Why Is It Important to Eradicate Spiders in Your Home?

Spiders tend to stay away from humans, but the fact remains that you just cannot avoid them if you live in Oregon. They make it into your home by entering through your foundation and eaves. Once inside, they make their homes wherever they can find a comfortable dark corner, like under your furniture, in cardboard boxes in your garage, and of course, your attic or basement. Coming across one accidentally and getting bitten is unfortunately a very common occurrence.

Almost all spider species carry venom, although spiders like black widows and hobo spiders are far more toxic than other arachnid species. Most spider bites cause symptoms such as swelling, itching and redness. In more severe cases, they can cause blood poisoning, necrosis of the skin, difficulty breathing and abdominal cramping. Most people make a full recovery from even the most toxic spider bites, like black widow and hobo bites, but in young children bites from highly venomous spiders can be fatal.

Hobo spiders in particular are very common in Oregon homes, even in dense urban settings. Hobo spiders are generally somewhere between half an inch to an inch long and are brown in color. They have a somewhat elongated body shape, but they vary a lot in size and color and can be easily mistaken for other species of spider. Hobo spiders are known for building funnel shaped webs, often in wood piles and thick hedges. They have a relatively high toxicity and although most hobo bites cause minor discomfort and swelling, there have also been reported instances of dermonecrosis from hobo bites. Because hobo spiders can be hard to identify, it’s important to get a professional organic pest control expert in to evaluate your situation. Often, the only way to tell if a spider is really a hobo is to examine it under a microscope. 

Organic Spider Control Treatments

Spiders are nocturnal, so for every spider you see there are ten more hiding out where you can’t see them – they only come out to hunt while you’re sleeping. Spiders are also prolific breeders, producing at least 200 eggs for each egg sac they lay, and many species mate year round. A lot of pest control companies use chemical sprays and pesticides to remove spiders from your home, but this is never effective in the long-term. Most commercially available sprays work in the short-term, but they dissipate quickly and they don’t stop new spiders from entering your home. Worse, these sprays can be very harmful to your health and are really not safe for use around children and pets. Studies show that chemical pesticides have a cumulative, harmful effect on the central nervous system. Prolonged and repeated exposure to these chemicals over time can contribute to the development of a host of debilitating neurological conditions, including Parkinson’s disease.

Unlike other companies, Ant & Garden Pest Control in Beaverton Oregon only uses organic pest control methods to eradicate adult spiders and their eggs. There are lots of organic treatments you can use for spider control, but it’s important to know how to apply them properly. These treatments include:

• Essential Oils
  

  Essential oils are the most commonly used organic pest control method for spider removal. The most effective varieties for spider control are mint, eucalyptus, lavender, lemon balm, lemon verbena and citronella. You can make a simple spray using a few drops of essential oil, (around 5 to 10 drops should be enough), a quarter teaspoon of dish soap and one and a half cups of distilled water. This type of essential oil spray is referred to as a repellent spray, but it doesn’t work very well on its own. The reason is that spiders, unlike ants and other insects with antennae, can’t sense repellents. They just walk right through the spray and can’t even tell they have repellent on them. I use a mixture of essential oils and nicotine to make my organic spider spray effective. It kills spiders and eggs on contact and in this very diluted state, it’s safe to use inside your house and around your family.

• Saltwater Spray
  

  Salt is toxic to spiders in a high enough concentration. You can make your own saltwater spray at home by mixing an ounce of salt with a gallon of warm water. Allow the salt to dissolve and keep a spray bottle of the saltwater handy to kill any spiders you spot. You can also use this spray to kill spider eggs, although it’s most effective on smaller, thin-skinned spiders and juvenile spiders. If you have an infestation of larger spiders like hobos or giant house spiders, you’ll have more luck with the essential oil and nicotine spray. 

• Glue Boards
  

  Glue boards, also called sticky traps, are the most effective way to trap and kill spiders in your home. They are easy to use, non-toxic and you can place them pretty much anywhere. There are two main classes of spiders: hunting spiders and web spinners. Glue boards work best on hunting spiders because they actively go after prey, which is how they get trapped in the boards. I like to place glue boards along baseboards, behind furniture and in your garage by the door where pest bugs usually come in. I also place them under your kitchen sink and behind bathroom toilets. In addition to that, I use an organic nicotine spray around the glue boards to increase their effectiveness. I always make sure to place the glue boards in spots where children and pets can’t get at them.

• Pyrethrum
  

  The second class of spiders found in your home are called webspinners. When you see cobwebs in your house, you know you have webspinners about. Web spinners deploy a single strand of silk, a parachute strand, which they use to travel, using the wind to guide their direction. A cobweb isn’t a spider web in the traditional sense. It’s really just a collection of leftover parachute strands in the corners of your home that have collected dust and debris. Glue boards don’t work well to trap webspinners because their method of travel means that they are unlikely to walk across the boards and get trapped. Instead, I like to spray along the seams of ceilings with pyrethrum, which is an organic insecticide made from dried chrysanthemum flowers. It’s very effective at killing web spinners that walk across the trail and it’s completely non-toxic to children and pets.

• Tobacco Spray
  

  Treating the outside of your house, including your garden, is a crucial step in keeping your home spider-free. A tobacco spray is very easy to make and it doesn’t take that long to do. Take one bag of Tops tobacco and heat it on the stovetop mixed with one gallon of water for an hour. Allow the mixture to cool, then strain the tobacco out. Dilute the remaining liquid to 1 quart of water or 32 ounces. Use your hose sprayer attachment to spray around areas in your garden where you frequently see spiders or their webbing.

Preventive Measures That Keep Your Home Spider-Free

Once you get the spiders in your house under control, there’s a lot you can do to keep them from coming back. The key is to keep your home free of the two things spiders want – dark places to hide and lay their egg sacs and a plentiful food source.

• Clean and De-clutter: The best thing you can do to control spiders in your home is to not give them places to live. Spiders love hiding in piles of old recycling, deep under furniture and in all those cardboard boxes you keep stored in your garage or attic. Keep your storage areas clear of clutter, store your belongings in plastic totes, and regularly dust and vacuum any spots where spiders may take refuge. Keep the outside of your house clear of things like leaf piles and garden debris. Woodpiles, stacks of garden supplies and wood storage bins should not be placed right up against your house. Compost piles should also be kept at the far end of your garden, well away from your house.
• Plant a Spider Repellent Garden: Add plants like mint, citronella, lemon verbena and lavender to your garden to keep spiders away. Place them as close to your house as possible. Spiders do not like these plants, so they won’t live in them – they will move further afield in your garden, leaving fewer spiders around the entrance points to your house.
• Caulk and Seal All Possible Entrance Points: Check around the foundation of your house for any cracks and holes and seal them. Make sure the seal around your doors and windows is tight as well. This is especially important for ground floor windows and basement windows if you have them. Check inside your home as well for any holes or cracks where spiders may be entering. It’s not unusual to see spiders entering a house through a miniscule hole in the back of a kitchen or bathroom cabinet.
• Turn Out The Lights: Spiders will only stay in your home and breed if they have a reliable food source. Insects like mosquitoes and moths are attracted to light, and where they go, the spiders will follow. If you take the simple step of turning all your lights out when you go to bed, you’ll actually deprive the spiders of their food source and they will mostly likely leave in search of a better food supply. You should also consider switching your porch lights out for a motion sensor light. A standard light just attracts insects all night, giving spiders an unbeatable food source, which is why you find so many webs and egg sacs above your door and in your eaves.

Organic Spider Pest Control Services

Getting rid of the spiders in your house permanently takes a multi-layered approach, particularly if you’ve opted for more effective organic pest control treatments. It also takes time and effort to do it right, so I always make sure to take all the time I need to identify all the entrance points to your home, the types of spiders you’re dealing with and the areas where they lay their eggs.

• In the first treatment, I get rid of all the spiders that have wandered into your home looking for a meal as well as their webs. I also get to their eggs before they can hatch using a Weber pole. I make sure to inspect every inch of your property from basement to attic to make sure that I haven’t missed a single one.
• I treat the inside of your home for any spiders I may have missed with a combination of essential oils, nicotine, pyrethrum and glue boards. The type of treatment I apply depends largely on the type of spiders you have in your home and the scope of the infestation.
• I spray the foundations of your home as well as the eaves of your house with a combination of essential oils and nicotine. This kills any spiders in those areas and discourages new ones from coming in to take up residence.
• I then granulate the 30 feet surrounding your foundation with a repellent to kill any spiders that even come close to your home, so there will be no more walking into webs or getting bitten by spiders!

I offer the most comprehensive organic spider treatment available because I spend longer doing the job right and take multiple steps that other companies will not spend the time to do. Unlike other companies that use dangerous, non-selective chemical treatments, Ant & Garden Pest Control in Beaverton, Oregon uses all organic pest control products that are completely safe. My methods only target spiders that pose a health risk to your family, while leaving beneficial insects like ladybugs, praying mantises and honey bees alone. Best of all, with my intensive multi-layered custom approach, I can get your home spider-free without compromising the health and wellbeing of your family and pets.