We had Orkin spray the outside of our home every other month the last four years. We live on a lake and have spiders everywhere. Orkin usually sprays twice a year inside too. I canceled it in December. I think I am going to start back up again though. We get HUGE wolf spiders that go in our pool in the fall. It's gross.

Read my post above about the flea spray that contains INSECT GROWTH REGULATOR. An unexpected, but happy, result was it seemed to prevent spiders from hatching. I had sprayed all furniture & flooring throughout my home and decided to do the same in the basement.

I was pleasantly surprised to see a great decline in spiders, for I freak out when I see these things.

One application lasts about a year and it's certainly worth a try.

Hey everyone. It's been over three years since I've last posted, but I've never forgotten this thread (I started it back in 2012). I've read everybody's comments. Thank you all for posting about your personal experiences and advice. I appreciate all comments.

I thought for sure that I would have been moved out by now. I pray that I'm out by 2018. The delay is due to me being injured. This whole situation has been causing me a lot of anxiety and sleepless nights in the spring, summer and fall months.

My spider problem has never been resolved, and it's worse. I have been using glue traps for a while now. I put some boric acid powder in some areas. I used to spray inside the house, however, that didn't seem to help. I think it's impossible to seal every crevice here. I don't want to use a bug bomb. I'm thinking of hiring an exterminator again.

As I've mentioned in the past, I've never experienced anything like this with spiders, and I've never seen such large spiders before inside a home. Last year, I discovered that I have wolf spiders in my living room. I didn't think that wolf spiders were in this area where I live. I don't have any clutter in the living room (floors are clean), so I wonder if the wolf spiders are coming in from the fireplace or somewhere along the front wall or from the basement. I just want the wolf spiders gone.

Tonight, I noticed a blob on a glue trap under the radiator. I looked closer, and it looked like a wolf spider (not a huge one). How can I sleep after seeing that thing? The spider is dead now.

When I pack my belongings to move, I need to make sure that I don't transfer any spiders to my new home. I feel like I have to go through all of my stuff to make sure that there are no "passengers." I have things stored in boxes, and I'm nervous about opening the boxes. In the future, I'm only going to use plastic storage containers. Never boxes for long-term storage, but that's what we used years ago.

Please tell me I'm not the only person with these spider issues and spider anxieties.

Sleep tight....

A number of years ago my dogs and cats got fleas from the outdoors. Rather than spraying the animals, I purchased a spray that contains an insect growth regulator.

I sprayed all my floor areas and furniture and any place the animals slept both in my living areas and also the basement.

The objective was to prevent the flea eggs from hatching when they fell off the animal. It took awhile but it worked.

However, one added bonus was that I noticed a great reduction of spiders in my home. Like you, I don't like them either. I'll take a snake any day, but spiders really creep me out.

Most any pet store should carry this and it's certainly worth a try. One application can last up to a year.

Do a check on the web to learn more about this product and choose one that does not allow flea eggs to hatch.

Hope this helps.

4thumbs, thank you for your advice. I'll have to look into that type of product. You were very fortunate that it worked for you. I have mostly hardwood floors.

I also heard that Diatomaceous Earth can help reduce the insect population that spiders feed on. I bought some food grade DE, but never got to use it. I wonder how well it could work to keep spiders away.

I think the area I live in has more spiders, being that I'm much closer to a body of water than my previous home. On the bright side, at least we don't have scorpions here...I don't think I could deal with finding those in my home.

I have both hardwood and carpeted floors and the basement is concrete, so I don't think it matters why type of surface you have. I've used Diatomaceous Earth, but mostly around cucumber and squash plants in an effort to deter the cucumber beetle from laying eggs on the plant so don't know what it would do inside a house.

Just make sure you don't breathe in this fine powder.

Another possibility is to try boric acid (not borax which does not work on spiders.)
Boric Acid

We had an energy audit last fall and part of that service was to install sweeps and seals on all doors to the outside. The guys said that people usually notice a reduction in insect infiltration after doing this and I think we have. The service was free from our power company. We still use the glue traps though, just catching fewer spiders.

4thumbs: Thank you. I didn't realize that borax would be ineffective against spiders. It helped with some insects, though. Boric acid....it's on my list now.

jrb451: That's so true about using door sweeps & seals on doors and around windows. Very helpful. I also that service done here.

I had a noticable reduction of the spider population after using 20 mule team borax. I was using it for fleas but afterwards my spider problem(which arrived with a used couch) was nill. It didn't kill the spiders but sucked the moisture away from the egg sacks.

Palmetto roaches. Huge, they fly and, seemingly, are the state bird of SC . I am new to the state, I am in love with my pest guy, lol.

oH! SPIDERS!

I was sitting in my basement room watching TV one evening when I saw a white fluffy thing scurrying across the floor. It was a big spider who had come into contact with some poly stuffing from my fabric/sewing room and had a large wad stuck to it's back.

I got a canning jar and captured him to take a better look.

What I discoverd is that it was a wolf spider. They are common through out many parts of the world. They are big, hairy and have eyes that glow red in the dark! They don't make a web, rather they take over the webs of other spiders.

Then, long story short, we had a spider lodge itself into the AC drain of our car and cause extensive water danger to the car. At least, that is the claim of the dealer. We still are not convinced that we were not lied to about that, but I have seen others report the same thing in online stories. Still think it was a hoax on the insurance company and really a fault of Toyota that they will not owe up to. Long story...........

Wolf spiders can be seen in many of the webs that cling to outside areas of the house. They come in when the weather gets cold.

I have lots of spiders. I am just glad that this one did not crawl over me in bed. I don't generally kill them, any of them.

I'm at the point, I'm killing anything that creeps around and bites

Move.

And beware the South, a lot of our area has a high population of brown recluse endemic. We grow up with them, and don't pay much attention to them. There's no getting rid of them...so why worry.

So, it always makes me wonder about you guys that freak out at totally harmless spiders.

Surely you're not including the Brown Recluse in the "harmless spider" category? I have a silver dollar sized crater on the top of my foot where the skin rotted away after a Brown Recluse bite 40 years ago.

Nope, just that what you can't change, you learn to live with. Besides (from a college biochem class) 90% of people don't have that reaction from a bite. They're definitely dangerous, just not to everyone.

Another interesting fact, is if the house is infested with brown recluses, you will never have a cockroach infestation.

Hello there. I've been researching spiders and going through threads like these to learn of all these possible methods to deal with them. I have an interesting situation in my apartment that I just moved into almost a week ago. Very charming 2nd floor with a deck entrance in an old 1900 house in NY. All was good until I came home the first night and realized I had spiders hanging above my door and around my deck. Days later, I noticed more spiders hanging from the eaves of my home (imagine a perfect little corner spot on the deck outside). I know it doesn't help that I'm so close to the roof and have a security light that stays on from dusk to dawn (hopefully landlord will let me change that), but ever since seeing like 20 visible spiders all hang out at once on each night, I became super stressed, anxious, and obsessive. I vacuumed (which seemed to make a couple spiders come out into home) and then killed or vacuumed them up too. I have a handy broom inside and outside of house. Oh, and the spiders would disappear during the day.

Now being petrified of spiders and having sleepless nights like you, I bought Ortho Home Defense and sprayed it inside and outside. The killer was the deck area. Once I sprayed the eaves and the corner, spiders started coming out everywhere because I was disturbing them!! It was like my mom and I were in a video game-spraying and killing with a broom at the same time. We even found dead baby spiders in several spots on the siding. Traumatizing. Anyway, it definitely seems to have helped a bit. Hard to say because it rained for an hour or so yesterday night, but even afterwards, I saw no spiders hanging around my door hours later!! Think that's because of the rain or the spray? I luckily don't have many spiders inside yet (killed a few, but nothing in the past two days I've noticed), but I'm still worried about how it will be in other seasons. My next steps are to get steel wool and fill some cracks inside, ask the landlord about filling some areas if they tend to attract spiders, and maybe changing the light outside to motion sensing. Any advice?? Think spiders will come inside?? Thanks! And sorry to everyone who has issues like this. I never would have imagined my first apartment having this type of welcome!!

its funny that everyone thinks daddy long legs can eat and kill other spiders when a simple google search will tell you that that is a myth and daddy long legs have absolutely no fangs or venom at all and they survive by simply eating plant material

Don't forget the biggest myth, that they have the deadliest venom of all the spiders.

Ok please someone help!!! I've killed 3 small and I huge 1. But, this morning I got woke up with a scream from my daughter like a terrific one! I go to find her crying and she said that 1 of them was on her leg as she lay on couch. Now I'm freaking out. We just moved here n remodeling inside n out. But, cracks are everywhere and a fireplace. We really are terrified!! Please let me know if you can help!!:(

Wolf Spider? Looks too large for a Brown Recluse. Get some sticky traps.

Omg where do you live so I never move there, I'd die.

N.c

I still think it's worth a try to use the flea spray for carpets & upholstery that contains an insect growth inhibitor. At the time I used it, I was more interested in getting rid of fleas. I used Zodiac, and if the spray can or container says it kill fleas and eggs, that's the one you want. However, when I checked online there's a brand called Precor. The active ingredient you're looking for is methopren.
The Zodiac contains pyrethrum, so you don't want to spray it on animals, especially cats, so you may want to just stay with a brand that contains only the growth inbibitor. The effectiveness of the spray can last up to a year.

At the time I used it, I didn't expect a nice bonus in that I had almost no spiders, so I can only attribute that to the fact that the spray may have prevented spider eggs from hatching.

In fact, I plan to spray around a few areas in the basement and garage for this very reason, for I'm not really fond of spiders.

Our electric company was promoting a free energy audit service which we took advantage of. Part of the service was to install seals, if needed, around windows and doors. One of the techs told me that people say they notice fewer insects inside their home after this is done. Just saying.................

Hi Amanda: I think that it may be a wolf spider, but I'm not too familiar with them. I had a spider like that here (a little smaller than yours), and I was told it's a wolf spider. I hate these spiders, but lots of people will say that they are very beneficial and will eat all the nasty insects and other spiders.

Wolf spiders have 8 eyes that are arranged in three rows. I was told that the eyes glow (almost like a cat's eyes) when you shine a flashlight into them.

Glue traps might help a lot, and the traps will catch the insects and smaller spiders that larger spiders are seeking. The only thing is that spiders could walk off of the glue traps. So here's what I do if I find a spider on a glue trap that is not ready to be tossed yet: I will cut a piece of cardboard to the right size and put it on top of the spider and use something (e.g. a hammer) to press down on the cardboard to kill the spider instantly. Then I don't have to see the spider sitting there on the glue trap (yuck), and I know the spider is dead. But if I had a spider the size of yours on a glue trap, then I'd just throw the glue trap in the garbage. If you have pets or small kids, then glue traps should be placed where your pets/kids can't come into contact with them.

Maybe food-grade diatomaceaous earth could help with eliminating the insects that spiders are feeding on. You could spread the powder around the areas that have cracks/crevices and around the outside of your home. Re-apply after it rains. Chemical spider sprays aren't really helpful unless sprayed directly on a spider or the spider comes into contact with the wet chemical. When the chemical is dry, spiders can walk right over the sprayed surface and most likely won't be affected by the chemicals.

After your remodel is complete and the cracks and openings are sealed, then things should get better.

Hi Cynthia: Oh, that is a stressful situation with all those spiders. You and your mom did a good job, and it seems that you got rid of lots of them. Keep up the good work! If you see any egg sacs, get rid of those right away. Take a broom and brush away any new spider webs...you can't let those spiders get too comfortable. Of course, it's beneficial to have some spiders around the outside of your home to eat all the other nasty insects.

Yes, a motion sensing outdoor light would be a lot better, or even one of those yellow light bulbs (bug lights). The yellow bulbs will attract fewer insects that spiders want to eat.

It's possible that spiders may get inside your home, but if you do your best to seal cracks and crevices, that will help tremendously in stopping spiders and insects from entering your home. You could put some glue traps around your home near where spiders may enter, but be careful if you have pets that may get the glue traps stuck to their fur.

We live in the woods and in the fall get lots of spiders in our pool. They are the size of small tarantulas. I have seen the spider in your pictures many times here. We have our home sprayed by Orkin, they also use "spider powder" on our roof porches. It truly does help. Our windows get spiders like that every month and I have to wash them all down. I canceled Orkin last December . I am going to start back up again as I am seeing more spiders, they get the worst here in August. I also vacuum them off my outdoor plants and sometimes off the window seals, then I empty the bag immediately in the garbage.

Amanda Shelton,

That is a wolf spider. Very very common, I see them all the time around my garage and yes, occasionally in the house. I spray house perimeter and in the garage as often as I can remember to.

https://www.thespruce.com/how-dangerous-is-wolf-spider-2656502

Err, why do you spray for them? They're totally harmless and great insect predators controlling a lot of more damaging insects.

If it weren't for the fact every bug LOVES to bite me & i have an allergy to the bites, i wouldn't mind so much.

Thanks for the response, Mia!! Unfortunately my security light is a weird tube light that doesn't come in yellow and my landlord won't switch it to motion sensing, but I haven't had spiders around it for about a month (other than the other side of the eaves where I didn't spray, but it's good they are staying away for now). Now I realized that more spiders seem to be on the other side of my house where a street lamp faces it!!! I can't win! Lol. It isn't as bad and I k is they are saving me from some insects, but I still want to clear the webs I see. Of course they have to be high up! As long as they don't come inside much, I'm hoping to be fine. But still annoying.

Use mouse glue traps. When flat, cut into two inches pieces and place around corners and doors. Watch how many spiders and xugs you catch!

I just found this site. Thought maybe it would be helpful:

https://www.everydayhealth.com/skin-and-beauty-photos/how-to-identify-common-bug-bites.aspx#11

Your home/house is supposed to be a seal against the elements, bugs, the outside. If you see any bugs at all there is a break in the seal. Don't listen to anyone who says that's normal. It is true that it's normal that the bugs come inside more at some times of year than others if there's a break, but it's not normal at all that they come in . It means there's a break in the seal. It's more efficient to break fix the break in the seal than it is to spray bug spray.

I had a bunch in my house on which I am working, mostly in the basement. I put a thick trail of Borax (laundry powder) around the entire perimeter inside, including in the garage and sunroom and on window sills for awhile. Then vacuumed it up. And then put the pellets of bug killer around the exterior of the home.

No problems since and that was a year ago. Bugs really hate that Borax.

justuntil, your statement is just a bit too simplistic :-)) Houses are not hermetically sealed and the 'seal' is broken constantly - any time you open a door or window, even if screened. And any vent or chimney allows egress and ingress of all manner of spiders and insects. And you or your pets will carry them indoors inadvertently. Or they hitchhike in on houseplants, cut flowers, fruit and vegetables....even with the mail. In fact, it is virtually impossible to keep your house free of insects/spiders no matter how careful you may be.

Get rid of all hanging tree branches near house. Spiders thrive there and make there way in. Cut the branches away, spray the entire perimeter of your home with a home defense spray, then pray for relief from these nasty critters. You must spray based on your climate.

As u can sort of see sorry shitry quality of photo this is one of the 2 really large spiders I saw before I killed it and it's the size of the fireplace stone damn near ! This was in june ok...

And fireplace is in the main living quarters where I sleep ok... so where and how to start to address this problem without having a heart attack when or if i find another large spider ?!

And this is what spider looked like after I killed it... more like screamed for my mom to come downstairs and she after about 5 minutes of attempting to squish it finally succeeded and it moved around alot and fast kept crawling up and down on fireplace mantle.... while she tried stabbing it with a pool stick from the old pool table near by... and told me she cant do it was afraid to get a shoe or something to get close to it I yelled I am moving out today if we don't kill this now ! Lol finally we got an idea and sprayed it with some kitchen cleaner and it slowed down long enough for her to kill it . Wish I had better pics but was so freaked put when I saw it I only snapped the one very quickly just in case I lost it before it had a chance to be killed and only have the phone photo of it dead to try to help identify it.. I been reading thru a lot of thread like these I know this one is old and I've been rambling quite a bit but hope someone takes time to read and respond....

SPRAY. Talstar. It works!! And it is SAFE. No need to live with insects crawling all over the house.

https://www.domyown.com/can-you-clarify-whether-talstar-is-safe-around-kids-qa-11757.html#:~:text=Answer%3A,as%20the%20application%20is%20dry.&text=Talstar%20will%20not%20harm%20babies%20if%20the%20product%20label%20is%20followed.

You need to spray a barrier around the house. There are many different insecticides you can use. Ortho Home Defense is good. Spray ground one foot out from foundation and two feet up on foundation around the entire house outside. It will keep spiders and other crawling bugs out of your house.

We use a Raid bug bomb fogger once a month. Buy it at Home Depot in a blue box 3 pack. We have a slab house foundation in the high desert with 3 sets of French Doors. Bugs wander in!
I read a book on bugs years ago that said they come in for warmth food and water. So seal up all you plumbing openings,vacuum all your dusty corners and make sure food counters are clean and keep food only in the kitchen. See if you have better results for a month or so. Al least you can eliminate what does and doesn’t work?

I still have issues with spiders (it's this house that must have little crevices where they're getting in), but I've been using glue traps for the past few years, and they've helped a lot. If you have pets, use caution with glue traps...you can fold the glue traps so that your pets don't step on them. I place the glue traps under the radiators, along baseboards, near the fireplace, near doorways.

Spraying Ortho Home Defense Max never helped much, nor did hiring an exterminator who sprayed around the house. Spiders need to get the chemicals on their body, and they only walk over the surface of the dried chemical with their long legs.

Omg this sounds just like me & my exact experience! I live on the lower level apartment so its practically like a basement & I have arachnophobia terribly, so seeing so many spiders, has really heightened my anxiety & I'm currently still dealing with it. Although your post is from years ago, i came across it while looking up spider info.. Hope you've had better luck than I have

Terro Spider Killer works well.

Two years ago, I had wolf, hobo, and brown recluse spiders in my basement. I hadn't had any problems for the previous ten years, so I'm not sure why they all decided to move in. I sprayed the perimeter of the basement and around all windows, doors, stairs, and pipes with the Terro. After it dried, I sprinkled diatomaceous earth on the floor and stairs. After about 3 weeks, I didn't see anymore and they haven't returned.

Izzy _: What's helped control the spiders in my house is to use glue traps, since I can't seal all the cracks & crevices where spiders are getting in. Plus, the traps catch other insects that spiders feed on. I purchased glue traps from Amazon: Trapper Max Mouse & Insect Glue Boards-72 Boards FBA TRTAV2012 Clear Box. You can lay them flat or fold them if you have pets. If you can find where the spiders are getting inside, try to seal those openings. But sometimes it's almost impossible to seal everything.

Sandra Guistwhite: I have wolf spiders from time-to-time, too. I hate them! I have a bag of diatomaceous earth which I haven't used yet, but I've read so many great things about it for insect & spider control. I'm very glad to hear that your spider problem has goon away.