Winning The War Against Spiders In Your Colorado Springs Home

We are often asked this question. Are spiders insects? The answer is no, but why is the answer no? What makes spiders and insects different? There are some superficial differences; for example, spiders have eight legs and insects have six. But there are other more insightful differences. Spiders are predators with fangs and venom to immobilize their enemies. Their primary prey are insects. So, in most cases, spiders are higher on the food chain. When you find spiders around your home, you can know for sure that you also have insects because spiders go where their food is found. One way to manage spiders is to first manage the insects they eat.  

All spiders are arachnids, but not all arachnids are the same. Some are quite different from their spider cousins. Take ticks as an example. A tick does not have venom and doesn't hunt for prey. It searches for a host and survives by eating the blood of the host. When ticks get onto humans, they have the potential to spread harmful diseases. Spiders don't do this. They inject venom and, in most cases, the venom of common spiders is far too weak to cause us harm. It is far better to have spiders on your property than ticks. 

All spiders in Colorado Springs are not the same. While most spiders create webs, there are some that don't. The spiders that don't create webs are mobile predators that search for food in and around your home. They have unique behavior patterns that, once you are familiar with them, you can use to take steps that will counter these spiders. You also have the ability to deter and manage web-building spiders. We'll look at both of these in the prevention section below.

It is good to have spiders around your home, right? They eat insects and also eat ticks and other bugs. While spiders have benefits, there is a downside to having venomous, creepy bugs crawling around on (or inside) your home.

• Most of the time, Colorado Springs residents see little spiders in webs or small hairy spiders zipping around indoors. These are not harmful spiders. They're just gross. The primary reason people want to get rid of them is that they're unsettling.
• Some spiders deliver a painful bite that feels like a bee sting. These are typically outdoor spiders. It is rare to have them indoors.
• Some spiders can make you sick or cause you harm. Black widows and brown recluse spiders fall into this category. Black widows are web-builders and brown recluse spiders are not. These spiders can lead to a hospital visit.
• Spiders that create webs can cause lots of spiders to enter your home all at once. An egg sac can have hundreds of eggs. When hundreds of spiderlings emerge, they may climb right in through a tiny gap and give you quite a scare.

Spiders help with insect control but the trade-off isn't worth it. If you have an indoor spider problem, it is best to let a human deal with your insect problems and spider problems at the same time.

Now that you know a bit more about spiders, it is time to use that information to consider how you can reduce the number of spiders and keep them out of your home. Let's start inside your home and work our way out.

1. Address Indoor Food Sources

Spiders eat insects and bugs. If you have a pest-free home, spiders will have no reason to live with you. That makes sense, right? Here are a few tips to help you get rid of pests:

• Keep things as clean as possible.
• Keep food covered when it is left on the counter or table.
• Keep trash covered.
• Remove trash at least every four days.

2. Deal With Indoor Webs

If a web has an egg sac, you'll definitely want to get rid of it. Removing a web and an egg sac will keep new spiders from emerging inside your home. Removing indoor webs has another impact on spiders. Certain spiders prefer to create webs near other webs.

• Use a spider web removal tool to pick webs up.
• Crush the spider egg sacs you find.
• Wipe surfaces down to deter spiders from creating more webs.

3. Block Access

Spiders don't tunnel through wood. They use available entry points to go from outdoor habitats to indoor spaces. You can prevent spider problems simply by blocking access to your home.

• Install new weatherstripping.
• Install door sweeps where missing or damaged.
• Use a caulking gun to apply a seal around door and window frames.
• Patch damaged screens.
• Use expanding foam to fill in joist voids, seal around plumbing, and plug holes.

4. Deal With Exterior Webs

The spider webs on your exterior aren't just unsightly. Those webs can contain spiderlings. Just as it is important to remove webs inside, you'll want to remove exterior webs as well. We have no bullet list for this. Simply install a removal tool onto a long poll so that you can get webs that are high up.

5. Address Exterior Food Sources

The most important step you'll need to take is this one. Spiders won't prefer to live near you if food is limited. The momma spider wants to establish herself in a habitat that provides enough food for her hundreds of offspring. Here are some simple tips for insect and bug control.

• Keep lights off. Insects are attracted to light.
• Clean trash receptacles. Insects are drawn to the strong scent of decaying matter.
• Clean your gutters. Many bugs are attracted to damp conditions.
• Remove leaves. The dark and moist habitat under leaves provides an ideal habitat for many insects and bugs.
• Keep your landscape vegetation healthy and dry. Doing so will deter aphids, which attract ants and other pests with the honeydew they produce.

6. Address Hiding Places

Spiders hide in many places where you might expect them to hide. They also hide in places you wouldn't expect. Block access to hiding places or remove them altogether. If you do this, spiders may choose to live elsewhere.

• Remove brush piles and store dead branches in some form of container.
• Move wood piles away from your exterior walls.
• Store items in a shed or indoors rather than in your yard when possible.
• Plug holes in swingsets and other kids' equipment.
• Store tires, cinder blocks, and other items away from your exterior.   

There you have it: A step by step guide to keeping spiders out of your home naturally. If you have the time, energy, and skills to apply these, you'll have few troubles with spiders. If you don't, then it is important to consider a pest control service plan. Let's take a look at how residential pest control keeps spiders out.

At the heart of home pest control in Colorado Springs is effective insect and bug control. There is no better way to control general pests than to get a residential pest control plan. Here are a few ways your ongoing service plan stops spiders:

• We remove spider webs and destroy spider egg sacs for you.
• We inspect your property and target spiders if needed.
• We apply spot treatments around your home to reduce pest populations that provide food for spiders.
• We give you advice regarding conducive conditions we see, such as open or dirty trash receptacles, and also provide spot treatments to help address trouble spots like these when you're not able to deal with them.
• We apply a crack and crevice treatment around your home to stop spiders from entering, and to keep the insects and bugs spiders eat from entering as well. A pest-free home is naturally protected against spider infestations. 

Do you want to get ahead of spiders in Colorado Springs? We can help. Reach out to High Country Pest Control today to speak with us about our residential pest control service options. Life is better when pests are limited. We can help!