Wagga sees increase to spiders after a wet spring

After 45 years in the pest control game, Kooringal Pest Control owner Glenn Lawson told The Daily Advertiser this has been one of his busiest weeks.

"Spiders are our main concern at the moment, mostly the common black and red backs," Mr Lawson said.

"There [are] also a lot of golden orb spiders building up, every third house I come across some of those."

Although it's not unusual to experience a busy season in spring, at the moment, Mr Lawson's team are attending four or five houses per day, and that frequency, he said, is a little unusual.

Wagga-based entomologist at Charles Sturt University, Dr Paul Weston says the increase is all due to this year's high rainfall.

"The only reason I can imagine that there's more spiders around is because there's more prey around," Dr Weston said.

"This year has been a good year for reproduction because it's been so wet, there's been a burst of activity.

"Personally, I've noticed a lot of trapdoor spiders around my property lately."

But the creepy crawly baby-boom may be about over, according to Dr Weston, especially given this weekend's forecast.

"Spring is usually the peak of it, [especially] when there's a lot of moisture and it's not been extremely hot," he said.

"After a few days of hot weather, we'll start to see it decline. There will be a decline in flying insects probably over the next week."

Even if the spiders do linger, Dr Weston said it might not be so bad to keep them around the house.

"The more you can tolerate the spiders, the better [because] they do capture a lot of insects," he said.

"Even huntsmen in the house, they won't bother people but they're good pest controllers."

But if an infestation looks imminent or the presence of critters is just too much to take, Mr Lawson has some advice to keep the unwanted guests at bay.

"Try to keep the exterior of your house clean, [with] not too much litter or water about," he said.

"Get it sprayed every 12 months or so otherwise they can build up. I did a farm the other day that hadn't been sprayed in 10-plus years, it was just about overrun with spiders."