Although popular belief holds that spiders only come into houses during the fall, they are very common visitors in houses throughout the year. Within homes, they are beneficial in helping to control smaller soft bodied insects such as flies or fungus gnats. Few cause human harm. Despite this, many humans are not willing to share their home with these eight-legged predators.
Sanitation indoors and outdoors is important in control. Clean up any woodpiles, rocks, compost piles, and clutter near the house. Garages, basements and crawl spaces must be kept uncluttered.
Check weather stripping and seal crevices in the home. Spiders enter homes through small breaks around windows and doors. Screens, tight-fitting doors and windows will help keep them out.
Indoors, frequently move storage boxes and vacuum under furniture to disrupt webs. Spiders prefer undisturbed areas and will leave if webs are frequently broken. Fearful people can keep spiders at arm’s length by using a vacuum to destroy webs.
