We are all told from a young age that spiders are our friends. They don’t want to hurt us, in fact they eat the nasty insects that can do harm to humans and their gardens. But from a young age, we deny this knowledge and scream in terror at the first sight of an eight-legged creature. Most spiders found in the home end up scrapped off a rolled up newspaper and into the trash. Sure, there are some poisonous spiders out there, but most of the ones found in gardens and homes are pretty harmless. There is absolutely no reason for our ridiculous fear of spiders, but no matter how much we tell ourselves to love the arachnids, we still want to keep them out of our homes.
Natural Methods for Getting Rid of Virginia area Spiders
The best way to reduce the number of spiders in your home is to give them less of a reason to cross your threshold in the first place. Keep your house as clean, clutter-free, and dry as possible. Store your things in plastic bags and bins instead of cardboard boxes in which spiders love to make their homes. Also be sure to control other pests in your house since spiders tend to go where there is food. Plugging up any holes and maintaining screen doors and windows will help keep spiders and other undesirable pests from entering your home.
If you are worried about spiders outside your home, de-clutter your yard in much the same way you cleaned up your home. Remove any thick vegetation like ivy, bushes, and thick grasses. Get rid of any rock or wood piles, which provide tons of dark crevices that make perfect spider homes.
Of course if prevention doesn’t work, there are some natural ways to repel or kill spiders. You could take a lesson from the Buddhists and simply capture indoor spiders and release them outside, but most people don’t relish handling creepy crawlies. You can also place eucalyptus, horse chestnuts, or osage hedge balls around your home to deter spiders from taking up residence. And diatomaceous earth is great for outdoor use, although it does kill anything with an exoskeleton.
Chemical Methods for Getting Rid of Spiders
Chemical methods are only recommended for killing dangerous spiders like black widows or brown recluses. To truly control the spider population in and around the house, you should take the preventative measures mentioned above. For those who are determined to use chemicals, however, be sure to do so in a targeted manner instead spraying pesticides indiscriminately. Peruse the pesticide aisle at your local hardware store and read the directions on the boxes to find the treatment that will work best for your needs.