It’s spooky season at one Nothern Virginia high school. A Fairfax County Public Schools pest management team has been sent to Chantilly’s Westfield High School to eradicate black widow spiders.
News4 reported that Westfield principal Tony DiBari sent a letter to parents about the issue. DiBari stated that, “Starting on October 3, the FCPS facilities team has been working with our custodial staff to treat an outside courtyard where several black widow spiders have been found. This courtyard is not used by students and there are no reports of these spiders getting into the school building. We believe that the spiders are coming from planters that were recently added to the courtyard. Along with the pest treatment, we are removing and replacing all the soil in these planters as an additional remediation treatment.”
DiBari stated that, “lf there are any additional developments in our pest control efforts, we will be sure to let families and staff know.”
According to Fairfax County Master Gardeners, as temperatures in the area drop, spiders can “hitchhike their way into our homes to shelter over the winter.” The group says that venomous black widow spiders are commonly found in Virginia. “They usually stay within the confines of their web where they wait for prey. They are not aggressive but will bite if disturbed.”
Feature image courtesy ondreicka/stock.adobe.com
