You are most likely to spot Brown Recluse spiders at night, since that’s when they go hunting for food. That doesn’t mean that you won’t see them during the day, especially if you disturb their hiding place. 

Do brown recluse spiders make webs?

They do make webs, but the webs that a Brown Recluse spider spins aren’t large or pretty, like those of garden spiders. Their webs can be found in corners, along walls and ceilings,  and  between floor joists. They look like cobwebs, and can be mistaken for the webs of Cellar Spiders (aka Daddy Long Legs) and other harmless house spiders.

It’s important to note that, like with most pests, not everyone who gets bit by a brown recluse shows symptoms. And the severity varies as well, no two spider bites are guaranteed to show up the same way.

Brown Recluse spider bites are not immediately obvious. Typically, it takes a couple hours for swelling or symptoms to develop. Common symptoms include swelling, soreness, and redness at the site of the bite. More severe bites might also have skin lesions, blistering, and tissu decay right around the bite. Generally, bites are healed in up to 3 weeks. 

Very severe reactions to a brown recluse spider bite are few and far between. They are most likely to occur in young kids, elderly, and people who have a pre-existing health condition. These can include dizziness, rash, nausea, headache, vomiting,  fever, or chills. If you or a family member experience these symptoms from a spider bite, you should seek medical attention as soon as possible.

Because the spider was here first. The native range of the brown recluse spider is the lower middle United States. In total, about 15 states have to deal with this pest. The woodland and grassland ecosystem has long been the home of the brown recluse spider.   

And our homes provide excellent shelter for them with many small spaces for them to hide in. 

No, the spider isn't clawling in the plumbing.  Unlike many other spiders, the brown recluse spider has a hard cuticle hook instead of a footpad. This makes the recluse an excellent climber on fabric, wood, and even painted walls. Smooth vertical surfaces, like porcelain and fiberglass tubs, offer no purchase for the hook. Meaning spiders can climb or fall in, but cannot extricate themselves back out.  

It's difficult for many reasons.

1. They are a "recluse". That means they hid really well.
2. They are arachnid, not an insect, meaning behaviors are different. So no self grooming to help intake of insecticides, not social network to share food, or transfer pesticide via touch. 
3. They may live their entire life in a part of the structure that is inaccessible to traditional spray control methods.

The short answer, you need more than a topical spray and more than just glue boards. 

No. Think of glue boards a tool to measure, and not as a tool to erradicate. In the same way that a thermometer can record a temperature, a glue board can give you an idea of the type of pest and frequency of travel in different areas. Armed with good information, a pest tech can spend time in areas that record heavy activity. 

As a control method, glue boards will not control a brown recluse spider problem.