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SALT LAKE CITY — They're creepy, crawly and dangerous, and experts are saying black widow spiders are infesting Utah yards and homes in record numbers this year.
Kelli Eudis and her family moved into their Saratoga Springs home just one week ago, but she found something else had moved in first.
"I came down into the basement and was just counting all the ones that were there," said Eudis. "The bigger they were, you could actually see the bright red hourglass."
She found black widows, and lots of them. She counted more than 20 in her basement window well alone. This particular spider's bite is venomous and especially dangerous to young children and the elderly. She's worried about the safety of her four children.
"Why did we move to a place infested with black widows?" she said.
But it's not just her place.
Eudis called John Clark at Moxie Pest Control to take care of her problem. He's seen a huge increase in calls for spiders lately, but especially the black widow.
"Business is great," Clark said.
He's found it's not isolated to just one area along the Wasatch Front.
"(It's) as far south as Santaquin and as far north as Ogden," he said.
Clark suspects this year is particularly bad because of this past summer.
"It's quite possible that the weather had something to do with it, all the rain we had in August," he said.
Whatever the reason, Eudis is just glad the previous occupants of her home won't be hanging around much longer.
"It's just so gross," she said.
To protect a home from the creepy crawlers, Clark suggested keeping the area around the home clutter-free.
Anyone who does get a black widow spider bite should seek medical attention immediately.
