Thousands of venomous spiders forced a St. Louis-area family to abandon its home. The lethal brown recluse spiders invaded every nook and cranny of the $450,000 house. They even seeped out of the ceiling.
And State Farm, the family’s insurance company, has flatly refused to pay for damages despite a jury’s finding that it must, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
The trouble started for Brian and Susan Trost in 2007 when the couple purchased the 2,400-square-foot house at 84 Gillette Field Close — on the front nine of Whitmoor Country Club in Weldon Spring, Mo.
The Trosts quickly noted the infestation of spiders. They were in the pantry, the light fixtures, the blinds, the fireplace and the pantry. They were behind the wallpaper. Once, when Susan Trost was taking a shower, a big, scary arachnid dropped out of the ceiling.
The Trosts realized they were dealing with a clutter of brown recluse spiders after their terrified four-year-old son saw a big one next to his foot while playing in the basement. The Trosts captured that particular creature and identified it.
After that, the Trosts called exterminators, who tried several methods to get rid of the spiders. These methods failed. (RELATED: Newest Climate Change Danger: GIANT SPIDERS)
In 2008, the Trosts filed a claim with State Farm, their insurance company. They also sued the former owners, Tina and David Gault, alleging that the Gaults knew about the huge spider infestation and failed to disclose it. State Farm defended the Gaults at the trial.
At an eventual jury trial, in 2011, a University of Kansas professor assessed that the home was home to between 4,500 and 6,000 spiders — in the dead of winter.
The jury awarded the Trosts $472,110.
State Farm refused to pay. After representing the former homeowners, the $225 billion company argued that the Gaults had no coverage, according to the Post-Dispatch.
According to an attorney representing the Trost family, State Farm has also argued that the Trosts’ policy excludes spiders. (The policy doesn’t mention spiders, the attorney says. It only mentions insects, a category that doesn’t include spiders.) State Farm has also insisted that the spider infestation is not “physical damage.”
State Farm appealed the jury verdict, but has since withdrawn the appeal. (The Gaults have since declared bankruptcy.)
The Trosts have now filed a second, separate lawsuit against State Farm.
The Trosts also fled their home at 84 Gillette Field Close and all the spiders there a few years ago. The home went into foreclosure. The current property owner is the Federal National Mortgage Association.
The home has remained vacant for two years — perhaps because it is teeming with brown recluse spiders which contain venom that causes vomiting, fever, kidney failure and serious skin necrosis.
The Federal National Mortgage Association has contracted with McCarthy Pest Control to deal with brown recluse spiders. Owner Tim McCarthy says he has a way. Specifically, that way involves completely covering the house with 15,000 square feet of blue-and-orange, circus-looking tarps and blasting in sulfuryl fluoride gas at a chilly 67 degrees below zero.
“There’ll be nothing alive in there after this,” McCarthy promised.
So, if you want to own a spacious home on a fancy golf course that has been thoroughly gassed with sulfuryl fluoride gas and isn’t supposed to have a single living thing in it, check out 84 Gillette Field Close. You can probably score a sweet deal.
A neighbor who lives near the house told the Post-Dispatch he hasn’t ever seen a brown recluse on his own property.
By the way, if you do move to Weldon Spring, don’t miss the huge dome of nuclear waste.
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