How to Get Rid Of Spiders and Spider Webs From Home
Pests can be a nuisance no matter which way you look at it. They are unhygienic to have around, spread diseases and infections and can be potentially poisonous, especially spiders. Not only are spiders dangerous, but they can be extremely annoying and hard to get rid of. Their webs are nearly invisible and frustrating to deal with, especially when they get in your hair. Learning how to prevent spider webs and spiders can make your life at home much easier.
Natural Ways To Keep Spiders and Cobwebs Out Of Your Home
Considering that a pest control agent would use harmful chemicals that could have side-effects on you and your family, ridding yourself of these pests through those means may not always be the answer. So, this means that the organic options as the healthiest. Here is a guide on how to get rid of spiders.
1. Seal The Cracks In Walls
The easiest way to get rid of spiders is to prevent them from getting into the house. To do this, you need to know how these creepy-crawlies get into the house. The most common manner in which spiders gain access to your house is through the little cracks and gaps in doors and windows. You can prevent spiders from accessing your home by simply using caulk on the edges of your windows and on any cracks on doors. Use caulk on wires and cables that lead outside. Use wire mesh around any openings like vents or a chimney. This should keep them out of the house in most cases.
2. Lights Out
In most cases, spiders actively enter your home in search of food. Their meal preference – other bugs. These bugs are most commonly attracted to lights, so make sure that after a reasonable hour, you switch off all outdoor lights. For indoor lights, try using opaque filters or sodium vapour lights in a yellow colour. This will keep most bugs out and in turn, keep spiders out.
3. Get Rid Of The Clutter
When you consider how to clean spider webs from the house, cleanliness is key once again. Much like the outside with plants and leaves, the inside being clutter-free helps remove hiding spots for spiders. Ensure that keep decluttering stray newspaper piles, unwashed clothes and other clutter-friendly objects. This will give them no place to hide. When sighted, you can simply usher the spiders out of your home.
4. Remove Those Plants
Spiders hide in plants, leaves and stones. Remove these from the proximity of your house entrances and they should often have no place to hide. Spiders are not the bravest or most forthcoming of bugs. They usually hide, trap and eat their prey. Remove the vegetation near your house doors and windows to ensure they don’t have access to the inside of your house.
5. Dust Regularly
When you think of how to remove spider webs, the classic way works the best. Dust and clean your home regularly. This doesn’t allow a spider to build a web. This cuts their hunting techniques down and in turn, it stops them from staying in your house. Remove their ability to trap and kill their prey and they’ll turn to new hunting grounds. Dusting regularly not just keeps the webs away, but also ensures other insects attracting elements are cleaned from your house, keeping the prey away too.
6. Clean Those Dishes
Prevention of prey is the best way to prevent the hunter from gaining access to your home. Dirty dishes are often the bug equivalent of a feast. Keeping those dirty dishes around will attract flies, mosquitos and other creepers. This is like placing a gourmet five-course meal in front of a spider and asking it to eat for free. Wash those dishes immediately and you will save yourself quite some trouble.
7. Get Rid Of Leftover Food
Another reason bugs gather to your home could be the amount of leftover food. Eat your fill and either refrigerate the leftovers or throw them out, possibly outside the house. Leftovers attract numerous bugs that carry diseases and infections, including spiders that hunt bugs for food. Apart from general hygiene, making sure you have no leftover food idly standing in the house also prevents a spider infestation.
8. Peppermint Spray
Peppermint essential oils are easily available on most e-commerce sites and local stores. They are the worst enemy to spiders. Fill a normal spray bottle with water, and to that, add 25 drops of peppermint essential oils. Spray this all over your house, on your furniture and curtains too. This will send those spiders running in the opposite direction of your house.
9. Eucalyptus Oil
Similar to peppermint essential oils, spiders cannot tolerate eucalyptus. Eucalyptus essential oils have a large number of benefits. They fight the common cold and help detoxify your body pores. One of the unsung benefits of using eucalyptus essential oils at home is that they prevent an infestation of spiders. Simply use the technique mentioned above for peppermint essential oils and either replace peppermint with eucalyptus or add it to the peppermint concoction. This will make your home anti-spider.
10. Tea Tree Oil
Another essential oil that scares away spiders, tea tree essential oil is great for your skin too. Simply add tea tree oil to the mixture mentioned above or apply a few drops directly over furniture, your clothes and even yourself. You can also add a few drops of tea tree oil on cotton balls and patch any cracks on windows or doors with them.
11. Vinegar
Possibly the most easy-to-access home remedy for spider prevention. Vinegar is known to keep spiders away because they despise it more than cats despise a hot bath! The smell of any kind of vinegar will send shivers up their spines. Add half a bottle of vinegar to half a bottle of water and spray around your house. If you see a spider, spray it on the spider. You can also add bowls of vinegar in dark corners of the house to keep the spiders away.
12. Walnuts
This healthy midday snack is also considered a spider deterrent. Spiders can’t stand walnuts, they fear them. The reasons are unknown but as a natural deterrent to spider infestations, you can place a bowl of walnuts in the corners of your house. If you run across spiders in a particular area, place them there too. This will help get rid of them.
13. Red Night Lights
While bugs are usually attracted to bright lights, spiders live in the darkness. They can’t handle the light. So, a compromise would be a dark red nightlight. This keeps the prey away and removes the darkness of the room making it uninhabitable for spiders.
14. Lemon Peels
Lemons aren’t just useful for juices or as a dressing on a snack. Lemon and lime peels are assumed to keep spiders away. It’s believed the citric nature of the peel itself has a repellent feature. So peel some lime or lemon, place the peels in the corner of your house daily and get rid of spiders.
15. Citrus Plants
Similar to placing peels around your house, having citrus plants in your garden can keep the spiders from entering the proximity of your home. While it can’t stop them from entering the property altogether, it can reduce the frequency in which they enter.
Verified Pest Control Methods
While home remedies are the safest option, in the case of a mass infestation, you may need to use tried and tested methods. Here are a few of those methods to help you keep a spider free home.
1. Herbal Insecticide
An insecticide is basically a form of pesticide that kills all bugs and insects, which include spiders of course! This, in turn, prevents them from entering your home. While non-herbal insecticide is known to work better, the herbal option is better for your health.
2. Vacuum
Vacuuming the house regularly will pull the spider and its webs into your vacuum bags, this is an effective way of minimizing the spider presence in your house while cleaning regularly. This also helps in web prevention which keeps spiders away.
3. Exterminator
Sometimes, it is best to seek professional help. If the infestation goes beyond two or three spiders, it may be time to call the exterminator to hunt and kill all of the creepers in your house.
While spiders can cause you no harm, it is understood that only certain species like the tarantula or black widow spiders are generally dangerous. Sometimes spiders, like lizards can be a blessing in disguise as they hunt and kill other bugs which carry life-threatening diseases. When ridding your house of spiders, consider the non-lethal option if they aren’t poisonous spiders or if they are present in smaller numbers.
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