Arachnophobia. It's the fear of spiders and it's one of the most common phobias in the U.S. Because of drought conditions, people may have more than usual to fear this year.
Spiders may be more afraid of you then you are of them, but new homeowner David Stuck says he would just rather not have to worry them. "You're not going to have a house without having a spider here and there it's a fact of life, but if we can get rid of the most of them, the bulk of them we're happy," said Stuck.
Stuck and his wife used to live a couple blocks away from their new home on Texas Street, and he says they've always had spider issues. "We get a lot of wolf spiders; I've killed my share," said Stuck.
But this year what's going on outside your home could be affecting the number of bugs inside in more than one way. "If they have a less kept yard you're going to have more spiders," said Black Hills Pest Control Co-owner Brian Beug.
Every home is going to have some creepy crawlies, but Beug says it's when you have them outdoors in your bushes that you know you might need an exterminator. And the hot dry weather we've had this summer has increased the number of spiders outside and in.
"For their species to survive a drought they do produce more and a lot of animals do that. We've had the problem with rodents and things like that also," said Beug.
"It seems like they're really heavy in the spring and in the fall but this summer yeah there have been quite a few in the middle of the summer; little more than last year," said Stuck.
Brown widows have recently moved into the Black Hills from the southern states and Beug says drought conditions are the reason behind that, too. "The biggest thing is your black widows or your brown widows they do pack a punch when they bite you. You need to go to the hospital when they do," said Beug.
But even the most harmless of spiders can have people begging for Beug to come spray their home.
