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How to Keep Spiders Out of Your Home
How to Keep Spiders Out of Your Home
Find out what draws spiders indoors, where they hide, and the simple steps that keep them outside where they belong.
A well-spun web can be a beautiful thing, outdoors. Spiders do real good in the garden, eating many of the insects that damage plants. Most house spiders are harmless to people. Still, most of us would rather they stay outside. Knowing what attracts spiders, how they get in, and where they hide helps you choose the steps to take to keep them out. Curious about the good they do outside? Read about the benefits of spiders in the garden.
Key Takeaways
- Spiders come indoors following food (other bugs), shelter, and moisture.
- They get in through small gaps around windows, doors, foundations, pipes, and vents, or ride in on boxes, firewood, and other items.
- Sealing gaps, cutting clutter, and vacuuming webs and egg sacs make your home less inviting.
- Ortho Home Defense Insect Killer for Indoor & Perimeter kills spiders and other listed bugs and creates a barrier indoors and around your foundation.
- Pets can go back into treated areas, indoors or out, once the spray has completely dried.
What Attracts Spiders to Your Home?
Spiders are attracted to homes that offer food, shelter, and moisture. Their main food is other bugs, so a home with ants, flies, or other insects is a home with a spider buffet. Quiet, cluttered spaces give them shelter, and damp areas like basements and the spaces under sinks supply water. Thatâs why spiders turn up everywhere from the basement to the attic to the bathroom.
How Do Spiders Get Inside?
Spiders get inside through surprisingly small openings: a gap around a window or door, a crack in the foundation, or an unscreened pipe or vent. They also hitch rides. Storage boxes from the garage or shed, firewood, lumber, secondhand furniture, and even grocery bags can carry spiders indoors.
Where Do Spiders Hide Indoors?
Spiders hide in dark, undisturbed places. Check corners, cupboards, closets, storage boxes, piles of paper or cardboard, and general clutter. Some spiders even tuck into bedding, laundry, or toys that havenât been moved in a while. Itâs worth giving stored items a shake before you use them.
How Do You Keep Spiders Out of Your House?
The most effective way to keep spiders out is to combine prevention with a barrier. Seal the gaps they use to get in, remove the clutter and webs that make them comfortable, and reduce the bugs they eat. Each step below takes just a little time, and together they make your home less inviting to spiders. Then add a long-lasting spider barrier inside and outside around your homeâs foundation.
Seal Entry Points
- Caulk cracks around windows, doors, baseboards, and the foundation.
- Repair torn window screens and add screens to vents.
- Install door sweeps and replace worn weather stripping.
- Seal gaps where pipes and wires enter your home.
Cut Down on Clutter
Spiders love quiet corners. Store items in sealed plastic bins instead of cardboard boxes, keep storage boxes off the floor where you can, and recycle stacks of paper. Pay extra attention to closets, garages, basements, and attics.
Vacuum Webs and Egg Sacs
Regular vacuuming removes spiders, their webs, and their egg sacs before the next generation hatches. Empty the vacuum contents outside when youâre done.
Rethink Your Outdoor Lighting
Outdoor lights attract the night-flying insects spiders eat, and spiders follow. Turn off porch lights when you donât need them, or switch to bulbs that are less attractive to insects, such as yellow âbugâ lights.
Clear Debris Away From Your Foundation
Spiders often gather around the outside of a home before they wander in. Move firewood, lumber, and yard debris away from the foundation, remove dead plants, and trim shrubs so they donât touch the house.
How Do You Use Ortho to Keep Spiders Out?
Ortho Home Defense products, like Ortho Home Defense Insect Killer for Indoor & Perimeter, kill spiders and create a barrier that helps keep new ones from getting in. Use it in both places spiders travel: inside paying close attention to their hiding spots, and outside where they enter. The formula gives off no fumes, dries clear, and dries fast.
| Indoors | Outdoors | |
|---|---|---|
|
Where to spray |
A 4-inch band along baseboards, around doors and windows, and into cracks, corners, closets, and other hiding spots |
A 12-inch band along your foundation and around doors, windows, and other entry points |
|
How long it lasts |
Up to 12 months against ants, roaches, and spiders on non-porous surfaces |
About 3 months |
|
When to reapply |
Once a year or when you see new activity |
Every 3 months or when you see new activity |
Keep people and pets out of treated areas until the spray has completely dried. After that, they can return. For tips on prepping a room before you spray, see the Frequently Asked Questions below.
Are House Spiders Dangerous?
Most house spiders are harmless to people. Their venom is meant for the insects they eat, and few spiders bite humans at all. The two venomous spiders worth knowing in the US are the black widow and the brown recluse. If youâre bitten and notice unusual symptoms, contact your doctor right away. To figure out which spider youâve found, see our guide to common house spiders or our guide to venomous spider species.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long after spraying can pets go back outside or into the room?
Pets can go back into a treated room, or outside into a treated area, once the spray has completely dried. Drying time varies with temperature, humidity, airflow, and the surface you sprayed, so check that treated areas have dried completely before letting pets back in.
Additional tips when spraying for spiders:
- Keep pets in another room, or indoors if applying outdoors, while you treat.
- Pick up pet bowls, toys, and any food or dishes in the area before you spray.
- Never spray pets directly. If your pet has fleas or ticks, use a veterinarian-approved product registered for use on animals.
When are you most likely to see spiders inside?
Many people notice more spiders indoors in late summer and fall. Most of those spiders arenât coming in from the cold; theyâre house spiders that already live inside, and the ones you see wandering are usually mature males looking for mates. Sealing gaps and keeping a barrier in place before late summer helps reduce how many you see.
Do Joro spiders come into the house?
Joro spiders rarely come indoors. Theyâre large, brightly colored orb weavers that build big, golden-tinged webs outdoors, on porches, eaves, fences, trees, and shrubs. Native to East Asia, theyâve become established in the southeastern US and are gradually spreading to new areas.
A few quick facts:
- Appearance: Females are large, with yellow and blue-black bands and long legs. Males are much smaller and brown.
- Behavior: Theyâre shy and non-aggressive, and they tend to stay put in their webs.
- Risk to people: Like most spiders, they have venom, but they arenât considered dangerous to people or pets, and bites are rare.
- How they spread: Young spiders release strands of silk that catch the wind, a behavior called ballooning, which can carry them long distances.
If a web is in an inconvenient spot, like across a doorway, you can knock it down with a broom. Sealing gaps around doors and windows helps keep any spider from wandering inside.
Do natural spider repellents like peppermint oil work?
Some research suggests peppermint oil can repel certain spider species, but results vary by species and the effect fades as the scent does. Lemon oil, another popular remedy, showed no effect in testing. Peppermint oil wonât remove spiders that are already settled, and concentrated essential oils can be harmful to cats, so use caution if you have pets.
For lasting results, pair prevention steps like sealing gaps and decluttering with a barrier product labeled for spiders.
Will getting rid of other bugs help with spiders?
Yes. Spiders follow their food, so fewer insects means fewer spiders. Ortho Home Defense Insect Killer for Indoor & Perimeter also controls many of the bugs spiders eat, including ants, flies, crickets, and silverfish. For a whole-home approach, see How to Get Rid of Bugs Indoors.
