In cold weather, your home can provide the perfect safe haven for spiders looking for shelter and warmth.
In this Hivemind blog, we share with you 9 ways to prevent these pesky spiders from crawling around your living spaces once and for all.
What questions will this article answer?
Why are spiders attracted to my home?
They are drawn to the warmth and shelter of your home in cold weather, as well as food sources.
Common household spiders
You’ll most likely encounter redback, white tailed, huntsman, daddy long legs, brown and black house spiders.
What problems can a spider outbreak cause in my home?
Spider bites can trigger allergies, with some being venomous. Their webs are messy and sticky and cause distress for people with arachnophobia.
How can I tell if I have a spider infestation?
You may notice more spiders around, as well as cobwebs, egg sacs or even burrows.
9 tips for preventing a spider outbreak
Avoid walking into sticky webs when you least expect them with our proven tips, including installing spider traps and sprays.
Professional spider management
Our pest control technicians use a combination of targeted spider control insecticide sprays and spider control dust.
For safe and reliable spider control, choose Allstate
Available 24/7 to all suburbs of Adelaide, Allstate is here to provide advice and effective management for all spider issues.
Why are spiders attracted to my home?
Spiders will look for quiet places to hide out and lay eggs. So, if you have piles of leaf litter sitting in your yard, or less frequented areas such as sheds and garages, then spiders will actively seek out these places and make themselves at home, knowing that they won’t be disturbed.
If your home also has plenty of food sources, it’s an added bonus – for them, not you! Spiders enjoy feasting on insects such as flies, mosquitoes and moths, and in some cases, other spiders. So when you see lots of insects around, there’s a good chance that spiders won’t be too far away.
Common household spiders
Although there are an estimated 10,000 species of spiders in Australia, these are the ones that you’re most likely to encounter in your home:
Redback spiders
Easily distinguished by their bright red stripe on their upper abdomen, redback spiders are black coloured, grow up to 15mm long and are known for their venomous bites.
White tailed spiders
Dark red to grey coloured, with a characteristic white spot on the tip of their cigar-shaped body, female white tailed spiders grow up to 20mm in length, and males up to 12mm. They are nocturnal and hunt other spiders for food, including redback, daddy long legs and black house spiders.
Huntsman spiders
Grey to brown coloured with fine hairs covering their legs, huntsman spiders can grow between 6-20cm long, depending on the species.
Daddy long legs
Brown, grey or black in colour, with extremely long and thin legs giving them a fragile looking appearance, daddy long legs spiders grow between 0.7-0.9mm long.
Brown house spider
Brown to black coloured, with a rounded shape, brown house spiders can grow up to 12mm long. Also known as cupboard spiders, you may find them hiding out in undisturbed areas indoors and outdoors.
Black house spider
Dark brown to black in colour, with a charcoal grey abdomen and white markings, the black house spider can grow between 10-15mm long and loves hiding away in dark corners of your home.
What problems can a spider outbreak cause in my home?
Having a spider infestation is not a pleasant experience for you and your family members. Here are some of the reasons why you want to avoid it happening in the first place:
They can cause stress and anxiety
With arachnophobia occurring in about 5% of people, a full-blown infestation can be quite triggering and disruptive.
Some spiders have venomous bites
Most spider bites are harmless and may cause an allergic reaction at worst. However, there are certain species of venomous spiders, such as the funnel web and redback spiders, where the venom from their bites contains toxins, which require immediate medical attention from your doctor
Spider webs are messy and unhygienic
Having sticky spider webs strung up around your home can make it look untidy. If allowed to accumulate, they will collect insects, dust and pollen, and become harder to clear away.
How can I tell if I have a spider infestation?
You can spot a spider outbreak easily with the following signs:
You notice more spiders around
Although the peak season for spiders is spring, some species do seek warmth and shelter inside your home and hibernate over the cooler months. Check less frequented areas, which are perfect hiding and breeding spots for spiders, including moist environments such as drains and pipes. You may also notice them emerging from hiding spots in tiny gaps and holes.
You see many spider webs
Extensive networks of spider webs within the same space is a clear (and messy!) sign of a spider outbreak. Webs are spun differently, depending on the species of spider.
Spider burrows
Some spiders, such as wolf spiders, carve out burrows within your yard, and do not spin webs. These burrows can be found within piles of vegetation, compost, leaf litter or within soil. Don’t forget to check under rocks.
Egg sacs
Spiders can lay hundreds of eggs at a time within rounded sacs, which are suspended in silken webbing.
For effective spider management, speak to our expert team
or
9 ways to prevent a spider outbreak
Avoid walking into sticky webs when you least expect them with our proven spider prevention tips:
Aerosol insecticide sprays
Available from most hardware stores and supermarkets, off-the-shelf sprays are a popular spot treatment for the odd spider crawling around the house.
Homemade deterrent sprays
With sensory organs on their legs which can detect unpleasant smells, you can use strong-spelling homemade repelling sprays to keep spiders away from your home. You can fill a pump bottle with a water and vinegar mixture or use essential oils such as lavender, tea tree, eucalyptus or peppermint.
Spider traps
With an adhesive surface to physically trap spiders, store bought spider traps are inexpensive and can be laid out in popular spider hot spots around your home. Take care with this method if you have curious pets or young children.
Remove spider webs
Sticky spider webs can attract more spiders to the area, so we recommend clearing them away regularly with a vacuum cleaner, duster or damp cloth.
Diatomaceous earth
A silica-based naturally occurring substance, diatomaceous earth comes in a powdered form and can be sprinkled around outdoor areas around the perimeter of your home to prevent spiders from entering.
Regular garden and yard maintenance
Keeping your property tidy helps reduce all potential hiding spots for pesky spiders. Consider removing piles of vegetation, trimming away branches and bushes that are growing close to your home, mowing your lawn and making sure that spider webs are removed from pot plants. Take care to cover all outdoor furniture, equipment and shoes that aren’t in use. Store piles of wood away from your building.
Sealing all entry points
Being small in size, spiders can easily access your home by crawling through tiny spaces such as holes, gaps and cracks. Inspect your home, including the roof and around windows, and cover or fill all potential entry points. Installing mesh screens around doors and windows are also helpful in deterring spiders.
Install spider-repelling lights
Available in yellow, green or red filters, insect-repelling globes are effective at keeping many different types of creepy crawlies away from your home, including spiders.
Professional pest control
Sometimes, spider outbreaks persist, despite your best efforts to manage them. Having a trained pest control technician with the knowledge, right equipment and targeted treatments could be the best way to protect your home and family.
Protect your home from spiders, speak to an expert today
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Professional spider management
Our pest control technicians have an extensive knowledge of spider species and behaviour, so we can identify and treat any spider outbreaks quickly.
Since we choose treatments that are approved by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority, this means that all spider problems are handled safely, minimising risks to children and pets.
After an inspection and assessment of your property, we normally use targeted spider control insecticide sprays, applied to the perimeter of your building, as well as spider control dust, which is sprinkled inside hard-to-reach areas including gaps, voids, cracks and crevices
For severe outbreaks, this treatment may need to be reapplied, and your technician will let you know when this is necessary.
For safe and reliable spider control, choose Allstate
As the weather cools down and spiders seek shelter indoors, you might see more spiders around your home and garage. At Allstate, we understand how frustrating a spider outbreak can be, so we’re always here to help.
Established in 1986, we’ve successfully managed spider outbreaks across all suburbs of Adelaide. Available 24/7, our pest technicians are highly trained and fully equipped to provide urgent advice for spider problems in residential, commercial and industrial settings.
Using modern, innovative technology and treatments that are non-toxic to people, pets and the environment, all our services are covered by comprehensive warranties. Ask about our payment plans so you can get fast access to spider treatment today.