The USU extension has a lab where those interested can pay a dollar to have a spider identified to tell if it is poisonous. Tuck also said that keeping the spiders outside is important. Keeping the home free from clutter, cleaning out window wells and caulking holes in walls is important. Spider traps can also be purchased to help with some of the pests, but for some spiders the common remedy of bug spray may actually increase the problem.

"Besides not affecting the spider, you will often times kill their prey," said Tuck.

Whether the spiders are poisonous or not, their sudden appearance in the neighborhood has left many residents uneasy. Jodi Barlow has one child and another on the way, and although the problem has died down somewhat from its initial influx, the thought of the spiders coming into the house as the weather gets colder has her concerned.

"It is scary, they have gathered up on our house," she said. "You see them all over people's porches, mailboxes and vehicles, and the neighborhood is covered in webs. Not many people want to take their kids out and play anymore."

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E-MAIL: ethomas@desnews.com