Not a lot of people like or love spiders. Despite being totally harmless small critters, no one wants to see spiders lurking or scurrying around their homes.
Spiders usually increase in numbers when summer ends and fall season starts since most male spiders get inside houses looking for a mate. You can spot a spider in wall corners, in the shower, or even under your pillow. If you want to enjoy a whole year without house spiders in sight, check out the following tips to help prevent spider infestations in your home.
Combat Spiders with Cleaning
Probably the simplest and easiest way to prevent spiders from making your home their own home is by keeping your house and property clean and tidy. Use a broom to sweep down spider webs, clean your ceilings, and get rid of mildew and mould as soon as you see them.
Dust, sweep, vacuum, and eliminate clutter around your house to get rid of hiding spots that spiders love. Outside, mow the grass, clean under the eaves, tidy up and ensure that your yard isn’t welcoming to spiders as well as the insects they feast on.
Seal Cracks
Never give spiders a chance for getting into your house. Make sure you patch up gaps, holes, or cracks in doors and windows to deter spiders from getting indoors. Use fine mesh to cover vents and fix torn window screens. Spiders are usually found in basements, bathrooms, and kitchens where it is moist.
Wash Your Windows
Keeping your windows clean using water and ammonia can help prevent those eight-legged guests from entering your home. Once the windows dry up, go over them with kerosene and newspaper. Kerosene will evaporate right away but will leave a repellent not just for spiders but also mosquitoes and flies.
Create a Barrier
You can reduce the chances of spiders coming into your home when there is no covered and safe way for them to do so. Get rid of plants, bushes, mulch, and branches right next to the foundation of your home and leave a barrier of 6 inches between spiders and you.
Use Safe Storage
Use plastic storage bins instead of cardboard boxes. Spiders will have a harder time getting into these plastic bins that reduce the chances of your stored items turning into a spider haven.
Clean the Dishes
You can prevent the hunters from getting indoors if you prevent their prey. Dirty dishes are usually a feast to the eyes of spiders. Letting dirty dishes sit in the sink will attract mosquitoes, flies, and other critters.
You are pretty much preparing a buffet for spiders when you do so as the presence of those other insects attracts spiders. Make sure you wash dirty dishes right away and keep yourself safe from trouble.
Eliminate the Food Source of Spiders
A spider infestation is partly because of bugs that run free around your home. Arachnids feed on insects so getting rid of other pests will help deprive the spider population in your home their main source of food. It is hard to kill spiders with chemical sprays since they don’t clean themselves.
The bodies of spiders are raised from the ground and you can only kill them off when they have direct contact with the product you use. Since it is a bit hard to control spiders, your best option is to keep other pests at bay.
Prepare Your Own Natural Spider Repellent Spray
You can also prepare an anti-spider spray for countering spiders. The spray can help you repel spiders and stop them from returning.
To prepare the spray, you will need apple cider vinegar, lavender oil, and peppermint oil. Add several drops of each of these in half cup of water. Mix everything well and place the solution inside a spray bottle. Spritz it on suspected areas or you can also directly spray on spiders.
Citrus fruit peel and witch hazel can also be used for the spray. Peel the skin of citrus fruit and place it in freshly boiled water. Leave this water in a bowl overnight. Add half cup of witch hazel to the water. Put in a spray bottle to serve as your weapon against creepy spiders.
You can also combine water and white vinegar. This can act as a tool to get rid of spiders. Simply mix one cup of water and half cup of white vinegar in a spray bottle then use it for deterring the crawlies.
Use Turmeric Paste
A very useful commodity, turmeric has lots of health benefits, not to mention that this is also an effective spider repellant. Just add turmeric powder to water to create a paste. Dip cotton balls in the paste and put these in spider-prone areas.
Purge Spiders with Electronic Repellents and Insecticides
You can readily purchase insecticides in garden centers and stores. These products contain ingredients that can kill arachnids by targeting their nervous systems.
The insecticides are available in dust, powder, and liquid solutions. Don’t forget to use safety gear when you apply and handle these chemicals to protect your eyes, skin, and clothing.
Using dust insecticides lets you reach crevices and cracks where spiders hide. Powder insecticides are great for spot treatments for preventing spiders. These products are great for both outdoor and indoor use where you see spiders.
You can use a liquid insecticide to create a barrier around the perimeter of your home. A liquid spray makes it possible to cover bigger areas. Electronic devices are effective for both outdoors and indoors. Electronic repellents help you avoid chemicals that make them safe for usage around pets and humans.
Scatter Diatomaceous Earth
Spread out a fine layer of this around corners and cracks of your house. The powder is made from fossils that cut up a spider once it walks across it, eventually killing it.
Conquer Spiders with Conkers
Frighten spiders aware with conkers but putting them in room corners and on window sills. Walnuts are believed to have the same effect. Since it is not backed up by scientific evidence, this can be used as your last resort.
When Everything Else Fails
Even if you use all of the strategies and methods above, there is a chance that spiders will still show up around your home. Despite your best efforts, spiders are still experts when it comes to hunting, hiding, and entering. This means that it is still possible to run into them so you will have to take more drastic ways to hinder them. Yes, you will have to confront them head-on.
Contact kill is one of the best ways of getting rid of those spiders around the house. Grab the nearest slipper, newspaper or any other object that you won’t mind to have guts on and smash the spiders on sight. If you are brave or nimble enough, you can also catch them inside a jar and release them outside.
The biggest concern with killing spiders is the risk that you are dealing with a venomous species like a brown recluse or black widow. To stay on the safe side, literally and figuratively, it is best to call the experts for professional pest control.
