Journal of Economic Entomology (2014) 107, 1813-1817

Richard S. Vetter, Mark S. Hoddle, Dong-Hwan Choe and Ellen Thoms (2014)
Exposure of brown recluse and brown widow spiders (Araneae: Sicariidae, Theridiidae) to a commercial sulfuryl fluoride fumigation
Journal of Economic Entomology 107 (5), 1813-1817
Abstract: The body of pesticide research on spiders is sparse with most studies using topical or residual applications to assess efficacy. Data on the effects of fumigation on spider survivorship are scarce in the scientific literature. In this study, we exposed adult male and female brown recluse spiders, Loxosceles reclusa Gertsch and Mulaik, and female brown widow spiders, Latrodectus geometricus C. L. Koch, to a commercial fumigation event using sulfuryl fluoride directed at termite control. General consensus from the pest control industry is that fumigation is not always effective for control of spiders for a variety of reasons, including insufficient fumigant dosage, particularly, for contents of egg sacs that require a higher fumigant dosage for control. We demonstrated that a sulfuryl fluoride fumigation with an accumulated dosage of 162 oz-h per 1,000 ft³ at 21°C over 25 h (~1.7× the drywood termite dosage) directed at termites was sufficient to kill adult brown recluse and brown widow spiders. The effectiveness of commercial fumigation practices to control spiders, and particularly their egg sacs, warrants further study.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Full text of article
Database assignments for author(s): Mark S. Hoddle

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
control - general

---

Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Loxosceles reclusa		U.S.A. (mid S)
	Latrodectus geometricus		U.S.A. (SW)