WEB SITE; PESTS POPULATE SOUTHLAND FOLLOWING EL NINO'S RAINS.

Byline: Jesse Hiestand Staff Writer

La Nina's legacy of parched soil and wilted vegetation has sent armies of thirsty ants marching for the closest source of moisture - and into people's homes.

And right behind them is a bumper crop of spiders, spawned by El Nino's bountiful rain last year, pest experts said Tuesday.

``What you see spider-wise now are the hatchlings from the El Nino year,'' said Russ Smith of the Los Angeles Zoo, who as curator of reptiles has expertise in their chief food source - bugs. ``Here on the zoo grounds there's orb-weavers almost anyplace where there's space between bushes and branches. It's a very good population this year.''

As for ants, their onslaught is undeniable every year, but experts said they cannot be sure whether there are more now.

``It's true, populations fluctuate in different areas,'' said Art Evans, director of the Insect Zoo at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. ``I don't doubt in some areas there are more than others.''

Just ask Judy Allevato of Valencia.

``My house is just crawling with ants,'' she said. ``They're everywhere and not just where there's food - in bathrooms, bedrooms, even closets. You wonder what they're doing in there but they seem to be moving to water.''

That's exactly what they're after, according to Smith.

``It's been pretty dry so the ants are poking around houses and going inside looking for a cooler, moist spot,'' Smith said. ``And of course once they discover any potential food they go tell their buddies so you have a stream of them coming in.''

As for the ants' eight-legged counterparts, scientists can't say for sure how many more spiders might be lurking around this year.

Phil Muniz of Stanley Pest Control in Van Nuys believes there are more, a problem he traces back nearly 18 months to the last of El Nino's rains, which dumped almost 30 inches on the Los Angeles Civic Center, twice the amount for an average year.

``There's so much vegetation and places for them to hide that it's just ideal living conditions right now for spiders,'' he said. ``That should continue for the next two months before it will diminish.''

Muniz and others said this is the time of year when they are most visible, when many species are mating. The female spiders often lay eggs in October and are dead by Thanksgiving. Their young hatch in the winter but stay in cocoons until the warmth of spring.

``They stand out now because people get caught in the webs and the spiders are big and showy and people get all shook up,'' said entomologist David Taylor, who works for Antimite Termite & Pest Control. ``But no one sits there counting spiders.''

Indeed, Los Angeles County agriculture and Vector Control officials don't track the number of spiders because most benefit humans by eating harmful insects. Instead, they focus their monitoring efforts on mosquitoes and other nuisances.

``All spiders are carnivores who feed on insect pests, so we encourage people not to destroy them,'' said Dr. Rosser Garrison, an entomologist with the Agricultural Commissioner's Office of Los Angeles County.

There are six species in North America that can be harmful to people, including the brown recluse and black widow spider.

Evidence of the ants' abundance lie in plain view in back yards, garages, kitchens and elsewhere.

``They're coming up 'cause there's no water,'' said Tony Page, manager of A Perfect Pest Control, which services the San Fernando Valley. ``People go to water their yards and the ants just come pouring out of the ground.''

The ocean-cooling La Nina weather pattern limited rain this past season to just over nine inches at the Civic Center, five inches less than normal. It also kept daytime highs about 4 degrees below normal through the summer, and should make fall warmer and drier than normal.

And last week's Southland heat wave may repeat this weekend, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Dennis Tussey, who said thirsty ants have even invaded a bathroom at the Weather Service's Oxnard office.

Green, of Western Exterminator Co., agreed the erratic summer weather has brought a bounty of bugs to eradicate.

``It never really got all that hot but the surge in temperatures in the last couple of weeks has helped the population of ants and spiders expand,'' he said. ``The ground dried up, so they either go deeper or they come up - and they usually come up.''

Pests

Entomologists suggest the following tips to help keep ants, spiders and other pests out of your house:

- Make sure windows and screens are installed without any gaps or tears;

- Install or adjust the threshold below outside doors to minimize the gap;

- Change outside lights so they don't attract bugs; traditional white or mercury vapor bulbs can be replaced with sodium or yellow bug lights;

- Cut back plants and debris near the house that could harbor spiders;

- Do not leave food sitting around that could attract ants, and pick up fruit that falls from trees.

Source: David Taylor, entomologist, Antimite Termite & Pest Control.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo: (1 -- color) This year's big crop of spiders are hatchlings of the El Nino year. Spiders perform a valuable service by feeding on insect pests.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer

(2 -- color) Jesus Avila, a technician with Stanley Pest Control, sprays a lawn for spiders in Reseda. Los Angeles County agriculture officials don't track the number of spiders around because most benefit humans by eating harmful insects.

John Lazar/Staff Photographer

Box: Pests (see text)