Spider Control

Summary: Spider control is difficult unless changes are made to discourage their food source from congregating near doorways and windows.

Mika E; Broken Bow, NE asks: Please tell me how to get rid of spiders. How do I get spider control without hurting my family or my cat and dog?

Mika E; Broken Bow, NE asks: Please tell me how to get rid of spiders. How do I get spider control without hurting my family or my cat and dog?

Dear Mika: Spiders are inside your home because they have been attracted by a food source. Small crawling and flying insects make up much of a spider's diet, so to get spider control you need to do things that stops or, at least, slows down the influx of things the spiders like to eat. Stop the food source and you'll do much towards eliminating your spider population.

On the exterior of the house you can cause spiders to relocate by consistently knocking down the spider webs. The cobweb is the spider's means of surviving. If you keep batting down spider webs the spiders will need to find better hunting grounds. You can use a broom or purchase a web-duster specifically for the job. Web-dusters can be purchased at most home and garden stores like Lowes and Home Depot.

Outdoor lighting will attract lots of insects upon which spiders thrive. Exterior lighting should be turned off when possible. Also, consider changing the

outdoor bulbs to sodium vapor bulbs. They are more expensive, but they last longer and attract fewer flying insects. You might also consider closing the shades of any windows facing the pool enclosure. Lights from indoors will also attract flying insects at night.

Make sure to keep vegetation away from the side of your house. A space of about eighteen inches creates a nice barrier that helps keep insects from jumping off shrubs and walking up the sides of your house to settle in window and door frames. Eliminate dense vegetation along foundation walls using RoundUp. Rake up leaf clutter and grass clippings. Remove as many insect hiding places as possible.

Good, long lasting, low-toxic methods of indoor insect control can be done with Tempo Ultra.  It's not as messy as dust pesticides, but it lasts a long time. Baby powder also works, but your house will smell like a nursery all the time. The powders act as desiccant which dry the exoskeleton of insects, thus killing them. For outdoor perimeter treatments I suggest using a granular pesticide product like Demon WP. Again, removing the food source will help reduce spider populations.