Spiders are one of the most common household pests. While they're rarely harmful — the typical American house spider only bites in self-defense and doesn't have venom strong enough to cause a serious reaction in humans — most people simply find spiders creepy. If you don't want spiders crawling through your home, take the following steps.
Eliminate Their Food Sources
Spiders are predators that feed on smaller insects. If you're repeatedly seeing spiders in your home, it's almost certain that your home has other insects whether you realize it or not. To keep these prey insects away, increase your vacuuming and other chores. Pay extra attention to often overlooked surfaces such as your curtains, areas behind your furniture, and under your kitchen appliances. Be sure that food trash is quickly placed in a sealed kitchen garbage can and take your trash out daily. The smell of garbage from food can attract outdoor insects into your home even when you can't smell it. You may even want to consider enlisting the help of a pest control company if the problem seems bigger than what you can handle or want to.
Take Away Their Hiding Places
While you may be most familiar with spider webs built out in the open to catch passing insects, spiders prefer to spend most of their time in dark, undisturbed places. This includes nooks and crannies around door frames, window sills, lighting fixtures and cabinets. Often, spiders like to build cobwebs in or around these places, and for many species, cobwebs are their primary home.When you see a cobweb, knock it down immediately and do a deep cleaning of the surrounding area. Producing cobwebs takes a lot of energy, and spiders don't expect to keep having to rebuild them as they do with their hunting webs. The harder you make it for the spider to live there, the more likely they will be to move somewhere else instead of rebuilding.
Additionally, keeping a clean home that is devoid of clutter can also make a serious impact in reducing your spider population. Take time to throw out trash and debris that spiders could make webs on and dust (especially the hard to reach areas) once a week. Also, make sure that the perimeter of your house is free of wood/ leaf piles, and debris. Spiders can dwell in these places and potentially enter your house if they see a crack or small opening they can get through
Lock Them Out of Your Home
Of course, you also want to make it harder for spiders to get inside to begin with. One of the main entry points for spiders is cracks or gaps in the weather stripping around your doors and windows — make sure they're tightly sealed. Also, watch out for hitchhikers when you are bringing tools, furniture, sports equipment or other items that were once outside into your home.If you're still struggling with spiders or need help getting rid of the insects they're feasting on, contact Breda Pest Management today.
