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Spiders have taken over your yard! Now what?

Your home’s yard space is a crucial area to entertain friends, family and spend time during the warmer months of the year. Unfortunately, when spending time outdoors you may run into unwanted guests… such as insects and spiders.

 

Luckily, there are numerous ways to deter spiders from your space and to keep it in pristine condition, season after season.

Here are some tips and tricks to keep eight-legged critters out of your home and ensure you have an excellent area to enjoy. In a nutshell:

  • Keep the area clean and free of debris.

  • Fill in any cracks and holes with caulk.

  • Get rid of excess leaves and store campfire wood away from your porch.

  • Use natural deterrents such as Eucalyptus.

  • Use yellow lightbulbs in your light fixtures to keep other insects at bay.

 

Preventative Measures

Clean potential hiding spaces

Spiders love to create webs in easy to reach crevices that are not touched frequently. Taking the time to clean these areas and pick up yard waste reduces the likelihood of spiders making your backyard into a home.

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Simply grab a broom or vacuum, get rid of unwanted webs, and keep the area as clean and clutter-free as possible. This will reduce your chances of encountering any unwanted arachnids.

Your Pest control providers may also offer a webster service, to knock down webs and debris forming in your eaves, windows, and items around your home.

 

Need ideas for where to clean? Patio furniture, birdbaths, grills, and general clutter provide a dark, perfect spot for spiders.

 

Another area that many people forget to clean is their gutters, which can be a prime habitat for the eight-legged foes.

 

Repair cracks or holes with caulk

Holes or cracks in your patio, foundation, or siding are perfect hiding places for spiders to live. To remedy this situation, simply take caulk and fill in the holes accordingly.

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Keep the area free of firewood & leaves

People all around the world love fire pits, however, one problem with having an outdoor fire pit is finding a place to store your firewood.

Is it not recommended to keep your firewood pile near your patio. It can attract creatures of all shapes and sizes, including spiders. Instead, find a spot for your outdoor woodpile away from the home and living area.

Additionally, keep it off the ground and somewhere clean and dry — like a firewood rack.

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Leaf piles can create the perfect environment for spiders

Spiders love dark places to hide, unkempt piles of leaves are perfect places for them to take up residence. Taking the time to use a leaf blower or raking and collecting those leaf piles will keep your patio clean and repel spiders from your outdoor space.

 

Natural Approaches

If you’ve taken the steps above and still find yourself with a spider problem, it may be time to employ some light natural repellants. This will help make your outdoor space less hospitable and ensure that the outdoor spiders won’t stick around for long.

 

Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus is one natural way to repel spiders without using pesticides or harmful chemicals. Simply grab dried Eucalyptus and place it on the perimeter of your patio.

Spiders hate the smell of this more fragrant herb and will stay away from any area that smells of Eucalyptus.

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Salt and Water

You can also combine household salt and water in an empty spray bottle to create a homemade spray that will keep spiders at bay. Spray your mixture around the border of your patio as well as along the edges of your home to keep spiders away from your outdoor spaces.

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Citronella Candles

A common cure for keeping mosquitos and gnats away from you while you are enjoying the outdoors is by burning citronella candles, but what many people do not realize is that it also works to keep spiders away as well.

 

Crushed Garlic

Another way you can repel spiders and other pests naturally is by crushing one or two pieces of garlic and adding it to a spray bottle with garlic. Using this spray around the border will deter many pests, including spiders, from joining you while you enjoy your outdoor space.

 

Cedar Chips

Cedar Chips are a natural deterrent to a multitude of pests and is one of the ways to repel spiders from your outdoor space. You can grab a bag of cedar chips at your local home and garden store and use them to cover your garden beds, which will help your plants thrive and keep pests away.

 

Diatomaceous Earth

Finally, you can repel spiders by sprinkling Diatomaceous Earth around the base of your house and around our flower beds. Diatomaceous Earth is typically made up of dried algae and provides adequate nutrients to your garden while at the same time keeping pests away.

 

Loving your Outdoor Lights?

You took the time to string up patio lights or install new lights on your back porch. But what you didn’t think about is the eight-legged friends who would soon call them home!

Often the outdoor lights that we all install on our patios typically attract insects that spiders love to eat. Research suggests that you can install yellow bulbs to prevent spiders from creating webs in outdoor light fixtures. 

Yellow bulbs have proven time and time again that they keep unwanted insects and pests at bay, which in turn will have spiders moving somewhere else to find a snack.

Turning your lights off when you go to bed each night will also help prevent additional critters from staying long enough to make a home.

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Final Thoughts

No matter what time of year you like to enjoy your outdoor patio and setup, you always want to enjoy your time without worrying about pests or spiders joining you.

 

We covered several ways to repel spiders from your outdoor space. However, recurring pest control services can help prevent infestations and unwanted spiders from taking over your living environment.

 

Monthly or Bi-Monthly spraying and de-webbing services can help ensure you’re not stuck with the headache of insect invasions and unpleasant patio experiences.

 

Give us a call today to discuss prices and service options.

Carpet Beetles making an appearance? Now it's time to evict them!

​​Vacuum infested areas:

After you are done with locating the sources of carpet beetle infestation, it’s time to vacuum those areas properly. Do vacuum all the areas and things of your home which can’t be machine washed. These include your upholstered furniture, curtains, and carpets. Don’t forget to vacuum your home at least once a day after the infestation is removed. This will prevent them

from invading your home again.

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Wash and clean everything:

It is necessary to wash and clean every fabric item with soap and hot water. This may include clothing, bedding, curtains, cushion covers, towels, and other infected fabrics. Wash your

clothes with laundry detergent and machine wash them on the highest temperature. Use a steam cleaner to wash your rugs and carpets. You can shampoo your carpets with hot water to

kill carpet beetles.

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Get Rid of Infested Food:

If you suspect any food is infested with beetles, get rid of it straight away. Besides, try not to store those foods in your home which are commonly targeted by beetles.

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Substitute Natural Fibers with Synthetic Ones:

If you want to go fully radical with carpet beetles and wipe them out completely, replace all your natural fiber textiles with synthetic textiles. You might have heard that keratin is the most

favorite protein of all types of insects. Carpet beetles are fond of keratin too. This protein is abundant in natural materials like wool, leather, hair, and similar fibers. So, items such as carpets, rugs, and furniture which are made from these materials are an easy target of carpet beetles. If you don’t have their favorite food (i.e., natural fibers) in your home, you will also not

have them!

 

How to Prevent Carpet Beetles from Invading in Future

-Clean and vacuum on a regular basis. Don’t give your carpet beetles any chance to be your guests again by keeping dust, lint, or hair in your home.

-Seal all clothes or textiles in plastic storage. These beetles can’t chew through plastic no matter how much they try. Plus, place some fragrant cedar wood in your wardrobe. Carpet beetles hate

the smell of cedar and won’t crawl near your clothes.

-It is time you start storing all your food in air-tight containers. Containers with lids will prevent carpet beetles from entering and feeding on your food items.

-Keep your windows closed to stop them from coming inside. If you want to have open windows, install, or repair window screens and seal off ANY openings. If there is water damage to your window frames, completely seal them in or have them replaced.

-Remove bird and animal nests from around your house. Usually, all kinds of mites and pests including carpet beetles occupy these nests. So, if you routinely remove nests from inside and outside your home, you will keep them at bay.

-Inspect all plants and flowers thoroughly before you bring them into your house. Plants and freshly plucked flowers are the favorite hiding places of carpet beetles. Through those, these

tiny brutes move inside your house.

-Don’t forget about controlling other kinds of pests too. Carpet beetles increase in quantity if they find other critters roaming around your house as well. Use household pest restraint

methods time-to-time to control all other sorts of pests.

-Sign up for recurring Pest Services to prevent future infestations.

Preparing for a Flea Treatment?

  • Vacuum all carpeting and mop wood and tile floors, including along the walls and inside closets.

  • Clean or vacuum furniture, especially between and under cushions, and under the furniture itself.

  • Close the vacuum cleaner bag tightly and dispose of it in a trash container outside your home. If using a vacuum with a re-usable canister, take it outside your home and empty contents into a container, close it tightly, and discard. Wash the reusable canister in hot water.

  • Remove all pets and have them treated for fleas by a veterinarian. If you plan to treat the animal yourself, it is essential that all label directions be followed and that you use only products specified for the species of animal on which the product is to be used.  It is critical, however, that pets be treated at the same time as the home, so that neither re-infest the other afterward.

  • Wash all pet bedding in hot water or destroy it. Tell your pest control technician all of the locations in and outside your home where pets normally rest.

  • Cover fish tanks with wet towels and turn off pumps until reoccupying the home.

  • Pick up all pet food bowls, pet toys, children’s toys and other items off floor as well as the yard if the exterior is being treated. This includes picking up items from floors inside closets and under beds and inside kennels and outdoor pet houses.

  • Strip all bed linens from any beds where the pets rest or lounge, and wash in hot water.

  • Cover and store any open food products, dishes or utensils before service is rendered.

  • Remove all caged pets from your home (birds, reptiles, hamsters, etc.) before service is rendered and until the waiting period described below has elapsed.

  • Be prepared to leave your home or apartment during treatment and until insecticide is thoroughly dried. This will be approximately 4 hours.

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