Does the sight of eight hairy legs fill you with dread and horror? You’re not alone. According to a City University London study, 75% of the people sampled had at least a mild to moderate fear of spiders.
However, you don’t need a fear of spiders to simply want them out of your house. Although spiders do great work outside eating pests,
With this in mind, read on to learn how to keep spiders out of your home and avoid infestations for good!
What Attracts Spiders?
It first helps to know why spiders are getting into your home in the first place. Spiders love humid spaces where they have a stable food source and places to hide. This is why your rooms are such attractive places to a spider.
If the room that’s attracting the spiders the most is near a bathroom, the humidity of the bathroom could be a large reason why. Cluttered and unkempt rooms also have more nooks and crannies to hide in than a recently cleaned and tidied room.
Lastly, if you notice that your room has a lot of food such as crumbs, dirty dishes, and trash that hasn’t been taken out, this attracts bugs. Spiders eat bugs such as mites, booklice, and flea beetles, so you’re essentially giving them a free food source as well!
How to Keep Spiders Out of Your Home Naturally
If you don’t have a spider infestation that requires professional help, there are several ways you can keep wolf spiders and more out of your home naturally. You’ll first want to ensure that your home is clean, tidied, and free of other bug infestations that may be attracting the spiders.
Next, here are our top recommendations:
Seal Cracks
It’s important to do this as soon as possible. Even if you remove all the bugs and spiders in your home, this won’t matter if there’s still an easy entry point inside. Replace, reseal, or caulk these areas after a careful review:
- Any damaged weatherstripping
- Torn window screens
- Cracks around window AC units
- Cracks around the window and window frame
- Cracks around doorways
Take time to inspect each room in order to eliminate any entry points.
Yard Care
Your backyard and frontward have a lot to do with whether you’re experiencing pest infestations. Dense foliage that’s right outside the windows and doors of your home attracts spiders and insects of all kinds. These plants should be trimmed regularly or removed entirely.
Diatomaceous Earth
Diatomaceous earth is made from the fossilized remains of aquatic creatures called diatoms. This sand-like silica compound can be sprinkled in a fine layer in any cracks or crevices where you know spiders and other insects can enter. The diatomaceous earth has tiny barbs that wound insects and draw out fluids in their body. Over a few days, the insect will eventually die.
Sticky Tape
If you’re not able to find diatomaceous earth, sticky tape is the next best option. You can apply it near any entry points or areas where you’ve seen insects or spiders. Any insects that walk over it are stuck and trapped.
This is an especially great method for spiders because any trapped insects on the tape act as bait.
Minimize Lights
Although people aren’t sure why this is the case, many different kinds of insects are attracted to lights at night. As moths and other bugs surround a light, this also attracts spiders who want to eat them. If you find that there’s a lot of insect activity at night around your lights, the best option is to reduce your lights, remove them, or simply place them farther away from your home.
Spray Vinegar
Almost everyone has a gallon of vinegar in their homes, as it’s great both to cook and clean with. Even better, it’s an easy remedy to get rid of spiders.
In equal parts, mix water and vinegar together in a spray bottle. Then, spray the vinegar around entry points as well as in areas where you’ve seen spiders previously.
Vinegar can kill spiders on contact and it’s also an effective repellant. However, you’ll need to reapply the solution every few days because it dissipates quickly.
Essential Oils
Although its efficacy isn’t as well-known as vinegar, if you want your room to smell nice as well as to help prevent spiders, essential oils are worth a try. Mix about 20 drops of peppermint oil or citrus oil with five cups of water, then spray it around your home, concentrating on entry points.
You can also spray the mixture outside to drive spiders as well as flies away. However, it’s important to remember that your pets or children may have sensitivities to this strong-smelling essential oil. Do your research, and test the oil in a small area before spraying it around your home.
How to Keep Spiders Out of Your Home: Planning Ahead
If you’ve been wondering how to keep spiders out of your home, the trick is to plan ahead. It’s important to first decide whether you think you have an infestation or not, as this requires professional help. If not, then examine your home for any possible entry points and close them up as soon as possible.
You’ll also want to make sure to take care of any dense foliage near the entry points of your home. Lastly, whether through vinegar or diatomaceous earth, you can use natural methods to eliminate the spiders in your home as well as keep them away for good.
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