The humble spider is a frequent visitor of the household in many parts of the world, keeping the bugs and insects down to a minimum and frightening you with their presence at the same time.
Spiders in the house do have their uses, however, too many spiders or dangerous spiders do present a problem to homeowners. If you find yourself with unwanted furry housemates and want to get rid of them, worry not.
In this article, we are going to cover some of the ways you can control spider numbers in your home, and how these methods can effectively reduce the number of spiders in your home.
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Does Ant Spray Work on Spiders?
In short, it depends on the spray and if you spray it directly onto the spider. To understand how these sprays work, it’s important to understand the basic make-up of an ant.
Ants are made up of segments, in which all their organs and soft squishy bits are contained within a reinforced exoskeleton. These exoskeletons are the ant’s first line of defense against attack as well as some pesticides.
Ant poison works firstly by making cuts in the ant’s exoskeleton or by being ingested by the ants. The poison then goes to work dehydrating the ant from the inside out.
Ant sprays essentially work the same way, when sprayed onto the ants directly, the mixture gets inside the ants as they breathe it in and dehydrates them.
There are many other products that are available to kill ants, however, these are rarely effective on spiders.
To summarize, yes you can spray a spider directly with ant spray, and it will kill it eventually, however, if you are finding that you have a multitude of spiders in your home, there are some other ways in which you can tackle your spider problem, without having to use ant spray.
Spider Killing Sprays
We will start with the most obvious, there are sprays out there specifically designed to kill spiders. They work in a similar way to the ant killer, drying up the spider from the inside.
An excellent option for those of you looking to tackle both individual spiders and spider nests with eggs is the Black Flag spider killer.
Pest Bomb
Nothing nearly as dramatic as its name suggests, the pest bomb is designed to release a fine mist of insecticide, which kills all nearby spiders and insects it comes into contact with.
This is the perfect solution if you have a larger infestation within a room or particular room. Just make sure that before you set your pest bomb off, you cover all surfaces and open up all cupboards and doors which you seem to be having issues in.
Once the bomb is set off you will need to give the room two hours at least for the mist to work its magic, then give the room two hours or more with the doors open to let the fumes dissipate.
The Harris Fogger is an excellent choice for this kind of task, it will reach any of the tight spots in your room, killing any spiders and nests in the area.
Eucalyptus
This hardy plant is an excellent natural remedy for your infestation of spiders. The fumes released from the eucalyptus work wonders in driving away spiders from a particular room or area.
Peppermint Spray
Peppermint spray has long been held as an old housewife remedy to spiders. Similar to the previously mentioned eucalyptus plant, the smell of peppermint, although pleasant to the rest of us, is a massive turn-off for spiders.
You have a couple of options when it comes to peppermint spray.
The first is that you can mix your own, try mixing in some peppermint oil with some water in a spray bottle, spray this into the corners of the room which see the most spider activity and watch them run.
Alternatively, you can buy ready mixed peppermint sprays which take the pain of mixing your own away. The ready-mixed solution from Mighty Mint is a great choice for those not wanting the faff of mixing their own.
Lavender Spray
Lavender spray is another excellent method of driving spiders away from your home. The lavender is repulsive to spiders and they never gather in areas that have been liberally sprayed with the pre-made spray. The lavender will also make your home smell fresh and clean.
To mix a solution, add seven or eight drops of lavender essential oil to a spray bottle full of water, shake well and spray in the general area where you are finding the spiders are most active.
Again, similar to the peppermint, there are pre-mixed bottles available to purchase which will take out the task of mixing the solution yourself. The Fresh Wave pre-mix lavender spray is a fantastic quality spray to suit your requirements at a competitive price point.
Spider Traps
Spider traps are the best way to efficiently catch spiders in their creepy-crawly acts. The spider traps by using sticky pads in a tunnel shape.
They attract the spiders, drawing them inside the tunnel, in which they find themselves stuck on the adhesive pads on the inside of the tunnel.
Once inside the tunnel, the spider is then stuck and unable to escape, allowing you to pick the trap up and dispose of it safely.
There are many spider traps available on the market today, but one of the best recommended is the Terro T36SR spider trap.
SummaryÂ
Spiders are a nuisance in the home and can be a source of distress to family members. Venomous spiders in particular are a dangerous bedfellow to have in the house. These critters put your children and pets at risk and can make your house look unseemly.
There are many methods that we have covered in this article that can help you relieve yourself of spiders and understand why ant spray may not be the best way to get rid of spiders in the long run.