How to Keep spiders out of your house

Win the fight to keep spiders out of the home.

Spiders, known as arachnids of the class Archnida, are beneficial creatures that can rid the home of other insects, which they attack and consume as food. While a few spiders can offer help in eliminating annoying bugs, certain spiders secrete poisons when they bite their prey, which can be harmful to both animals and humans. While it is impossible to rid a home of all spiders, precautions can be taken to stop arachnids from traveling freely into your home.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Weather stripping
• Caulk
• Feather duster
• Vacuum
• Insecticide fogger
• Insecticide spray

1. Apply weather stripping to all doors and windows. Weather stripping can prevent spiders from entering the home through gaps underneath the doors and in spaces and cracks along windowsills.

2. Spread caulk around water pipes underneath all of the sinks in the house. Spiders can crawl through the piping and enter the home through cracks in the pipes.

3. Remove all unnecessary stacks of the newspapers, magazines and old cardboard boxes. Spiders can hide and live in paper products without being noticed. Removing the stored paper products can elevate spots for the spiders to live, making them easier to find.

4. Regularly dust behind and inside bookcases and entertainment centers. Vacuum all baseboards and corners of the home. Removing dusty areas is another way of eliminating areas where spiders can hide.

5. Use an insecticide fogger inside the home to decrease the number of spiders already living in the home. Follow the instructions on the chosen brand of fogger. Pesticides used improperly can cause harm to humans and animals inhabiting the home.

6. Spray the outside of the home with an insect repellent designed to kill spiders and prevent them from entering the home. Spray around areas where insects and spiders could easily enter the home. Follow all instructions on the insecticide spray carefully.

References

• Washington State University: Pestsense
• Washington State University: Gardening
• University of California: How to Manage Pests