Keep Spiders Out of Your House

Most species of spiders are harmless to humans, inside and outside the house. Regular cleaning can keep spider populations low. However, if you feel like you have too many spiders in your house, you can start some home projects that will reduce their population. Follow these instruction to keep spiders out of your house.

Steps

Clean House

  1. Dust all the surfaces of your house regularly. Buy a long-handled dust broom and sweep your ceilings and walls to eliminate cobwebs.
    • Destroying a spider's web will encourage them to find a hassle free place to live. If your home remains clean, they may choose to leave in search of a better home.
  2. Vacuum your home regularly. Weekly vacuuming will remove spiders, webs and potential nesting places for spiders.
    • The vacuum is also a good tool to remove a spider in your home, if you do not want to squish it or let it outside.
  3. Clean your walls, counters and floors with a distilled white vinegar mixture every month or 2. A solution with equal parts water and vinegar will deter insects and bugs of all kinds.
    • Spiders feast on insects. Make it your goal to attract fewer flies, ants and other critters, and you will have fewer spiders.
    • Distilled white vinegar is useful because it can remove insect tracks, so that other insects cannot follow the trail. You can also use another multi-purpose cleaning product.
  4. Clean your kitchen daily. Wipe down counters, put food in air-tight containers or in the refrigerator and vacuum up crumbs. These measures will discourage other insects and the spiders that feed on them.

Organize the Home

  1. Reorganize your closet spaces. Spiders like dark, cluttered spaces, so find ways to stack and seal your storage areas.
    • Vacuum and dust closet spaces before you re-organize them. This will rid your house of existing spiders.
  2. Take out your recycling regularly. Stacks of boxes or cardboard are a good place for spiders to live. Make sure you clear places with stacked debris every week or 2.
  3. Move stacks of firewood, cardboard, plywood and other materials away from the house. Piles attract insects, and the closer insects are to the house, the more likely they are to find their way in.

Home Improvement Projects

  1. Search your home for potential holes in your screens, windows and doors. Replace screens that have holes in them, to reduce the ways that spiders can enter the home.
    • Check your doors to see if there is day light creeping in around the edges. If your seal allows any light in, the seal is not solid and spiders are likely to get in. Replace the door or install a rubber strip that will seal it off.
  2. Cover your air vents. Use a very fine mesh to cover all the vents in your home.
  3. Caulk holes in your foundation. You can also stuff them with steel wool or fill them with foam. Older homes are likely to have a few hidden entry points where spiders can slip through the cracks.
  4. Trim the hedges or bushes around your home. Make sure there is a distance of a few feet between all shrubs and your home. This will reduce your total insects that live right near the house and make it inside regularly.

Tips

  • Don't have any candy or chewed gum on a counter or on your night stand because sugar attracts spiders. Use night lights next to your beds and around your house to deter spiders, since they don't like light. Don't fall asleep with an ice pack in your bed. Spiders are drawn to the melted water on the ice pack. Open your windows and let sunlight into each room as much as you can to deter spiders as well.

Warnings

  • Avoid using insecticides to rid yourself of spiders in the home. This will not kill the spiders unless you hit them directly with the chemical. It poses a much greater risk to you if you inhale it than if you vacuum up the spider.

Things You'll Need

  • Dust broom
  • Vacuum
  • Organized closets
  • Distilled white vinegar
  • Spray bottle
  • Water
  • Air-tight food containers
  • Fine hardware mesh
  • New screens
  • Hedge trimmers/ Shears
  • Caulk

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Sources and Citations

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