one of the best products, a slightly better one is called Icon, and is available as a granule that you can dissolve and use yourself, a sachet makes about 10 litres. You might have to go to agricultural suppliers for this stuff, though Mitre10 and the like will probably stock it.

The only problem with Ripcord is that it is an emulsifyable concentrate, meaning that it contains a powerful solvent to get the pyrethroid to disperse in the water (it doesn't dissolve). This can cause problems with things like french polished surfaces, where it will attack the wax. In these cases another form, a suspension concentrate, is used called Cislin. It does the same job as it is also a pyrethroid, it is just about 4x the price.

I personally use Ripcord on my house, and have done so for years. I am a commercial horticulturalist so I have access to all of the chemicals and safety equipment.

[Lara Croft]

Thanks everyone.
We looked at some of the stuff you can buy off the shelf, and then looked up the active ingredients on t'interweb... nasty chemicals!

Looks like we're calling in the experts. I'm particularly concerned about my moggies, whatever we use mustn't be harmful to them - they spend more time on the floor than we do!

Jane

[IanW99]

Thanks everyone.
We looked at some of the stuff you can buy off the shelf, and then looked up the active ingredients on t'interweb... nasty chemicals!

Looks like we're calling in the experts. I'm particularly concerned about my moggies, whatever we use mustn't be harmful to them - they spend more time on the floor than we do!

Jane

Did you watch Target on TV today?

They did a hidden camera test on pest control companies and if you watched it you may have second thoughts about hiring someone else to spray poisons around your house?

For example, they were quite happy spraying food inside the larder, clean towels in the bathroom and childrens toys left on the floor with their insecticides :( .

Ian

[Nick88]

The active ingredient in the house sprays are synthetic pyrethroids (SP), man made versions of pyrethrum, usually to make them more UV stable so that they last longer than a day or two. They are not harmful to mammals. The bit that is harmful is the hydrocarbon solvents used to emulsify the SP into the water, typically this will be chemicals like benzene or more usually ethylene glycol. Both of these chemicals will evaporate and disperse on a warm breezy day, hence the need to air the house after the spraying.

I don't think it necessary to look into stats for hospitalisations due to SP exposure as opposed to White-tails. I doubt there would be any prizes for guessing which was bigger.

[Moorf]

We have had two Robocans permanently in operation in the house. They've been going for nearly 2.5 yrs with no side affects to us or our dogs.

We had the house sprayed when we moved in but not since. Despite being rural we see very very few whitetails, maybe one every 6 mths or so.

The chickens do their fair share too :nice1

[andy141]

The link below should allay most people's fear of the whte-tail. In fact, if you have white-tails, the chances are you have no other spiders as the white-tails have eaten them!

http://www.tepapa.govt.nz/TePapa/English/CollectionsAndResearch/Collections/InsectsSpidersAndSimilar/Spiders/Spiders_Web/What/White-tailed.htm