What's the best product to use on the outside of your house in all the cracks & crevices to keep spiders away
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Answers:
Do not worry about the Spiders and Insects on the "outsode of your home, they are beneficial. Just keep them on the Outside by keeping your Home Sprayed at least twice a year with "Bug Bombs, or buy yourself a hand Sprayer and Insect Concentrate from Walmart or Lowes and spray it yourself, this is what I do. I do not like Spiders either but they do serve a purpose.
bevieve it or not u can use white sand to cover the crevices and crack or you can fill them up with used oil to kill the spiders
I cannot answer your question -- I have to tell you up front, so I guess that disqualifies me for the best answer award. I was watching one of those "Discovery" type shows on TV and was astonished to hear that spiders have been found on every continent! I thought you would like to hear . Oh, good luck keeping the spiders away.
A Natural Spider Spray Formula for inside the house:
Dr Bronners Peppermint or Lavender Soap, or any other natural soap.
1 ounce of Neem oil
You can also add 1 to 5 drops of any of these Essential Plant Oils (depending on your preference) to 1 quart of water:
Catnip Oil, Citronella Oil, Lavender Oil, Cinnamon Oil, Peppermint Oil, Citrus Oil, Tea Tree Oil, or other essential oils.
Add 5 tablespoons of the soap per quart water. Add one ounce of the Neem oil to the water which you have added the soap and label it. Shake well and spray inside house where spiders are seen. Test for strength. May be done as often as needed. This is not a long term solution but will provide you immediate help. Oils may stain some fabrics or light colored furnishings, test first.
Spray outside the house:
Use the same formula to spray the foundation, eaves and soffits, and the areas around doors, windows and crawls space, or attic vents, or any area where you see spiders congregating. You can also use any citrus based cleaner like Citra Solv at 1 oz per quart water. Spray around the outside of the house or where spiders congregate.
Spiders are actually quite beneficial and we should try to get used to them.
More Info:
NATURAL SPIDER CONTROL
SOME REASONS FOR SPIDER INFESTATIONS
Excess vegetation against the home
Tall grass right up against the house and overhanging trees will harbor insects and attract spiders. Keep your property maintained. Weeds should be kept mowed and garden beds should not be right up against the foundation.
Open water near the home
Open water on the property provides a breeding source for many insects, including mosquitoes and midges, which in turn attracts spiders. Homes built right on a lake are prime candidates for spider infestations. Houses next to open fields are also common sites of spider infestations. In these areas winds carry spiderlings into the area, where they end up on the sides of the house. Once spiders build up outdoors on structures, they naturally filter indoors through cracks and crevices around windows, doors, attics, and crawls spaces.
Gaps around windows, doors, and unscreened vents
Construction techniques in Alaska, especially on homes built by the owner or built during the pipeline days, are extremely poor. We have seen large gaps in siding, unsealed openings around pipe penetrations, and even unscreened vents on supposedly 5 star energy rated homes. A tube of high quality silicone caulking will do wonders for pest prevention. If you can keep 'em out you don't need to use pesticides.
Over use of chemical fertilizers
Avoid using chemical fertilizers, pesticides etc., on your property. Excess nitrogen attracts many insects, such as aphids. The stress attracts insects, which in turn attracts the spiders. Once spiders over flow on your property, they will naturally over flow into your home.
Over use of pesticides
Broad spectrum pesticides may kill off beneficial insects and, without the good guys to control them pest populations may explode. Pesticide applications in time also kill off beneficial bacteria which in turn causes stress in the plants. All stressed plants attract insects. Indoor plants that are stressed will especially attract insects, and spiders.
Readily available supply of food and water
Spiders are opportunists and are attracted to areas where food (insects) and moisture are abundant. Eliminate insect breeding areas, reduce moisture, repair leaking pipes, and free standing moisture on your property.
Steps to Non-Toxic Spider Control:
Individual spiders can be removed from indoor areas by placing a jar over them and slipping a piece of paper under the jar that then seals off the opening of the jar when it is lifted up.
Regular vacuuming or sweeping of windows, corners of rooms, storage areas, basements, and other seldomly used areas helps remove spiders and their webs. Vacuuming spiders can be an effective control technique because their soft bodies usually do not survive this process. Indoors, a web on which dust has gathered is an old web that is no longer being used by a spider.
To prevent spiders from coming indoors, seal cracks in the foundation and other parts of the structure and gaps around windows and doors. Good screening not only will keep out many spiders but also will discourage them by keeping out insects that they must have for food.
Indoors, keep clutter to a minimum, place boxes off the floor and away from walls to help reduce their usefulness as a harborage for spiders. Sealing the boxes with tape will prevent spiders from taking up residence within. Clean up clutter in garages, sheds, basements, and other storage areas. Be sure to wear gloves to avoid accidental bites.
Outdoors, eliminate places for spiders to hide and build their webs by keeping the area next to the foundation free of trash, leaf litter, heavy vegetation, and other accumulations of materials. Trimming plant growth away from the house and other structures will discourage spiders from first taking up residence near the structure and then moving indoors.
Osage orange or hedge apples:
In Iowa State University studies, they have not been proven to repel spiders or insects in houses or other buildings. However, they extracted several compounds from the osage orange that may have repellent properties. The benefit from osage orange may be better described as repellent to insects, thereby by not having any prey around (the insects), the spiders will leave or starve. Current Studies are underway to confirm the repellent properties of compounds from the plants that may lead to the development of effective natural repellents. Hedgeapples are very popular as a spider and insect repellent in the midwest, where they grow. So I would encourage giving hedge apples a try, they obviously work for some people. See: www.hedgeapple.com
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Other Products on the Market:
Cedar Zone Prill
Nature's way to repel insects! Cedar Zone Prill is a dry-pelletized repellent that can be applied outside to turf, or at the base of trees, shrubs and plants. Additionally, applications can be made to the perimeter of structures, gardens or planter boxes to create an "insect free" zone. Repels a long list of pests, including: ants, mosquitoes, spiders, roaches, whiteflies, codling moth, aphids, thrips, mites, scorpions and more. Will not repel beneficial insects.
Instructions for use:
Apply sparingly to garden, lawn or floor of patio, shed or garage. Does not require clean-up.
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Whenever you see an image of a green leaf, the product is an organic pest control product that uses natural insecticides for people who prefer to use natural pest control methods.
A residual dust formulation providing quick knockdown and excellent kill against a wide array of pests. Eco Exempt® D has Residual Protection and is non-staining, non-corrosive, non-clumping and water-resistant, making it ideal for use in void spaces and commercial food handling establishments. It is labeled for stinging insects and features a fresh scent from Natural Plant Oils. It is economical and flexible to use EcoPCO's active ingredient, is derived from natural plant oils and targets receptors found in insects, not people, pets and the environment.
EcoPco D controls crawling and flying insect pests, including but not limited to ants, cockroaches, crickets, fleas, flies, moths, spiders, wasps and yellow jackets.
ECO Friendly/Insect Deadly
What does Exempt mean?
Considered Minimum Risk* by the EPA, exempt products do not require federal registration.
In most states, these products are not considered pesticides, so posting and notification laws do not apply.
Peace of mind for homeowners!
Product exempt from federal registration (FIFRA 25(b)(2)
I used something called "Great Stuff" that squirts out in a foam and is perfect for filling cracks & voids like you're talking about. It pretty much solved a major bees problem I had around my garage.
Selleys 'No more gaps'
Ask at your hardware store or walmart type stores...
It expands to get deep in the cracks
leave the spiders alone they eat bugs
Oh Good heavens! Dr. Bronner?
Slap yourself across the face a few times and listen to me:
Your problem is on the OUTSIDE of your house, right? So maybe you don't really HAVE a problem. Now wait! Hold on! I'm not one of those tree-hugging, commie-weirdo nature freaks!
I'm a practical kinda guy who would sooner let someone else do the dirty work I'd have to do. So, to get rid of a bug, hire a bug. See this:
http://pollinator.com/beneficials/trypax...
I'm not making this up. When I bought this place 3 years ago, there were tunnel spriders, wolf spiders and others I don't know the name of all OVER the house and foundation plantings.
So, I was interested in reducing that population, BUT realized there was one great service these guys performed for me: mosquito control. Especially for the tunnel spiders, you could see gnats, skeeters and other unmentionables, their tattered and broken bodies, caught up in the webs.
A chemical attack (good old Dr. Bronner or otherwise) can be temporarily effective, but it has draw-backs, too. Too much chemistry and you change the over-all environment which can kill off good guys and/or result in a serious spider rebound next year or after. You can still use selective attacks, here and there (on the door way danglers, for example) but to attempt theatre-wide operations for the whole house is a pretty vast undertaking.
What I discovered, much to my delight, was that establishment of ornamental flower beds and window boxes and a vegetable garden attracted "organ-pipe" wasps, the ones pictured in the web citation above. These are pretty benign predators who've never threatened me -but man do they like spiders!
In about 2 months, the spider population had noticeably decreased, as the organ pipes appeared in my garage and on outside foundation walls. But there are still enough spiders around to keep after the skeeters -but not bother me.
Otherwise, until the good guys ride in to rescue you, just sweep up the webs with a broom from time to time. If you want some chemical help, try this: Spray a paper towel with some spider poison; stuff the drenched towel into a vacuum cleaner bag, or put it in the collection tank of a shop-vac. Now go wash your hands. Now take the vac outside and start sucking those bad boys into the vac -the spider killer chemical will knock 'em dead in the bag. Then, toss the bag. Do this OUTSIDE so YOU aren't inhaling the fumes, right?
Anyway, the moral of the story is to try, as best you can, to use one bug to control another before resorting to other methods which will cause unforseen and undesirable side -effects -and require constant maintenance.
Back to Dr. Bronner. Forget about it as a pesticide or repellent, but definetly order a bottle of his liquid or bar soap JUST SO YOU CAN READ THE LABEL. Here's a summary of the good doc's philosophy and life:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_...
Very funny stuff.
Oceana gave you an ear-full!! But John G said it best, use Mother Nature to control the un-wanted. Natural enemies are far better than any - that's ANY - introduced chemical. I live as "natural" as I can. Lady Bugs for Aphid control, buy 'em frozen and turn 'em loose in Spring on your tomateos and roses, etc. Works for me!
Ortho Home Defense is my secret weapon. We have recluse spiders and it's REALLY important that we keep them out because they're so destructive (to flesh!).
regular petrol spilled on the corners
Forget the 'petrol' - can you imagine the fumes/smell?!
I use ordinary red 'Raid for insects and ants' and the like. I spray it around the windows and door thresholds about 3 times a year.
Yes it smells for a while as it's being done but that goes in a few minutes.
I have a large 17' wood conservatory which is a spider haven and the Raid works a treat.
I'd go to Lowe's and aske them just so your buying the right stuff.
Found this info out, hopefully it will benefit you. Check out their web, seems to be very informative, even for me, as we also have experienced these nasty hairy creatures living inside the crevices of our wood frame home. I have taken the garden hose to them on many an occasion, however, they keep coming back. Now, maybe I can also rid myself of them.
There are products labeled for indoor crack and crevice or surface treatment of spiders also on this website.
Non-Chemical Control of Spiders:
Non-chemical control of spiders is usually quite effective in reducing spider populations. Outside lights should not be left on at night. Large numbers of flying insects attracted to lights cause spiders to be numerous around garages and under eaves. Trash, lumber piles, bricks, weeds, and outside structures are good breeding places for spiders and should be cleaned up. Inside the home spider webs should be brushed down. The egg sacs should be destroyed to prevent hundreds of young spiders from emerging. Vacuum cleaner attachments may be used to clean walls, and the collected debris should be destroyed.
Chemical Control of Spiders:
Chemical control of spiders is difficult outdoors because web spinning spiders do not tend to contact treated surfaces. Table 1 lists recommended insecticides that are used in household pest control.
Inside the house, space sprays containing pyrethrins or pyrethroids are effective in killing spiders. Space sprays have little residual activity and should be applied when spiders are noticed. When spraying enclosed areas, care should be taken so spiders agitated by the spray do not drop onto the person doing the spraying. Repeat the treatment in 4 weeks to kill young spiders that hatch from eggs.
Dust formulations can be used in crawl spaces, attics, and utility areas to provide long-term protection. The insecticidal dusts tend to cling to the spider webs for long periods of time. When spiders chew their webs to recycle the silk they consume the toxicant and die.
good ol glue
Use a sealer or even better liquid nails to fill the smaller cracks. If the crevis is larger than 1/4 inch use cans of expanding foam to spread into and seal the cracks and crevices. You can get it at the hardware store or the building supply store and Walmart. You won't keep them away but it will discourage them from staying.
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