Yellow Sac Spider
Appearance:
Yellow sac spiders measure 1/4 to 5/16 inch long (adult body) and with legs extended, can reach across a quarter-sized coin. They are light yellow to pale green with brown chelicerae and pedipalp tips. The eyes are dark brown to black, equal-sized, and are arranged in two rows of 4. Young are produced in June and July.
Habitat:
These spiders are sometimes called yellow house spiders. Yellow sac spiders are active hunters and nocturnal. They readily enter structures and are active indoors all year round. Persons may be bitten in their sleep if their unconscious movements threaten harm to a spider that is wandering across bedding, sleepwear or the skin.
Spiders in their silk retreats in recessed areas among folds of draperies, appliance and faucet handles, etc. may deliver defensive bites when persons grasp these sites with their hands. In most cases, yellow sac spider bites result in brief, local pain (e.g., pin-prick) and short-term soreness or sensitivity to touch. A mosquito bite-like welt may result.
Diet:
Like all spiders, cellar spiders are predators that will kill and eat almost any insect.
Solutions:
What you can do: The likelihood of introducing spiders within structures and encountering them in and around buildings can be reduced by:
- Eliminating tall and dense vegetation close to the foundation which serve as harborage for spiders and their prey (e.g., vines, groundcover, juniper, uncut grass and weeds),
- Excluding gaps under doors (by replacing or adding door sweeps), lower courses of siding, around utility penetrations and weep holes in brick veneer,
- Capturing wandering spiders on ground level, in basements and in attached garages by placing sticky traps indoors along walls behind furniture, washer, dryer, sump pump, water heater, furnace, commode, and storage (out of reach of children and pets), and
- Removal using a shop vacuum cleaner or household vacuum fitted with a hose attachment; this is useful for removing spider webs as well.
Professional Solution:
A Quik-Kill service technician will apply an exterior barrier treatment around the foundation perimeter, beneath lower siding, under eaves and porticos, along exterior molding/trim, thresholds, patio, deck and chimney attachments, as well as inside and around sheds and other outbuildings.
A regular pest management service program may be required in cases where large populations of spiders are present and where landscaping conditions and locality are conducive to their propagation. Indoors, basement sillplates and perimeters, as well as the corners and edges of spider-infested rooms, can be treated.
Click here to request additional information or to schedule your free inspection to determine treatment recommendations.
Locations
Proudly serving and providing pest elimination (not pest control !) to Central Illinois and North Central Illinois area since 1968, including the counties of LaSalle (Cedar Point, Dana, Earlville, Grand Ridge, Kangley, La Salle, Leland, Leonore, Lostant, Marseilles, Mendota, Naplate, North Utica, Oglesby, Ottawa, Peru, Ransom, Rutland, Sheridan, Streator, Tonica, Troy Grove), Livingston (Campus, Chatsworth, Cornell, Cullom, Dwight, Emington, Fairbury, Flanagan, Forrest, Long Point, Odell, Pontiac, Reading, Saunemin, Strawn), McLean(Anchor, Arrowsmith, Bellflower, Bloomington, Carlock, Chenoa, Colfax, Cooksville, Danvers, Downs, Ellsworth, Gridley, Heyworth, Hudson, Le Roy, Lexington, McLean, Normal, Saybrook, Stanford, Towanda), Bureau (Arlington, Buda, Bureau Junction, Cherry, Dalzell, De Pue, Dover, Hollowayville, Kasbeer, La Moille, Ladd, Malden, Manlius, Mineral, Neponset, New Bedford, Ohio, Princeton, Seatonville, Sheffield, Spring Valley, Tiskilwa, Van Orin, Walnut, Wyanet, Zearing), DuPage (Addison, Bensenville, Bloomingdale, Bolingbrook, Carol Stream, Clarendon Hills, Darien, Downers Grove, Elmhurst, Glendale Heights, Glen Ellyn, Itasca, Lisle, Lombard, Medinah, Naperville, Oakbrook, Roselle, Villa Park, Warrenville, Westmont, West Chicago, Wheaton, Willowbrook, Winfield, Woodbridge, Wood Dale, York Center), Grundy (Aux Sable, Braceville, Carbon Hill, Coal City, Diamond, Dwight, East Brooklyn, Gardner, Godley, Kinsman, Mazon, Minooka, Morris, Nettle Creek, Saratoga, Seneca, South Wilmington, Verona, Wauponsee), Kane (Burlington, Carpentersville, Elburn, Elgin, Geneva, Gilberts, Hampshire, Lily Lake, North Aurora, Pingree Grove, Sleepy Hollow, St. Charles, South Elgin, Sugar Grove, Virgil, West Dundee), Kankakee (Aroma Park, Bonfield, Bourbonnais, Bradley, Buckingham, Essex, Grant Park, Herscher, Hopkins Park, Irwin, Kankakee, Manteno, Momence, Reddick, St. Anne, Sun River Terrace, Union Hill), Kendall (Boulder Hill, Bristol, Lisbon, Millbrook, Millington, Newark, Oswego, Plano, Yorkville), Lee (Amboy, Ashton, Compton, Dixon, Franklin Grove, Harmon, Maytown, Nelson, Paw Paw, Steward, Sublette, West Brooklyn), Putnam (Granville, Hennepin, Magnolia, Mark, McNabb, Standard), Will (Beecher, Bolingbrook, Braidwood, Crest Hill, Frankfort, Joliet, Lakewood Shores, Lockport, Manhattan, Mokena, Monee, New Lenox, Romeoville, Shorewood, Steger, University Park), Woodford (Bay View Garden, Benson, Cazenovia, Congerville, Cruger, Goodfield, El Paso, Eureka, Germantown Hills, Kappa, Metamora, Minonk, Panola, Roanoke, Secor, Spring Bay, Washburn)
