Family Forced Out Of Home Due To Spider Horde

If you’ve ever run across a large spider in your house, chances are you’ve flipped the metaphorical table and reached for the nearest blowtorch.

Now, imagine finding a hoard of spiders. Well, back in 2007, homeowners Brian and Susan Trost ran into just that. Their Weldon Spring house of 2,400-square-foot ranch home, built in 1988, became a home to more than just the couple.

Windows. Blinds. Air registers. Susan testified that she saw spiders everywhere in their $450,000 home–and it didn’t stop there. The spiders took up residence behind loose wallpaper and even in the basement bar. The skeletons of spiders long since departed fell from the light fixtures like confetti.

Happy Halloween?

Susan and Brian thought they could handle the infestation. They washed spiders down the drain, swept up their carcasses, and tried to create a decent home for their growing family. But they drew the line when their 4-year-old son started screaming, having discovered a large spider crawling near his foot. The spider was none other than a brown recluse spider, which has a painful but nonlethal bite.

All of their attempts at extermination were only a temporary solution, and in 2008, the couple decided to file a civil lawsuit against the previous owners of the house, as well as a claim against their insurance company, State Farm.

The good news: the jury awarded the Trosts $472,110! The bad news: the family cannot collect the money yet because State Farm is still fighting the official ruling. Apparently, the company does not believe the spiders are “physical damage” and therefore they do not have to pay the money.

The home has been in foreclosure, and the Trosts have vacated the premises. After they filed for bamkruptcy, they opened another claim against State Farm.

“There’ll be nothing alive after this,” Tim McCarthy said. McCarthy is the exterminator in charge of filling the house with sulfuryl flouride gas to kill both the spiders and their eggs.

While this won’t convince the Trosts to move back into the house, hopefully it will make it habitable for the next family.