How to Get Rid of Spiders (15 Easy Methods) Home & Yard

Hate seeing spiders around your home and yard? While spiders are beneficial, some are venomous. Here’s how to get rid of spiders in the house and yard. You’ll learn how to repel, prevent, and kill these unwanted house guests.

To get rid of spiders, you can remove their food source, repel them naturally, or seal points of entry. If necessary, you can also trap and kill spiders in your home. Here are the tactics needed to get rid of spiders in your house. And methods to get rid of them in the yard.

You can love Charlotte’s Web and still hate the spiders that you see around your home and yard. Before you use harsh chemicals or decide on natural remedies, it’s worth asking if killing spiders is a good idea.

Here are the types of the common house spiders in the country. You can then learn how to get rid of spiders and prevent them from seeking out your home.

How to Get Rid of House Spiders (11 Methods)

House spiders prefer the warm temperature, shelter, and food supply in your home.

Here are both physical, natural, and chemical remedies that you can try.

1. Declutter

Cutting back on clutter is an effective way to deal with house spiders.

When you remove clutter, you take away the natural habitat of those spiders. Look for any areas of your home that have a lot of things such as your pantry and living room.

Use a vacuum or broom to remove the webs that you see and then start working on your clutter. You may find it helpful to throw away old food and donate old clothing or books that you no longer need.

2. Remove Spider Food Source

As you tidy, you’ll also reduce the food supply for the spider’s food supply.

When your house is clear of food crumbs and other things that flies and bugs eat, you’ll be reducing, even removing the spider’s prey.

As you get rid of other bugs in the home, you’ll reduce the number of spiders as well.

It’s worth getting rid of as many bugs as possible. Spiders depend on other insects for food. Remove their food and you’ll reduce the number of spiders in your home.

3. Check Your Window Screens

Using window screens is another preventative measure to try. While screens won’t kill spiders, they will keep them from coming into your home. You’ll find both plastic and metal screens.

Make sure that you check often for signs of holes and wear and tear. Spiders can enter through small holes and build webs in your home.

4. Seal Those Cracks

Take a walk around your home looking for cracks and possible entry points. Seal those with expanding foam or caulk.

Last year we found a large gap where the power post came into the house. Ladybugs, beetles, and spiders were coming into the basement, and we couldn’t figure out where. Once I found and sealed the gap, it almost eliminated spiders and bugs in the basement.

5. Vacuum

When you see webs, use your vacuum. Most vacuums come with attachments that reach deep under your furniture and into high corners that you cannot usually reach.

Keep in mind that this preventative step works best if you use it as soon as possible.

If you wait until you see multiple webs, the situation might be outside of your control. And you might need to employ other tactics in our guide.

6. Peppermint and Other Essential Oils

To prevent spiders from coming into your home, try peppermint oil.

Want to make your own peppermint spray? Simply mix up to 20 drops of peppermint oil with water in a spray bottle.

Spraying the solution around your house creates a barrier. The scent of peppermint repels the spiders and will make them look for a different home.

Other essential oils you might consider include eucalyptus, lemongrass, rosemary, and citronella.

Here’s how to use essential oil to repel spiders.

7. Vinegar

Vinegar is another natural repellent that helps you fight back against spiders.

Distilled white vinegar works best when you mix it with an equal ratio of water and fill a spray bottle.

Spray the solution near windows and other entrances to your home as well as in places where you spotted spiders. The harsh scent will repel them and force them to find a new home.

8. Catch and Release

This is a simple solution. Just put a glass over the spider, slide a paper under the glass and carry the spider outside.

This tactic will remove the spider from your house without killing it. It can continue to do its insect-eating outside.

Of course, you should be careful if the spider is venomous. Unless you know what you’re doing, catching venomous spiders probably isn’t a good idea.

9. Spider Repellents

Stay Away Spiders is a useful product that comes in a small pouch.

It uses rosemary and other ingredients that repel spiders. You can place the pouches in dark and hidden spots to ensure that the spiders do not build homes in your house.

These pouches are safe for the environment, pets, and children. And it doesn’t harm the spiders either – it safely repels them.

Please Note: The final two methods are a last resort. Killing spiders isn’t the best solution unless they are venomous and present a risk to your safety.

Please consider the first 9 methods first, then use these as a last resort.

10. Spider Traps

Spider traps are one of the best tools to get rid of spiders. These traps use bait and adhesive, which is why you need to keep them away from your pets and kids.

Place the traps in places where you see the insects. When they walk across the top, the adhesive locks them to the trap.

These spider traps by Terro are made to trap the big 3 spiders: brown recluse, black widow, and hobo spiders.

11. Chemical Spray

If you have a serious spider problem on your hands and don’t want to waste time with natural remedies that may not work, try insecticides.

Insecticides are available as spray formulas that are easy to use. You simply spray the liquid under your furniture and in deep corners as well as along your baseboards.

Insecticides can form a barrier that stops spiders from entering your home. Certain formulas will kill both adult spiders and their eggs, too.

Many of the top chemical products come in spray bottles.

Ortho makes several insecticides that it sells under its Home Defense line. You screw your garden hose into the top and turn on the water.

The water mixes with the insecticide and comes through the top. Spraying this solution around your home will kill all of the spiders you see and keep killing them for several weeks.

TERRO also makes a spray that kills spiders. This spray works on brown recluse and hobo spiders along with wolf and black widow spiders. Terro also makes a cobweb eliminator that kills and repels spiders.

Get Rid of Spiders from Your Yard (4 Methods)

Looking at how to get rid of spiders outside is a good option if you find them living in your yard and garden. Start with biological remedies that help you control the spiders you see and those you don’t see.

Spiders tend to prefer hunting at night and may only come out when you’re inside. Certain plants can repel them such as eucalyptus. You can plant eucalyptus around the edges of your garden if it will grow in your area.

1. Diatomaceous earth

Diatomaceous earth is another handy product that you can use outside. Made from fossilized algae, diatomaceous earth is natural and will not harm animals or kids.

You lay a thin layer along any hard or soft surfaces such as your patio or walkway. It has sharp edges that stab the spiders as they walk across it and kill them.

And it helps reduce other insects, that are a possible food source for spiders.

2. Peppermint Oil

Peppermint oil works just as well outside as it does inside. You can use 10 to 20 drops of peppermint oil or wintergreen oil in a spray bottle with water. Once you make the solution, spray it where you saw spiders or think they might live.

Though you can use it in your garage or shed, you may want to check first to make sure it doesn’t damage any surfaces.

An alternative to peppermint oil is a peppermint plant. You can plant both peppermint and wintergreen around your garden. The scent of the plant as it grows is strong enough to send spiders running.

3. Clean and Declutter

Cleaning is another good way to get rid of spiders and keep them from coming back. If you use your garage for storage, keep the storage areas free.

Why does cleaning get rid of spiders? Not only does it reduce hiding places, but it also reduces the number of flies and other insects. When you reduce the number of insects, you reduce the food supply. If there isn’t enough food, the spiders will move on.

Get rid of anything that gives the spiders a safe place to hide, including shrubs and trees that touch your home. The space between those plants and your home gives spiders an easy hiding place and also keeps them safe from predators. If you have large rock piles outside, take some time to spread the rocks out.

You should also look for any signs of clutter as this will attract spiders. Not only does clutter give them a place to build a web, but it also keeps them safe from humans.

Focus on old patio furniture and storage bins as well as old building or construction supplies and holiday decorations. You can also use an old broom to knock down any webs that you see outside.

4. Spray: Natural or Chemical

If you have an infestation of dangerous spiders, you might consider treating your lawn and garden. There are tons of insecticides that use strong chemicals.

You can buy some of the same products that exterminators use from hardware stores. Some come already mixed and in a convenient spray bottle, like Ortho BugClear. It’s easy to apply the spray around the foundation of your garage and around plants where you see spiders.

If you plan on using insecticides and have kids and/or pets, read the instructions carefully. You may find that you need to wait until the spray dries before allowing pets to use the space.

For a natural alternative, you might consider Natural Armor Spider Killer and Repellent. It is an extra-strength spray with peppermint. It covers 1000 square feet and lasts 90 days.

Do only spiders have 8 legs? Learn about the 11 types of 8-legged animals.

Why Killing Spiders is a Bad Idea

You can spend a lot of time looking at how to get rid of spiders, but make sure that doing so won’t cause any harm first. Spiders spin webs and do a good job of getting rid of other pests in your home.

They can catch both flies and other types of insects that cause problems around your home. Some of those insects carry diseases that can harm your family.

There are justifiable reasons to kill a spider. While most spiders are harmless, some have serious venom. While death from a brown recluse bite is rare, I don’t think anyone would judge you if you squished that one.

Sometimes they get confused. Here’s how to tell the difference between a brown recluse and wolf spider.

Or if you meet a wandering spider (one of many species called a banana spider), it might be a decent idea to drop a book on it. Unless you’re outside and you can just walk away. But if I meet one of these inside my house, I’m afraid he might not make it.

Keep Reading: How to Get Rid of Ticks in the Yard and How to Kill Ticks

Your Turn

If you have spiders in your home, it also means you have other insects. Spiders are beneficial and killing them does more harm than good. It’s better to repel spiders and prevent entry than to kill them.

Many people have a fear of spiders. They hate seeing them drop down from the ceiling or pop out of corners and dislike the webs and nests they build outside.

Whether you find them in your garage, home, or yard, you can easily learn how to get rid of spiders and keep them from returning.