Spiders ----- Ewww!!! How do I get rid of them?

[Kungjo]

I have spiders in my house. Lots of little ones crawling around in nooks and crannies. I'm afraid that they may bite my kids. What's a good way to get rid of them?

I'm not sure if they just get in the house or were born in the house. I have a 13 month old who is into everything. Loves to put things in her mouth so I really don't want to put chemicals inside the house. Does it do any good to have my pest control/termite company come spray outside the house?

Thanks,

[Kungjo]

I have spiders in my house. Lots of little ones crawling around in nooks and crannies. I'm afraid that they may bite my kids. What's a good way to get rid of them?

I'm not sure if they just get in the house or were born in the house. I have a 13 month old who is into everything. Loves to put things in her mouth so I really don't want to put chemicals inside the house. Does it do any good to have my pest control/termite company come spray outside the house?

Thanks,

[kimbe]

I worked in an entomology department in a previous job and from what I understand spraying really doesn't get rid of spiders all that well. (What the spraying does is get rid of the bugs that the spiders would eat.) So I don't think that having a pest control company come would be worth it. The best thing you can do is vacuum a lot, especially the baseboards, corners (high and low), under furniture, beds etc. Most bites won't be too bad (except for the nasty ones I think that there are only 4.)

I wouldn't worry too much. I am going to try to locate a fact sheet for you.

ETA: Most of the fact sheets I have found just tell you about the individual spiders and say that spraying doesn't really work. To get more information on control, I suggest contacting your local extension office.


HTH!

[holliam]

The majority of spiders are harmless, and they usually eat nastier bugs. We actually like seeing spiders in our house!

Holli

[LBMommy]

We have a lot of spiders too (daddy long leg type and squishy black type, yuck). What i have read on various websites is that (like PP said) spraying doesn't work, but you can do the following to discourage spiders from making your home their home: move things around as much as possible (e.g., move furniture when vacuuming, dust the back of bookshelves, vacuum closet floors); seal up as many "nooks" as possible (we have lots of open crevices in our old old house); and don't use cardboard boxes for storage - for some reason spiders love cardboard. I have a feeling we will always have SOME spiders, but I think these things have helped, especially with the squishy black ones.

HTH,
Jen
Mommy to Avery 8/23/04