How to Get Rid of Spiders in the House

Spiders get into the house the same way their prey does: through gaps around doors, windows, vents and the foundation. Getting rid of them for good is less about chasing each one and more about closing those doors and treating the quiet corners where they settle. Here is the room-by-room plan.

Why spiders come inside

A house offers a spider everything it wants: shelter from the weather, dark undisturbed corners and a steady supply of other insects to eat. They gather where those overlap, in the basement, the garage, the closet corners and around windows and lights that draw bugs at night. Knowing that, you treat the edges and entry points rather than the open floor. (The full walkthrough: How to get rid of spiders in your home.)

Get them out and keep them out

Start inside where the spiders are: puff a light line of Dust to Dust into the cracks, wall voids and corners of the basement, garage and closets with the Insect Buster. A spider that walks through the powder picks it up and dries out, so leave it down where they travel. When you clean it up later, use a broom or a vacuum fitted with a HEPA filter, since the fine powder can pass through a standard filter and damage the motor. Keep down the insects that draw spiders in with a mist of Six Feet Under along baseboards and windows. Then work the outside, because that is where the next ones start. Seal gaps around doors, windows, vents and pipes, move firewood and clutter off the walls and set a Six Feet Under: Barricade perimeter around the foundation for a 90-day barrier against the insects that draw spiders to the house.

Clear the house of spiders

• Treat the corners: dust Dust to Dust into basement, garage and closet cracks with the Insect Buster so the spiders that walk through it dry out.
• Clean up safely: when you remove the powder, use a broom or a HEPA-filter vacuum, not a standard one.
• Reduce the insects: mist Six Feet Under along baseboards and windows to keep down the bugs that draw spiders in.
• Close the doors: seal gaps around doors, windows, vents and pipes and fix torn screens.
• Barricade outside: run a Six Feet Under: Barricade perimeter to knock down the insects that draw spiders, and keep outdoor lights from pulling their prey to the door.

Related: How to kill spiders and Natural spider control.

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