While spiders generally are harmless, and actually very good at controlling the other insect populations in your yard, seeing one suddenly scurry across the floor or wall, or lurking in a corner can be a bit unnerving for many people. While we may appreciate how beneficial they are in keeping other pests at bay, not many folks want to share their indoor living spaces with them.
Why Are Spiders In My House?
Determining what is causing spiders to appear in your home will help you figure out ways to deter them from hanging around and giving you the creeps. If you are finding your home interior to be harboring an abundance of the eight-legged critters, you will need to identify what is attracting them inside to begin with, in order to eliminate them. Here are some of the bigger issues you may be unknowingly contributing that make your home tempting to a spider invasion:
Good Places to Hide
Many spiders like dry, dark spaces where they will be undisturbed by traffic in order to build their webs. Discourage spider inhabitation by removing their favorite places to hide, spin webs and catch prey. Eliminate cluttered, dusty nooks and crannies and ensure that boxes in storage areas are taped securely shut.
Food supply
Like most arachnids, spiders prey on insects for their sustenance. If your home is welcoming to other insects, such as moths, houseflies, fruitflies and silverfish, it won’t take long for spiders to discover this food source. Take your household garbage out often, check for and dispose of any stored food infested with pantry moths or weevils, and eliminate crumbs that will draw ants. Remove lighting around doors and window openings that attract insects, or replace them with a yellow “bug-light”.
Access
Make sure that all screens on doors and windows are secure, and fill in any cracks along baseboards or door jambs that may be providing access to spiders and insects. While your home will have to have a food supply for spiders to settle in permanently, there are other reasons you may suddenly see the appearance of multiple spiders indoors – you may have brought them in yourself. If you have brought firewood inside, or have moved plants or other outdoor items in spiders may have hitched a ride. Boxes transferred from a storage facility or garage can also be harboring spiders.
There are many factors that contribute to making your home attractive to spiders. Preventing other insects from entering as a tempting food source, and making your home less hospitable to any stragglers will help you keep them outside where they belong, but if your home is experiencing a sudden boom in spider inhabitants, getting professional help to to resolve the issue may be required. If you have problems with spiders, call Preventive Pest Control today for safe Albuquerque spider control.