The Case For Making One's Bed

TUESDAY. Though I've no propensity for arachnophobia, the thought of living with venomous spiders is, at the very least, unsettling. I found what I believed to be another brown recluse in the house this morning, this time on the wall just above my paper shredder. That makes three. Close examination of the beast with a magnifying glass confirmed my suspicion. The non-toxic pest control method of choice in this house is a fly swatter. It is most effective. The Buddha in me protests, but past experience make it clear that politely asking unwanted insects to leave rarely works.

The internet offers a wealth of information on the brown recluse spider (Loxosceles reclusa), much of it fear-provoking and sensational. Even the more scholarly websites suggest one stay calm if bitten by a brown recluse, don't panic, and proceed immediately to the nearest hospital. Enough said.

What puzzles me is that the range of these critters doesn't include most of New Mexico, yet more and more reports of brown recluses in Albuquerque are surfacing. The maps don't include Florida either, yet rumor tells of these troubling insects hiding in homes in the Sunshine State. We read about wildlife turning up in metropolitan areas--bear, moose, coyote, alligator--as urban development continues to relentlessly destroy wildlife habitats. Green space is disappearing. We hear about climate changes altering migratory patterns of birds and butterflies. And of course, the weather itself is unusually dramatic these days. Earth is no longer the warm, fuzzy planet we knew 50 years ago. It's changing into something we've never seen in our lifetimes. But, I digress.

Though it doesn't explain the expanding range of the brown recluse, many believe insects were, and continue to be, driven into New Mexico homes by heavy rains. The summer monsoons are over, but scattered showers persist. Exterminators are busy. The drought, it appears, is officially over in much of New Mexico.


But back to bugs. Brown recluse spiders like to hide in folded linens, shoes, clothing, bedding, and cardboard boxes (their favorite!). I shudder when I survey the Arachnid Hilton in our back room--dozens of moving boxes neatly stacked in the corner, awaiting our next migration. When you move as often as we do, clean, sturdy moving boxes are worth their weight in gold. But, once more, I digress. The thought of sleeping with spiders gives me no better reason for making my bed immediately on arising to prevent the unwanted invaders from setting up house between my 600 count all-cotton sheets.

Several days ago I found a jumping spider on Murphy. The pup was quietly snoozing and awoke with a start, snapping his neck around to see what was crawling up his rump. Though not a particularly large spider, its bright red body was plainly visible from across the room, slowly climbing up Murphy's sizeable, muscular back. Fortunately, jumping spiders are harmless. I wondered how many other bugs would accept the challenge to scale Mount Murphy.

The recommendations for living with brown recluse spiders sounds like a full-time job to me.

1. Shake out clothing and shoes before getting dressed.
2. Inspect bedding and towels before use.
3. Wear gloves when handling firewood, lumber, and rocks (be sure to inspect the gloves for spiders before putting them on).
4. Remove bedskirts and storage boxes from underneath beds. Move the bed away from the wall.
5. Exercise care when handling cardboard boxes (recluse spiders often are found in the space under folded cardboard flaps).
6. Install tight-fitting screens on windows and doors; also install door sweeps.
7. Seal or caulk cracks and crevices where spiders can enter the house.
8. Install yellow or sodium vapor light bulbs outdoors since these attract fewer insects for spiders to feed upon.
9. Tape the edges of cardboard boxes to prevent spider entry.
10. Use plastic bags (sealed) to store loose items in the garage, basement, and attic.
11. Remove trash, old boxes, old clothing, wood piles, rock piles, and other unwanted items.
12. Eliminate clutter in closets, basements, attics, garages, and outbuildings.
13. Do not stack wood against the house.
14. Clean up dead insects that the brown recluse spider can feed on.
15. Use sticky traps or glueboards to capture spiders.
16. Dust and vacuum thoroughly to remove spiders, webs, and egg sacs (dispose of the vacuum bag in a container outdoors).
17. Use a rolled up newspaper or fly swatter to kill individual spiders.

My remedy seems much easier: Call Triple A Organic Pest Control, and then take a nap.