Most spiders prefer to live outdoors, but you will often find some spiders indoors looking for food or shelter. Actually this pest is very easy to get rid of by keeping these animals outside the house. However, if these pests are already in your home, there are a number of ways, both proven and unproven, that you can use to scare or kill the animal. Here are some common methods for controlling spiders when they invade your home.
Step
Part 1 of 3: Keeping Spiders Outside
Step 1. Seal your house
Patch any holes and crevices that lead inward to prevent spiders from getting into the house.
- Use putty to cover large gaps in doors or windows if they are closed. Also put putty around wires, cables, faucets, and electrical components, because all these things must have a drain to the outside of the house.
- Replace or repair torn window screens. Spiders can easily pass through the gap despite their small size.
- Cover vents and chimneys with finely perforated insect repellent.
Step 2. Do not turn on the lights outside the house
While outdoor lights don't attract spiders, they can attract some other pests that are a source of food for spiders.
- For the same reason, block the light in the room from escaping through the window using opaque curtains.
- We recommend you switch to a yellow sodium vapor lamp. Insects and animals that are a source of food for spiders are less attracted to this type of lamp.
Step 3. Get rid of plants that are around the house
If the spider infestation is severe, it's a good idea to move shrubs, trees, vines, and other plants from the perimeter of your home to a distant part of the yard.
- Plants attract spiders because they are used to hide. If the spider wants to find food or a warm area, it will move from the plants to your home through holes and crevices.
- Also remove rocks, mulch, leaves, and other debris that is near the house.
Step 4. Keep your home tidy
Spiders won't have much space to hide if your house is clean, so they're less likely to stay indoors even if they do get in.
- Clean up scattered food residue. Food crumbs can attract other insects such as ants, which will eventually attract spiders.
- Sweep and vacuum your floors regularly. Clean the countertop, and don't leave dirty dishes unwashed for several hours.
- As much as possible clean up messy items. Piles of dirty clothes and old newspapers make ideal hiding places for spider species that live and breed in the dark.
- Use plastic storage boxes. Spiders will have a hard time getting into an airtight plastic box, but they can easily get into a cardboard box.
Part 2 of 3: Proven Pest Management Methods
Step 1. Suck up the spider and its web
One of the easiest ways to get rid of spiders is to vacuum their eggs and nests when you find them.
- This method is very effective at getting rid of spiders in small numbers. However, this method is very inefficient if the spider population invading your home is very large.
- Also clean the cobwebs with a broom.
- If possible, it's best to move the spider outside, not by killing it. Spiders are a very useful species for humans, and these animals are simply amazing when you get to know them.
- The nest-building spiders that usually live in the ceilings of houses usually can't be caught with glue traps. These traps are very effective at trapping ground-dwelling spiders such as jumping spiders and house spiders.
- Keep your spider trap flat so it doesn't roll on its own.
- If there are already several spiders trapped there, remove the trap immediately.
- Keep in mind that this method doesn't work for eggs and cobwebs, so you may need to combine this method with another technique.
Step 2. Use residual insecticide
Spray pesticides containing pyrethroids into all nooks and crannies in your home.
- Follow the directions on the package carefully so that you, your family members, or your pet don't get poisoned.
- Keep in mind that among thousands of spider species, only 2 species are significantly harmful to you (namely Brown Recluse and Black Widow). While other species can bite when threatened, the bite is non-venomous and less painful.
- Spiders are the best "pest" for humans because they kill many other pests that are harmful to humans or pests that spread disease. However, if the spider population is very large, it is a serious sign that you should take immediate action, as spiders will not enter the house if there is not much food in it.
- Pyrethroids are chemicals that are mostly made from the pyrethrum plant. This plant belongs to the chrysanthemum family. Most insecticides used for household use contain pyrethroids. Some of the commonly used pyrethroids include cyfluthrin, bifenthrin, permethrin, and tetramethrin.
- Complete fumigation is usually not effective against spiders.
- Understand the limits for using residual insecticides. This poison will only work if the spider walks through the sprayed chemical liquid. If the spider doesn't get past the spray marks, the insecticide won't have any effect on the spider.
Step 3. Call a professional exterminator
If the number of spiders invading your home is so great that you feel like you can't handle it yourself, contact a professional exterminator as they will use a stronger pesticide.
- Be aware that some of the pesticides used by professional exterminators are so strong that you have to leave your house for a few days until the effects of the pesticides wear off.
- In general, the better option for everyone is to block or move the spider instead of exterminating it. If you can do this, try taking a spider and moving it to your patio using a paper towel or can so you don't encounter any other pests.
Part 3 of 3: Traditional Way
Step 1. Repel spiders using horse chestnuts
Place a few pieces of horse chestnut in every corner of the house and areas that are often inhabited by spiders.
- Walnuts, chestnuts, and fruit from the Osage orange tree are also thought to have the same effect.
- It is not known why these fruits repel spiders, and there is no scientific evidence or explanation to support this method.
- Some argue that horse chestnut contains a number of harmful chemicals that spiders don't like. For this reason, try punching holes or splitting the fruit to spread the aroma.
Step 2. Spray peppermint oil on your home
Fill a standard spray bottle with water mixed with 15 to 20 drops of peppermint oil. Spray this mixture into every nook and cranny in your home.
- Spiders who don't like the smell of peppermint oil will turn in the opposite direction when they smell it. So, this method will be very effective if applied in all the entrances to the house.
- For a more potent effect, dip a cotton ball in pure peppermint oil and place the cotton ball into a crevice or other hiding place for the spider.
- Try eucalyptus oil or tea tree oil if you don't like peppermint. Both oils have the same effect as peppermint oil and can be used in the same way.
Step 3. Spread the diatomaceous earth
Spread a thin layer of diatomaceous powder around nooks, crannies, windows, and basements. Spread it in every place where spiders usually live.
- Diatomaceous earth is made from naturally occurring fossils of water creatures called diatoms. This material is safe for humans and pets.
- When a spider walks on diatomaceous earth, the outside of its body will fall off, allowing its bodily fluids to flow out. As a result, the spider will slowly dry up and die.
- You can also protect your home and prevent spiders from getting in by spreading diatomaceous earth around your home.
Step 4. Attack the spider with vinegar
Mix white vinegar with water in equal proportions and put it in a spray bottle. Spray this mixture all over the areas where spiders congregate and spray it directly on any spiders you find.
- Vinegar contains acetic acid, which can burn and kill spiders if you touch it.
- You can also place small plates of vinegar in dark corners of your home to ward off spiders.
Tips
- When the weather is cold, spiders tend to move into your home. Clean your house once or twice a week when the weather is cold.
- Fill a spray bottle with peppermint essential oil and spray it all over the house.
- Use lemon and eucalyptus for spider problems if you don't like vinegar.
- Spiders don't like lemons and tobacco, so if the situation gets worse, sprinkle some soaked tobacco in water or a squeeze of lemon to repel these animals.
- Purchase pieces of eucalyptus wood at a craft store and place them under furniture. The scent it gives off can really help repel spiders and other pests.
- If you are an animal lover, you should have a cat. Cats are hunters by nature, and many house cats like to hunt down small pests, insects, and spiders that enter their homes. However, keep in mind that this is not a wise approach if you are dealing with a highly poisonous type of spider.
- Keep in mind that while spiders are scary animals, they are actually quite docile and won't bother you as long as you don't bother them either.
