Understanding Why Your House Has Lots of Spiders

If you’re like me, everything about spiders gives you the willies and terrifies you. This can make living alone or experiencing a spider infestation a big, big problem. Continuously seeing spiders in your home is not only scary, but it’s also annoying and could speak to a bigger issue. In this article, I hope to answer some of your questions about why you might be seeing more spiders in your home.

So, why are there so many spiders in my house? There is a multitude of reasons why spiders may be hiding out in your house – some are easily fixable, others not so much. Some of those reasons that come with easy solutions include the following:

• Easy Access to Your Home
• Uncleanliness – Inside and Out
• Steady Food Supply
• Controlled Climate
• Not Maintaining Pest Control

If you were to implement all of these changes and still experience spider infestations, it may be time to look into a bigger issue. A pest control expert can help you determine the source and institute an extermination plan. Before you get to that, let’s talk about what you can do to prevent spiders from finding a home in your house.

Easy Access to Your Home

Spiders are very good at finding cracks and crevices to crawl into. This is especially true as the weather gets colder and they look for a warm home for the winter. Luckily for you, there are a few things you can do to prevent this from happening.

• Make your home more challenging to get into. Eliminate the open spaces in your home. Things like cracks and holes in between windows and doors, flooring and the foundation, etc.
• Pay special attention to the things attached to your home – cables, wires, gutters, drains, etc. If there is a hole, spiders will find it and use it to their advantage.
• Seal up any holes and gaps you find. Check your windows for damaged screens, use caulk to seal any openings to the outside.

All of these solutions will make it much more difficult for spiders to get into your home.

Uncleanliness – Inside and Out

Like many other pests, spiders like dark, dusty, warm areas to hide in. By regularly cleaning your home and maintaining your yard, you can deter spiders from making it their own.

Vacuuming and dusting under furniture and in the corners of walls will help get rid of their webs and make it more difficult for them to stay in that area.

For the most part, spiders inhabit the outdoors and only really move inside when the weather changes.

By keeping your yard trimmed and maintaining any plants that touch the walls of your house, you make it more challenging and less desirable for spiders to enter the house.

All this is not said to scare you or keep you from enjoying indoor plants and a beautiful garden. As long as you maintain a regular cleaning schedule, you should see an improvement and do a good job of deterring the spiders.

Steady Food Supply

Every creature on earth needs a steady supply of food to survive. For spiders, this food supply is other insects. To get rid of spiders, you have to get rid of their food supply – insects.

Sweep up the crumbs after a meal, wipe down the counters after cooking, put away food in containers, etc. Prevent letting clutter develop that would make a good place to hide – like cardboard boxes and stacks of magazines, or items that stay on the floor.

Most insects and spiders like warm, dark, moist areas. Be sure that there isn’t an area of your home that collects moisture, and if there is, do what you can to reduce it. Something like a dehumidifier could be helpful.

Controlled Climate

As was mentioned earlier, spiders tend to make their way indoors when the weather changes. Just as spiders search for a warm place when it’s cold, they also search for a place to cool off when it’s too hot.

By controlling the temperature inside our homes for our own comfort, we also make it more inviting for spiders. There isn’t a whole lot you can do about this unless you don’t mind sweating inside or freezing from the cold.

One thing that can help, however, is our next topic: maintaining pest control.

Not Maintaining Pest Control

Apart from all of the things we’ve already talked about, that are in their own right, pest control – it is also important to have a professional come out between each season and spray for pests. It isn’t very costly and it helps prevent bigger problems over time.

You can go online and easily research a good, local exterminator. You can choose to have them do different things – spray outside only, inside only, both, only certain areas, etc., etc.

Areas that typically improve from being sprayed include porches, basements, attics, and closets. The spray is not toxic to your family or pets and is effective at killing any spider or insect that comes in contact with it – preventing a large number from entering your home.

Maintaining pest control services will also be of great value if you choose to sell your home. Commercial realtors can inform potential buyers of your dedication to extermination which may impact their willingness to make an offer.

Related Questions

What’s the best way to kill spiders in your house?

Killing spiders may be a big fear for some people, so finding a good way to get rid of them is important to know! If you see a collection of spiders in an area, you can use an insect spray that kills any insect or spider once they come in contact with it. Some sprays are more effective than others, and some may have more harsh chemicals – so do your research before using one!

You can always use the old squish the spider trick (with a shoe or tissue). This one definitely works when killing a single spider, however, it requires close proximity and can make some people squeamish.

Vacuuming is also a good way to kill spiders, along with getting rid of webs and potential egg sacks left behind. If you choose to do this, make sure the vacuum has strong suction, and allow it to run for a while so that the spider dies within the vacuum bag. Remember to empty and replace the vacuum bag afterward – also placing it within a sealed bag so that nothing escapes.

Should I kill the spiders in my home?

If you were to ask me this question personally – I would always say yes because of my fear of spiders. But, if you were to ask an entomologist, the answer would likely be no. Even though we may find certain pests extremely annoying and/or scary, the truth is they can be helpful to our environment.

As long as the spiders you find aren’t harmful to you, and you aren’t scared of them, it’s okay to let them live. They can get rid of any other pests in your homes like flies or mosquitoes. You can also capture them and release them back outside if you’d prefer not to kill them.

How do I know if a spider is dangerous?

If you’ve found a spider in your home and you don’t know if it’s dangerous, the best way to find out is to look it up! There are many different sites online that can help you identify the spider. The likelihood is that it will not be harmful to you unless you live in an area where venomous spiders are common.

You can always call a pest control expert to come in and inspect a spider that you’ve captured and they can tell you whether you should be worried or not. They can also help you decide if you need to do anything to get rid of or prevent more spiders from coming into your home.