Brown recluse calls on the rise in Wichita as summer begins, pest control company says

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — The summer months are upon us, and with that comes bugs finding their way into homes.

An added level of moisture in the past month has contributed to an increase in insects. One local pest control company says they have seen a huge demand for treatments, sometimes receiving over 100 calls in one day.

“A lot of people are concerned about brown recluses,” Gerry Marsh, president of Patton Termite and Pest Control, said. “And those are certainly becoming active as it heats up, but you’re also getting a lot of just house spiders, wolf spiders, that are moving around right now, that we’re getting a lot of calls about.”

The active season for these spiders is typically from March to October.

A common place for brown recluses to hide in your home is piles of clothes on the floor. Exterior hiding places can be piles of firewood or cracks on the side of your home.

If you want to take matters into your own hands, use sticky traps or use a bulb duster and fill it with clove or cinnamon to spray in the crevices around your home.

If you think you’ve been bitten by a brown recluse, watch out for a red bump and decomposing skin. Treatments exist for brown recluse bites, so get the bite checked out by a doctor.