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You might find a spider in your shower, under your pillow, or in the corner of your wall. If you want to relish the season without these eight-legged pests, we have some tips to keep the spiders out, in addition to how to get rid of a spider infestation in your home.
7 Ways to Get Rid of a Spider Infestation | Any Pest
- Keep your house neat and tidy.
- Cutting down on the clutter in your house will give spiders fewer places to hide.
- Ensure food is sealed so that it will not attract other pests, which will also attract spiders.
- Keep your floors swept clean, wipe down your surfaces, and vacuum regularly.
- Clean out attics, basements, and garages.
- Using a barrier treatment around your home's foundation is also effective.
- Total-release foggers are not very effective for spiders, but slow-release (microencapsulated) formulations and wettable powders are.
Signs of Spider Infestation in Your House
If you saw a spider inside your home and you aren't sure whether it's a one-time thing or an infestation, here are some signs to look for:
Spider webs may or may not be a sign of a spider infestation. Noticing empty webs in the corners of the ceiling and hard-to-reach places might not be an infestation. Often cobwebs are confused with spider webs.
The difference is that a cobweb is usually empty, collecting dust, or constructed of fibers that have become tangled. A spider's web that is currently in use or under construction will have egg sacs or some form of food stored in it.
Seeing cobwebs isn't a sign of a spider infestation; however, an active web is an indication of an infestation.
Removing Spider Webs
Part of keeping your house neat and tidy involves you removing all web. It is an imperative action to help in the control of a spider infestation. The reason why are the webs are where egg sacs are stored, and egg sacs produce young spiderlings when they hatch. Removing the egg sacs in a web can potentially rid the infestation in your house of a spider. Remove spider webs by using your vacuum cleaner.
Black Widow Spiders
The various black widow spiders include the eastern and western black widows. The red, brown, and gray widows have an easily identified hourglass marking on the abdomen.
Northern black widows, on the other hand, are found in the northeastern U.S. and southern parts of Canada. Their appearance is a bit different, as they may be dark brown or black with red, yellow, or white spots or stripes down the abdomen.
Toxicity varies, but a bite from this spider most often causes pain, sweating, and sometimes muscle cramps. However, a bite from the Southern black widow can cause headaches, nausea, and fever.
Brown Recluse Spiders
Recluse spiders range in size from 1/4 to 3/8 inch, with a dark violin-shaped marking at the top of the leg attachment. They are found throughout the south-central and midwestern United States.
Remove Vegetation from the Perimeter of Your Residence
Spiders eat insects. Therefore, you need to decrease the population of insects in and around your home. Getting rid of vegetation around the perimeter of your house will get rid of other insects that attract spiders.
Mend torn window screens and cover your vents with a fine mesh. Spiders are typically found in kitchens, bathrooms and basements where it's moist. Remove vegetation from the perimeter of your residence. Spiders love to hide in shrubbery, under rock piles, woodpiles, and compost.
Are Spider Bites Dangerous?
Spiders rarely bite humans aggressively, but they will in self-defense. You may unknowingly be bitten when you reach into a closet or cupboard where a spider is hiding. Unless they're from a poisonous spider, most spider bites look like other insect bites – a small red, potentially itchy bump.
When Spiders Are Dangerous
The average spider species is completely harmless, and their bites are not dangerous. Yet, the bite of a black widow or brown recluse can be.
If you are unsure what type of spider has bitten you, seek medical attention immediately. If you are suffering any cramping of the abdomen, serious pain, or the wound is growing at the site, head for the ER.
Tips for Getting Rid of Spiders Outdoors
Keep outdoor lights off at night; although spiders aren't attracted to light, other pests they eat are.
Spiders, especially the black wolf spiders, are attracted to warmth and shelter; things like leaf piles and firewood stacks are best kept away from the house. Keep shrubs and other plants trimmed away from the outside walls of your house.
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Keep your house neat and tidy
The best way to deter spiders is to keep a neat and tidy house, vacuum or sweep floors often, and wash dirty dished right away. Good cleanliness practices will decrease insect populations, which also reduces the number of spiders.
Wipe your counters and tables regularly, and wash all dirty dishes within a few hours. Remove the clutter, which provides hiding spaces for spiders. With this in mind, remove as much clutter from your home as possible.
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Seal the cracks in your home
Seal all the cracks that pose a potential entry point to prevent spiders from entering your home. Getting rid of common house spiders may not be that difficult!
Here are some simple steps you can take to make your lodgings less appealing to these eight-legged creatures: repair all the cracks and holes.
Spiders can enter through the tiniest crack. To eliminate spiders in your house, check your home periodically and fill in places where gaps have appeared.
Sprinkle diatomaceous earth in thin layers in hard-to-reach places like cracks, corners, and around windows and baseboards. Eliminate cardboard boxes and debris in storage areas, sheds, or crawl spaces and store items in airtight plastic containers instead.
Place a few horse chestnuts in each corner of the house and in any area of the house where you frequently run across spiders.
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Apply Nontoxic Pesticide Spray Treatment
If you are looking for a non-toxic way to get rid of spider infestation, just like getting rid of Brown recluse spider, try mixing a few drops of essential oils and water in a regular spray bottle. Spiders detest the scent of tea tree, peppermint oil, citrus, and eucalyptus oil. Mixing a little white vinegar and water also works well, too.
Spraying these combinations in areas you have noticed a spider infestation will repel spiders and other flying insects.
What Kind of Spider Is In My House?
7 Common Types of Spiders
Here are seven popular types of spiders that may start a spider infestation inside your home:
- house spiders
- wolf spiders
- hobo spider
- daddy long legs
- jumping spiders
- brown recluse spiders
- black widow spiders
Indoor Prevention
So you've identified what attracts spiders to your home, sealed potential points of entry, and regularly applied repellent around the house—what else can you do to prevent indoor spider infestations?
There are several other natural spider-repellent methods you can rely on, including dusting and using your vacuum cleaner in your home regularly.
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Peppermint or Eucalyptus Essential Oil
There are a variety of organic, non-toxic products that will help in your battle against spiders. Peppermint oil, Eucalyptus essential oil, and tea tree oil are natural substances you can use to get rid of spiders. Even a salt-water solution will kill a spider population if you hit them with it directly.
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Spider Traps
Most spiders are harmless and spend their lives trapping and eating insects. However, it's understandable if you want to avoid them in the house, especially a black widow or a brown recluse.
Learning how to get rid of spiders doesn't always have to be so much work. Instead of trapping food in their webs, you can catch the spiders in your own "web" using sticky glue traps.
These traps are often used for rodent and cockroach control but also as pest management for spiders. Lay the traps throughout your entire home, including closets, basements, garages, and attics. Baseboards, corners, and other heavy traffic areas are perfect hiding places for traps.
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Using Outdoor Insecticides to Kill Spiders
You can put natural solutions into a spray bottle and spray generously around your home to deter spiders. Spiders don't care about the smell of peppermint, eucalyptus, or tea tree oil. Simply mix up a solution and spray in suspected areas for spider populations. White vinegar also works well to get rid of spiders and other pests.
Sticky traps and commercial traps attract and ensnare spiders and other insects. The most problematic part of using these methods is having to deal with the traps afterward.
Spiders live or love to hide in shrubbery, under rocks, woodpiles, and in compost. When the weather gets cooler, they start to move inside your home.
By removing plants from the side of your home, you make it farther and more difficult for them to get inside. Apply a residual pesticide. Spray corners or cracks of your home with a commercial pesticide containing some form of pyrethroid.
Make sure you understand the limit of residual insecticides. These sprays only work if spiders drag themselves through them after it is sprayed. However, if a spider manages to avert the spray, it will have no effect on it.
Call the Experts to Get Rid of Spiders
When you have tried all the do-it-yourself remedies, but you still don't know how to get rid of spiders, call the professionals.
The pest control methods used by professionals tend to be more effective and longer-lasting than DIY remedies. For this reason, it is imperative you call the professional pest control experts at A.N.T. Pest Control. We are the experts at getting rid of spider infestation and other pests!
