Baking Soda for Spider Bites, and Other Natural, at-home Treatments
Spiders don’t typically go around biting people. Almost always, they end up biting people as a form of self-defense and that usually happens when you go stumbling about and not see that you’re about to come in contact with one very frightened spider. Sometimes, you’ll feel a stinging pain and not see anything right away – for some people, visible symptoms may take days to manifest, or even weeks.
Most spiders you’ll find lurking around in your home, garage, or woodshed are pretty much harmless (though their bites can still sting!). However, if you suspect you’ve been bitten by one of the deadlier types of spider such as the black widow spider or the brown recluse, their venom can do nasty, even deadly things to our bodies so immediate medical attention is needed.
Some symptoms of these spider bites include severe swelling, intense pain, muscle spasms, fever, and chills. You may also get abdominal pain, vomiting, and experience difficulty breathing and have lightheadedness. Note that the very young and the elderly are especially vulnerable to feeling the effects of a spider’s venom. If you feel any of these, get yourself to a hospital or clinic right away.
The effects of a general spider bite from spiders that are less deadly may be inflammation, redness, mild pain, and itching, and for these you may want to try a natural, at-home treatment.
Ice
The first step in treating the general spider bite is by washing the bite area with soap and warm water. Then apply ice or a cold compress, for 10 minutes, taking small breaks as necessary, to reduce swelling. Repeat several times during the day, especially in the first 24 hours. Do not apply the ice directly unto your skin.
Baking Soda
This common household item has a lot of uses, and that includes spider bite treatment. Mix baking soda and water until it becomes a paste (three parts baking soda, one part water), and apply it to the spider bite area with cotton for about 5 minutes before washing it off with lukewarm water. If the discomfort remains, repeat the process after an hour.
Salt
Salt has anti-inflammatory and antiseptic qualities, which make it helpful for treating spider bites at home. Wash the bite area and pour a little table salt on a damp washcloth, and wrap the washcloth around the bite area for at least 2 hours. This is equally effective using Kosher salt or sea salt. Reapply as needed.
Potatoes
Surprisingly, potatoes aren’t only very tasty and a great addition to many dishes, but they also have anti-irritating and soothing properties.
Peel a potato, wash it, and grate it. Place the wet potato shreds on a cloth and tie it, and rub it on the affected area. Leave it for half an hour before washing the area with warm water. Reapply with a fresh batch and repeat the process until the symptoms are gone.
Lemon
Lemon juice helps lessen itching and swelling – simply extract the juice from the lemon and apply it to the bite area using cotton balls. Once dry, rinse the area with water.
Aspirin
It neutralizes the venom and has powerful anti-inflammatory qualities that control swelling and inflammation. Make a paste with 1 to 2 aspirin tablets by soaking it in water. Once paste-like texture is achieved, simply apply it to the bite area and leave it for about 2 hours. Then rinse the area with water, and repeat until symptoms are gone.
If the bite area gets worse or spreads, if the person bitten experiences difficulty breathing, severe pain, or you’re unsure if the spider was venomous or not, seek medical attention right away. It’s also possible to experience an allergic reaction to a spider bite, and symptoms of this include swelling of the lips, throat, tongue or eye area – seek medical attention right away.
Please note that the information in this article is for informative purposes only and should not be taken as medical advice. If you suspect that you have spiders on your property, get in touch with a pest control company right away to keep you and yours safe.
Rodents of Arizona: the Deer Mouse and the House Mouse
Rats and mice are common pests found in residential homes and business properties all over the world. You can distinguish between rats and mice by how they look: rats are large, typically gray or brown rodents with long tails and small ears while mice are small and typically light brown rodents with dark-colored tails and large ears.
To have effective pest control against rodents, you would be better served by not only knowing what they look like, but also knowing about their behavior – for example, setting rat traps on your kitchen floor may not be as effective against roof rats (who like to set up dwellings in elevated places such as attics) as it would be as effective against the common house mouse.
Typically, rats are more cautious in that they’re very careful when something new is found in their environment, such as a bait trap. They will want to avoid this trap for some time before they get used to it, while mice are more curious and will want to investigate right away when something new is introduced to their environment.
Deer Mouse
The deer mouse is small, typically only 3 to 4 inches in size not including the tail (their tails can be about as long as their bodies, dark-colored on top and lighter on the underside). They have large, beady eyes and large fur-covered ears. They can vary in color from white to black, but they all have a distinguishable white underbelly and white feet. They’re nocturnal creatures and prefer nests made of plant material, and as such are attracted to homes with plenty of vegetation, but they can also set up their base in piles of rocks or firewood.
Deer mice are one of the main carriers of the hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. You can get this from direct contact with the rodent, their urine, or their droppings. This disease may also spread by breathing in contaminated dust with rodent urine or droppings. They’re also carriers of Lyme disease, rat-bite fever, and salmonellosis.
House Mouse
They typically have small heads, feet, pointed snouts, and large ears with some hair. They have light brown bodies with some gray shading, an off-white underbelly, and a dark tail. House mice depend on people for food and shelter, and as such are quite common in Arizona homes. They only eat about one-tenth of an ounce of food a day, but can produce as many as 50 droppings per day – which means they are a major health hazard for the average Arizona home.
They can transmit salmonella and leptospirosis via their droppings. They’re carriers of lymphocytic choriomeningitis (LCM), as well as tapeworms, infectious jaundice, and rat-bite fever.
Some signs that you have these pests in your home are droppings, urine odors, gnawed holes (and wires!), if you hear scampering noises, and even if your pet exhibits unusual behavior. If you suspect that your home has been invaded by these pests, get in touch with a pest exterminator right away.
Rodents of Arizona: the Pack Rat and Roof Rat
About 40% of all mammal species are rodents, making them the largest order of mammals. These include rats, mice, hamsters, squirrels, porcupines, and their relatives.
Of these, only a handful of rats and mice are a nuisance to people, and we’ll be discussing the ones that may find themselves in our homes.
Pack Rat
These rats are called pack rats because of their characteristic accumulation of food and various debris, which they keep stocked in their dens (or near their den area). Such collections may include edible plants, small pebbles, sticks, feces, insect and vertebrate remains, shiny metal objects, and other small items taken from humans.
Also known as woodrats, they have large eyes, protruding ears that are almost bald, and white-colored feet. They have long, thick and soft fur that can range in color from gray to reddish brown (and white to rust-colored on their underparts). Some populations of desert woodratsare black in color. Often confused with Norway rats, they have tails that are covered in fur.
They’re nocturnal and generally solitary. Bushy-tailed woodrats are vegetarians and prefer green vegetation such as leaves, needles and shoots, while Mexican woodrats eat fruits, seeds, nuts, and mushrooms. Some species also eat animal matter and small insects.
If they’re inside your home, they can damage electrical wiring, wall insulation, and pipes. They make off with small objects such as jewelry (remember, they like shiny metal objects), and they bring these items to their dens, which are lined with urine and feces. They’ve also been known to rip out padding from cushions and pillows to use as lining in their nests.
Pack rats carry diseases including the plague, and their dens and droppings are also a health hazard.
Roof Rat
Also known as black rats, roof rats have black or dark brown colored fur with a lighter underside. They have long, hairless tails that measure longer than its entire body. They’re called roof rats because of their tendency to nest in the upper levels of the home such as attics, and they’re excellent climbers. Out in nature, they tend to nest in trees, and may find themselves in your home by walking along tree limbs that connect to your house.
They’re omnivores and have a wide range of food they can eat from seeds, fruits, fungi to a variety of invertebrates and vertebrates. They’ll also eat any food provided for cats and dogs, and food provided for some farm animals such as cows and chickens. They’re known to keep food in small caches to be consumed at a later time.
They carry and spread diseases such as leptospirosis and typhus, and their feces and urine also pose a health hazard. Roof rats are skittish and will avoid anything new introduced in the area, so it may be a while before they venture out to a trap or bait you’ve set up.
If you find either rodent in your house, get in touch with a pest control exterminator to have them removed.
Is Using Cinnamon as a Pest Control for Ants a Myth?
Using cinnamon to naturally take care of an ant problem is pretty popular on the Internet. You’ll find article after article detailing the steps of eliminating an ant problem yourself using only cinnamon.
A study published in the International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications in 2014 showed that cinnamon essentialoil is in fact highly effective in repelling and killing ants at certain concentrations.
So yes, cinnamon essential oil can repel and even kill ants, but note that it’s “at certain concentrations”, and the cinnamon essential oils you can buy at any store may not have the same level of concentration as the cinnamon essential oils used in the study.
Cinnamon sticks and cinnamon powders can also repel ants, but it won’t kill them. Sprinkling cinnamon powder on ants will only scatter them and make them angry, and placing cinnamon sticks on their entry points and routes will only make them find a new way in and out of your house.
Taking care of an ant problem means finding the nest and eliminating all the ants there, and your store-bought cinnamon oil may not be potent enough to kill them and only repel them – and that won’t help you in the long run.
If you discover an ant nest or mound, you’d be better off using commercial insecticide,or better yet, use professional grade insecticide that is sureto get the job done.
Most of the ants you see in your home are only a small fraction of the colony that is surely nearby – and those are forager ants, meaning they’re only there to look for food. You can help yourself out by eliminating possible food sources for these ants so they’ll be forced to look elsewhere.
Mop and vacuum your kitchen and clean your food pantry to ensure there aren’t morsels of food ants can help themselves to. Immediately clean up any food spillage, and regularly sweep to make sure there are no crumbs and other food debris that will entice ants and other pests.
Keep your food in airtight containers (note that some ants can chew through plastic), and keep them in places not easily accessible to ants. If you’re keeping pastry on your kitchen counter, consider placing the container on a tray filled with water, and you may also want to cover it with something in case a fly wanders in.
While ants can get in your house just about anywhere including the cracks between your floorboards, it can help stave off an ant infestation (or other pest infestation) if you seal and caulk cracks and crevices on your property.
