Here are some expert tips for keeping brown recluse spiders out of your home

MT. JULIET, Tenn. (WSMV/Gray News) - As the summer enters full swing, many people around the country are dealing with pests in their homes brought about by high heat and humidity, including outbreaks of venomous spiders.

Exterminators are getting more and more calls for the dangerous brown recluse spider.

To combat the arachnid, they are targeting areas where the spiders are likely to make webs and hide.

Jeff Williams, with Integrity Pest Control, said there are simple steps homeowners can take to keep them out of houses, including dusting areas off with chemicals and laying traps in areas they like to crawl.

Brown recluse spiders like to move from trees into homes during the wet summer months, Williams said. He said he tends to focus on cool and dark places to stop the brown recluse.

“We’re going to get rid of the food sources for the spiders,” Williams said. “We’re going to kill the insects they’re hunting. We’re going to do sprays around the baseboards of the house. Put glue boards behind commodes, behind headboards, the cluttered areas where they can travel.”

One of the most important things people can do on their own, according to Williams, is to clean storage areas in a garage or basement.

Additionally, he recommends replacing cardboard boxes with sealed plastic bins to eliminate a habitat for the spiders. He said people are commonly bitten near cardboard boxes containing the spiders.