How To Keep Spiders Out Of Your Dallas House

"It's fun to walk into the bedroom and find a hairy spider the size of your hand," said no Dallas resident, ever. While there are only two spiders here (the black widow and the brown recluse) that are considered a medical threat to humans, there are few people who want to live with spiders, any spiders. That's why we've put together this helpful guide. Here are seven quick tips to keep spiders out of your Dallas home.

1. Reduce Insects

Spiders are attracted to your yard and to the perimeter of your home by insect populations. This is because spiders eat insects. The more insects you have, the more spiders you're likely to have. Here are a few suggestions for reducing insects.

• Keep lights off at night
• Draw curtains
• Replace white lights with yellow lights
• Keep bagged trash in covered receptacles
• Disinfect receptacles periodically to remove strong odors
• If you have a dog, keep dog waste picked up
• Reduce dense vegetation in your landscaping
• Keep your plants healthy and strong

2. Remove Water Sources

Spiders need water. While they can get some of the water they need from the bugs they eat, they're going to want to be near a water source to wet their whistles. Use these suggestions to get rid of all the watering holes.

• Bring bowls or cups in from outside. This one is obvious.
• Remove objects from your yard that capture rainwater. This can be anything, such as a toy, lawn equipment, a shovel, an old tire, a 1996 Ford F-150, etc.
• Address areas of compacted ground or poor gradients.
• Clean your gutter system and repair gutter breaks.
• Repair leaky hoses, sprinklers, or spigots.

3. Remove Clutter

Any objects that don't need to be in your yard should be removed. Even if an item can't hold water, spiders can establish themselves in, under, and around the objects in your yard, particularly organic objects. Stacks of wood, piles of rocks, brush, and sticks are all interesting to spiders.

4. Remove Webs

One of the most overlooked spider control methods is the removal of spider webs. A single spider web can have hundreds of eggs. These eggs are kept inside a sac. If you remove a web, you remove the sac and the eggs. We recommend using a spider web removal tool and treating the tool after you're done with the removal process. If you see webs that are under your roofline or in other high locations, you can tap the removal tool to a long pole to get those difficult-to-reach webs. Be sure to also look in low places, such as underneath your deck, patio, or porch.

5. Seal Your Exterior

If there are any spiders left around your home after you've removed food, water, harborage options, and unhatched baby spiders, your goal should be to give the remaining spiders as few entry points as possible. While it is impossible to completely seal spiders out of your home, it is worth the effort to try. Here are some common ways spiders enter Dallas residences:

• Gaps in weatherstripping and door sweeps
• Holes in door and window screens
• Holes created by wood-damaging pests, such as carpenter ants, mice, and rats
• Unprotected vents and louvers
• Cracks in slab foundations and foundation walls
• Gaps around foundation and exterior wall penetrations, such as water mains and utility conduits
• Gaps in soffits, fascia, and rooflines
• Damaged seals around roof penetrations

6. Make Your Home Boring To Spiders

• When a spider gets inside, it may go right back outside if your Dallas home doesn't have what the spider is looking for.
• Address indoor pest infestations quickly. Spiders will definitely want to establish themselves if they find fruit flies, fungus flies, centipedes, ants, and any number of other pests hanging out inside your home.
• Address moisture. Droplets of water in a sink, tub, or shower can give spiders a water source. Fix leaking showerheads and faucets to prevent droplets. Consider showering or taking a bath long enough before you go to bed so that droplets dry up before nighttime when spiders are active. Use the fan in your bathroom. Install fans, ventilation, or dehumidifiers in areas of your home that stay humid.
• Address clutter. Spiders love spaces that have lots of clutter. When you keep things neat, remove dust, and routinely check spaces in your home, you can make spiders want to go somewhere else.

7. Remove Indoor Webs

This one goes without saying. The last thing you want is a hundred spiderlings hatching in your house. While most of them won't survive, the few that do will add to your spider troubles.

If You'd Like Help

Remember that All-Safe Pest & Termite is always available to assist you with spider and general pest control. We offer year-round residential pest control plans that work to repel and reduce the insects spiders eat, and also the spiders themselves. Reach out to us. We're here to help.