Always remember, we do have poisonous spiders in Florida, and if you have any questions about what type of spider you are dealing with, be sure to use extreme caution. (The most common dangerous spiders found on Pool Cages are black and brown widows, which are generally easily identifiable by the hourglass figure on their abdomen.)

For those pesky wolf spiders that tend to find their way into the dardest places, the simplest solution is to simply shoo them away. A broom or shoe works great. I prefer not to squish them, simply because I’m not afraid of them, and would rather have them outside eating mosquitoes than as a splat on my sidewalk. Also, as my wife recently found out, squishing then can sometimes bring much unwanted side effects. She recently attempted this, only to disperse about 100 much smaller spiders (I guess the babies hang out on the mother for a period of time).

So not that we all have a good case of the hebee-jebees, lets talk about web building spiders.

The first approach would be to prevent them from entering the pool cage in the first place. This can be accomplished in several different ways.

First and foremost is having any damaged screen panels repaired by a screen repair company (such as Screenologist Inc.). This will insure that any holes and access points around the entire enclosure are minimized.

After this, the next most common gap in your screen rooms defenses are below the screen doors. The screen door can be solved by ensuring that the bug sweep (or weather stripping) is in tact. Often when this simple device gets old, the rubber strip that is supposed to make a seal with the concrete deck, gets brittle and cracks or falls off completely. This leaves you with a large gap and is practically inviting all sorts of critters into your poolside sanctuary. Replacing this is a simple as removing three or four screws, and re-securing the new sweep in place. Now, a bug sweep can only offer so much security as there will always be some gaps due to design and uneven deck material. To get around this, the next best thing is the installation of a threshold. This is an extruded aluminum threshold that is installed inside the screen door and screwed down to the deck. It provides a flush surface for the screen door to seal to.

Entry point number three would be where the aluminum structure attaches to the house. It is common practice for this to be caulked with a silicone or butyl based sealant. Over time this seal can become brittle and crack, or contract, both of which can create gaps. This can be solved by re-sealing these points with a fresh layer of caulking.

Inevitably, even if you have all of these things in proper order, you will end up with beautify spun spider web inside your enclosure. While this may be fun to look at, it is not fun to walk through when you least expect it. So, how do you deal with your little eight legged friends? Again, the broom may be your simplest option. But you can also have the enclosure pressure washed, thereby removing all of the hard to reach webs, and eradicating the spiders for the time being. You can also find an insecticide to spray the bugs with. Spiders are tricky because bait and residue insecticides generally don’t work. You are usually left having to spray them directly. If you have trouble finding such spray at the hardware store, see if there is a local “do it yourself” pest control shop in town. They will be able to point you in the right direction on your quest to vanquish your many eyed foes.

Screenologist Inc. offers many of the services described above, and you can learn more about them at http:/www.screenologist.com. Please consider using our services for these and all of your screen repair needs.