Spiders By The Hundreds Invading Twin Cities Homes

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- We're just more than a month away from Halloween, but already a lot of people around the Twin Cities are seeing more spiders than they'd like.

Experts with Plunkett's Pest Control said Tuesday that a wet spring has led to more spider calls than usual. In fact, calls are up more than 15 percent, and they continue to flood in.

"At first it was just a couple of them, then the webs started getting to be a lot more and yeah, they've been coming alive," said Megan Babb.

You don't have to look very far to find the evidence at Babb's house. It's not just one itsy-bitsy spider, it's hundreds.

"There gets to be a lot of them and I start thinking about all the eyes and legs they have and yeah, that's too much. Too much for me," said Babb.

That's why Babb chose to call Plunkett's Pest Control. It's a cry for help that "Spider Man" Nick Puchtel is used to.

"This year has been particularly bad. That first generation of spiders gets a jump on reproducing and they thrive throughout the year," said Puchtel.

A wet spring is the reason for this. Moisture attracts spider food like mosquitoes and flies, and then the spiders arrive. They are mostly harmless in Minnesota but as in this case, they can spin out of control.

The three main things that attract spiders to your home are insects, moisture and clutter. Puchtel said eliminate all three and the problem will likely go away. Dehumidifiers also help as do yellow light bulbs. Flies don't like yellow light and fewer flies means fewer spiders.

Puchtel uses a web getter and a special insecticide to take care of the problem. He has seen it all this year: Mice, rodents and even bed bugs, but this has definitely been the year of the spider.

"Once you work around them a lot you get used to them. You don't get the phobia that a lot of people have," said Puchtel.

Puchtel said that insecticides aren't always effective against spiders because their bodies don't touch the ground. Plunkett's does offer pricing packages if you are having spider problems.

Plunkett's Pest Control can treat your home and cabin three times a year. Depending on the size of the home, prices range from $350 to $500.