Spiders are spreading through my home. How can I restrict or eliminate them?

Spiders can be ignored if their numbers are small and they stay in out of the way places. They primarily eat insects already present in homes, such as cupboard pests, silverfish, or clothes moths. Sometimes they eat each other or capture stray insect invaders such as rootweevils and blowflies. Spiders that are more visible, like the ones that get trapped in the tub or run up a wall, can be captured and released outside, vacuumed up, swatted flat, or sprayed with an insecticide. (Do not over-spray).

Usually spider activity declines by mid-October. Unless you continually introduce new spiders on firewood, household spiders will retire into obscurity for another year, quietly killing several times their weight in household insect pests and flies.

You alone can select the methods that will solve your spider problem or your reaction to the problem Fortunately, there will always be spiders. The best solution is to manipulate the environment so the spiders don't live where you do. It is unrealistic to expect that spiders can be totally eliminated. On the other hand, one need not live with abundant spiders. If you can't live with your spiders, some of the following approaches can reduce their numbers:

1. Habitat modification: those spiders which are capable of moving indoors are ones which establish their webs in wood piles, junk piles, disused yard furniture or traps, trash bins, outdoor stairwells, window frames, porch superstructures, brick piles, or ventilation structures. Eliminating or keeping these sites relatively clean will help to keep spider populations low.

2. Structural modification: prevent spider entry by keeping doors and windows screened; by weatherstripping doors so there are no openings between the bottom of the door and the doorsill; closing gaps around water pipes under sinks; and sealing cracks and openings in the house.

3. Sanitation inside: Stored boxes, piles of magazinesand other items in basements create ideal hiding places for spiders. Many live out their lives and die without ever being noticed. The old practice of spring and fall cleaning is a practical control measure. Vacuum behind and under furniture and book cases, along baseboards and corners and in storage areas.

4. Pesticides (inside): an aerosol bomb or fogger will reduce spiders, as well as fleas and other insects that are already present. It will not provide residual control for insect coming in later. The pesticide also may not penetrate inaccessible areas. Follow label directions.

5. Pesticides (outside): Diazinon or dursban, can be applied around the outside of doors, window, vents, outdoor stairwells or window wells, foundations, or cracks and openings. Spray only where needed. Be sure that the site, (indoor use, along foundations outside, etc.) is listed on the label. The product should also be labeled for spiders or nuisance pests.

6. Exterminators: Professional pest control operators (PCO's) or exterminators will tackle the job for you. There are many approaches used by various companies.

7. Firewood: Spiders seek warmth and shelter in protected places like logs, under piles of rocks, bark and other debris. The wood pile is a choice winter residence. Many spiders ride inside on the firewood. Protect outside wood piles with covering. The more debris that falls on the wood, the more attractive the spiders find it. It isn't advisable to spray the wood pile. Pesticides with enough residual to keep spiders out could be toxic to handle, ant there is no information available on possible health effects of burning wood treated with pesticides.

8. New construction: if you are adding a room, building a house, or remodeling, consider treating the wall voids with relatively non-toxic (to humans) boric acid. This material is picked up on the spider's body and eaten when the spider grooms itself.

Intregrated Pest Management

Usually, successful pest management requires a combination or blend of methods. Each situation may require a different combination of management strategies.

Good luck, good question.

As skippy said, if you have large numbers of spiders in your home, it's because they are feeding on something else in your house.

If you can figure out what the insect infestation the spiders are feeding on is, and get rid of those bugs, the spider problem will take care of itself.

If you wipe out the spiders without first addressing their food source, once the spiders are gone whatever insect they're feeding on will explode, and you may well have a much worse problem on your hands. Until you get rid of the primary infestation the spiders are actually helping you.

Some exterminator companies will help you identify the primary infestation, but many others will gladly treat your spiders, knowing that it means you will need to contact them again in a few weeks when the other bugs start coming out of the woodwork (sometimes literally).

So at this point, probably the worst thing to do is get rid of the spiders.

Here is my solution that works well for my home.

I have pets, so I need to take special care of them during this process.

Purchase the home "bomb" or "smoke" type of pesticide. I use more than the recommended number because my house had been added on to over the years and the air flow pattern is terrible.

Prepare your home by opening all doors to cabinet, closets, crawl spaces, Attic, what ever you have. Either cover your food and dishes with paper or simply remove them from the home. Do the same with pet's food and dishes.

Make sure all gas appliances are turned off and the pilot lights are not on.

Remove people and pets from home. I have a detached garage where my pets can remain safe.

Set off the bombs as described by the manufacturer. Leave ASAP and do not return until well after the allotted time.

Dispose of the containers as directed and remove the papers you placed on the dishes and food. I like to wash my dishes just in case something got on them.

I do not have any problems with spiders, fleas, ants, or any other insect in my home. I do this in the spring and fall.

Cats eat spiders. Spiders, as well as moths and flies, became very rare in our house once we got our first cat. Any time we see a spider now, it usually has one of our cats actively hunting it.

Try keeping your house clean. Unwashed dishes, food crumbs all over the place and pet excrement attract insects which in turn attract spiders.

Well to be honest its hard to tell because it was the Dark Ages...It was called the Dark Ages because of the lack of documentation(recorded history) of that time period. A lot of speculation is the only way to fit the pieces together.. So for your question we can only guess..

spiders will come in looking for bugs and crap, get rid of the bugs and the spiders will go, there is no need to kill the spiders, they are quite important.

Spend the money for an exterminator. Then you'll have a warranty if they come back.

Apply Sevendust around the perimeter of your house.

A fumigator should do the trick