Buzz
To get rid of spiders in your home, begin by using a vacuum cleaner to remove spiders and their webs. You can use residual insecticides or call a professional pest control service. Alternatively, try some DIY remedies such as spraying peppermint essential oil around the house or sprinkling diatomaceous earth in corners.
Steps
Prevent Spiders from Entering Your Home
Seal the house. Fill in cracks and gaps that lead inside to prevent spiders from finding their way in.
- Use sealant to close large gaps around doors and windows when they are shut. Seal areas around electrical wiring, cables, plumbing, and other fixtures, as these all lead outside.
- Replace or repair broken window panes. Spiders can easily squeeze through even the smallest holes.
- Use tight mesh to cover vents and fireplace chimneys.
Turn off outside lights. While light itself doesn’t attract spiders, it does draw insects, which are the primary food source for spiders.
- Equally important is blocking indoor light from spilling through windows by using curtains or window blinds.
- Consider using high-pressure sodium lamps with yellow light. These attract fewer insects, reducing the likelihood of creating a food source for spiders.
Move plants away from the house. If you’re dealing with a serious spider problem, consider relocating bushes, vines, and other plants around your house to the other side of the yard.
- Plants attract spiders as they offer shelter. When searching for warmth and new food sources, they may crawl toward your house and enter through cracks.
- You should also clean up mulch, gravel, leaves, and broken bricks near your home.
Keep the house tidy. Regular cleaning reduces the number of hiding spots for spiders, even if they’ve already sneaked into your home.
- Don’t leave leftover food around. Food crumbs attract other insects like ants, which in turn attract spiders.
- Vacuum and sweep floors frequently. Clean shelves, tables, and avoid leaving dirty dishes out for hours.
- Clear up any clutter. Old newspapers and piles of dirty clothes provide perfect hiding spots for spiders to thrive in the dark.
- Use plastic storage boxes. Spiders are less likely to invade sealed plastic containers, while cardboard boxes are easier for them to crawl into.
Proven Pest Control Methods
Use a vacuum cleaner to remove spiders and their webs. One of the simplest methods to eliminate spiders is by vacuuming up spider webs and egg sacs when you spot them.
- This method is most effective when you’re dealing with only a few spiders. However, if your home has a large number of spiders, this might not be as effective.
- You can also use a broom to sweep away the webs.
- Instead of killing spiders, try to relocate them outdoors whenever possible. Spiders are beneficial creatures, and they deserve respect if you understand their role.
- Web-building spiders typically stay on the ceiling and are less likely to fall for sticky traps, but these traps work well for ground-dwelling spiders like jumping spiders or house spiders.
- Keep traps flat to avoid them curling up.
- Dispose of the traps once you catch a few spiders.
- Note that this method doesn’t eliminate spider eggs and webs, so you might need to combine it with other approaches.
Use residual insecticides. Spray insecticides containing pyrethroids into corners or cracks around your home.
- Follow the instructions on the product label to prevent poisoning yourself, your family, or pets.
- Remember, only two spider species in North America pose serious risks to humans (the black widow and brown recluse). Other spiders may bite, but only when threatened, and their bites are not harmful or painful.
- Spiders are considered 'beneficial pests' for the insects they eliminate, which can pose threats to humans or spread diseases. However, a large spider population in your home is a sign you need to take action since spiders will avoid areas with little food.
- Pyrethroids are chemicals derived from the pyrethrum plant, a member of the daisy family. Most household insecticides contain pyrethroids, with common chemicals in this group including bifenthrin, cyfluthrin, permethrin, and tetramethrin.
- Synthetic insecticide sprays are generally not effective against spiders.
- Understand the limitations of residual insecticides. These pesticides are only effective if spiders walk through the sprayed areas. If spiders avoid the treated zones, the chemicals won't work.
Call a professional pest control service. If the spider problem is widespread and home remedies aren’t working, a professional pest control service can use stronger chemicals.
- Note that some insecticides are very potent, and you may need to leave your home for several days until the chemicals have dissipated.
- Generally, it’s better to repel or remove spiders from your home rather than using pesticides. If possible, you can catch the spiders in tissue paper or a glass jar and relocate them outside, which also helps keep other pests away.
Traditional Remedies
Repel spiders with horse chestnuts. Place a few horse chestnuts in corners and areas where spiders are frequently seen.
- Walnuts or Osage orange fruits are also thought to work in a similar way.
- The reason why this method may work to repel spiders is not well understood, and there’s no scientific explanation or evidence to support it.
- Some believe that horse chestnuts contain a chemical compound that repels spiders through their scent. If that’s true, try poking holes in the chestnuts or cutting them in half to release the smell.
Spray peppermint essential oil around the house. Fill a spray bottle with water and add 15-20 drops of peppermint essential oil. Spray it into cracks and corners throughout your home.
- It’s believed that spiders can’t tolerate the smell of peppermint essential oil and will flee when they detect it. This method works best when sprayed in areas where spiders may enter your home.
- To boost effectiveness, you can soak cotton balls with undiluted peppermint oil and place them in cracks or hidden spots that may serve as spider hideouts.
- If you don’t like the peppermint scent, try eucalyptus oil or tea tree oil. They work similarly and can be used in the same way.
Spread diatomaceous earth around your house. Sprinkle a thin layer of this powder around cracks, corners, windows, and basements. Apply it to any area where you think spiders may frequent.
- This powder is made from the fossilized remains of a water-dwelling organism called diatoms. It is safe for both humans and pets.
- When spiders crawl over diatomaceous earth, their exoskeletons are scraped, and bodily fluids leak out. Eventually, the spider will dry out and die.
- You can also use diatomaceous earth as a barrier around your home to prevent spiders from entering.
Eliminate spiders with vinegar. Mix equal parts of vinegar and water in a spray bottle. Spray it in areas where spiders are known to gather and directly onto spiders when you spot them.
- Vinegar contains acetic acid, which is believed to cause burns and kill spiders upon contact.
- You can also place small dishes of vinegar in dark corners to repel spiders. The scent of vinegar alone can be enough to drive them away.
Tips
- Spiders tend to enter homes more frequently during winter, so make sure to clean your house thoroughly once or twice a week during the colder months.
- Fill a spray bottle with peppermint essential oil and spritz it around your home.
- If you’re not keen on using vinegar, lemon or eucalyptus scents can also do the job.
- Fresh eucalyptus branches, which can be bought at craft stores, placed beneath furniture can effectively repel spiders and other pests.
- If you love animals, consider adopting a cat. Cats have a natural hunting instinct, and many house cats will hunt small creatures like insects and spiders. However, this is not a good option if you’re dealing with highly venomous spiders.
- Spiders dislike tobacco and lemon, so sprinkling tobacco soaked in water or lemon juice can help deter them.
- Remember, despite their scary appearance, spiders are generally quite docile. As long as you don’t disturb them, they won’t bother you.
- Consider keeping a frog as a pet. Frogs generally scare spiders and will eat them along with other insects that might attract spiders.
Things You Will Need
- Caulk
- Insect mesh
- High-pressure sodium light
- Vacuum cleaner
- Sticky traps
- Residual insecticide
- Horse chestnuts
- Peppermint oil, eucalyptus oil, and tea tree oil
- Spray bottle
- Water
- Vinegar
- Diatomaceous earth
