How to Catch a Spider in Your Room

Outside, spiders keep flying insects under control.

A spider inside is useful, as spiders catch irritating pests, including flies and mosquitoes. However, if a member of your family has a fear of spiders, or if the spider has stopped living quietly in a corner and is crawling everywhere, you may wish to remove it. Removal of venomous spiders, such as black widows or brown recluses, is also advisable. Venomous spiders are not usually aggressive, but there is always the risk of you, a child or a pet startling the creature and getting a painful bite. Outside, the spider can safely catch various pests without causing you any trouble.

Things You'll Need

• Rubber or gardening gloves
• Plastic tub
• Sheet of cardboard
• Aquarium net
• Cardboard box
• Cardboard tube
• Mop

Instructions

1. Put on rubber or gardening gloves as a precaution if the spider is, or might be, venomous.

2. Wait until the spider settles on a wall or in a corner and approach it slowly. Try not to let your shadow fall over it because spiders are sensitive to light changes and may scuttle away.

3. Place the plastic tub quickly over the spider and slide the cardboard underneath. Shake out the spider outside, or just place the container outside and let the spider crawl away.

4. Catch the spider with an aquarium net, if it is proving difficult to trap. Slide the cardboard underneath as with the plastic tub.

5. Lay a large cardboard box along a wall with the open side facing the spider, if you have a fear of spiders and do not want to get too close. Put an empty cardboard tube inside. Guide or chase the spider into the box with the mop. The spider should hide in the tube. Put the box outside for several hours, during which time the spider should leave of its own accord.

Tips & Warnings

• If anybody in your household is bitten by a brown recluse, a black widow or another venomous spider, seek immediate medical attention. If possible, keep the spider in the tub for identification purposes.

References

• Ohio State University; Black Widow Spider; Susan C. Jones
• University of Kentucky; Eliminating Spiders Around Homes and Buildings; Mike Potter