Spiders are creepy houseguests. But not all spiders are common indoor pests. Some prefer to stay outdoors—but even outdoor spiders can accidentally find their way indoors. Today, we'll quickly look at common house spiders and uncommon house spiders, and show what to expect from spiders in or around your Omaha home. Then we'll dig in and discuss the best way to keep spiders out or get rid of spiders that have already invaded. If you'd like help controlling spiders, navigate to our contact page for spider control and general pest control in Omaha. The Quality Pest Control team is happy to help!
There are many spider species in our area. Rather than discuss each species, we'll break them down into the two types already mentioned: indoor and outdoor spiders. We call indoor spiders house spiders because, as the name implies, they like to live inside houses.
What are the common house spiders in Omaha? American spiders, cellar spiders, yellow sack spiders, jumping spiders, and brown recluse spiders are the spider pests that thrive indoors. The reason they do well inside is that they don't require as much food or moisture as outdoor spiders. They'll get into a basement, storage room, attic space, wall void, or some other secluded location and feed on the tiniest of insects.
What are the common outdoor spiders in Omaha? Wolf spiders, orb weavers, hobo spiders, funnel weavers, and ground spiders. These arachnids will live in your garden, landscaping, tall grass, and any holes found in your yard. They feed on larger insects and invertebrates and may also hunt tiny wildlife.
All spiders can enter your yard, explore your landscaping, and find entry points in your exterior, but only house spiders come indoors and stay. Outdoor spiders only visit interior spaces for a short time. You can significantly deter outdoor spiders simply by addressing the cracks and gaps they might use to invade your home by accident. It also helps to reduce the conditions that would make an outdoor spider want to "hang out" near your exterior walls. We'll get into how to prevent spiders in a moment. First, let's discuss why spider control is worth the time, effort, or cost of professional pest management.
Most Spiders Bite; Some Bites Are More Dangerous Than Others
All spiders have two things in common. They all have fangs and they all have venom. The good news is that some have weak fangs and are unable to bite you, or weak venom that is not harmful to you. Cellar spiders, for example, are harmless spiders. These long-legged pests are creepy, for sure, but you don't need to worry about them biting you. Most other common house spiders are also generally harmless. They are tiny little spiders with weak venom. They rarely bite, and when they bite, they only cause minor wounds. The two indoor spiders to watch out for are yellow sac spiders and brown recluse spiders. Both of these spiders have necrotic venom. Recluses are considered medically important spiders. However, a brown recluse spider is reclusive and will avoid you if possible.
The spiders that live in your yard and accidentally get inside your home can bite. A spider bite may feel like a pin prick or a bee sting and anything in between. The level of localized pain is impacted by how much venom is injected and what spider species bit you.
Spiders are generally considered nuisance pests. While there are concerns, you don't need to fear spiders and their bites. If you avoid spiders, they'll avoid you. Let's take a look at some ways you can avoid having spiders enter your home uninvited.
Natural Ways To Prevent Spiders In Your Hom
At Quality Pest Control, we are committed to providing pest control solutions that use the least amount of control materials. Over the last two decades, we've learned many natural ways to prevent spiders. We're happy to share them with you.
Remove Webs: A spider web is often a source of infestation. In your home, a spider web that contains an egg sac can quickly turn into hundreds of new spiders. If you're working hard to get rid of spiders, webs can make that job impossible. So, step one is to remove webs in your home. Once you've done that, you need to turn your attention to the outside of your home. One reason spiders enter your home is that they hatch near (or on) your exterior walls. Remove webs and destroy egg sacs by crushing them.
Remove Food: A spider can't live in your home if it has nothing to eat. When you address pest problems in your home, you'll drive spiders outdoors, even if they prefer to live indoors. If you address outdoor food sources, you'll reduce spider activity and prevent spiders from entering your home. Here are some tips to reduce spider food near your home:
- Keep lights off. Insects are attracted to light. Entryway lights can not only attract insects to your home but they will also allow them to come indoors when you enter or exit your home.
- Install motion-sensitive light bulbs or fixtures. You want your lights to come on when your delivery person brings your take-out order to your doorstep, not continually as an attractant for insects, right?
- Replace white lights with yellow lights. Insects can't detect yellow light. A simple change like this can have a big impact.
- Clean your gutters. A clear and working gutter system provides many benefits, including reducing the perimeter moisture that invites pest problems.
- Keep your exterior trash free of strong odors. Many insects are attracted to the scent of decay. Deodorize your receptacles as necessary and make sure to get your trash to the curb weekly.
- Keep your trash receptacles covered. Doing so will keep flies and other pests from using your trash as a breeding site.
- Trim your landscape vegetation and remove weeds. Dense vegetation and weeds trap moisture and increase humidity, creating a habitat that is inviting to insects and spiders.
- Trim grass. Many bugs are attracted to tall grass, and spiders come to eat those pests.
- Remove leaves and sticks. Leaf litter, leaf piles, and stacked branches provide a shaded and humid habitat for many pests.
Spiders don't want to live where there are limited food resources. While it is impossible to remove all the food, you can limit the food and deter spiders.
Remove Hiding Places: Many spiders hide inside sockets, recesses, and voids. If you have objects near your home, particularly natural materials, you'll invite spiders to live near your exterior walls. Here are some common spider hiding places:
- Wood piles
- Stacked stones and bricks
- Concrete blocks
- Old tires
- Stored lawn equipment
- Brush piles
A spider can hide in any object that offers protection. They're not particular. They'll even hide in a ground hole. Removing these hiding places can have an impact.
Patch Entry Points: Spiders enter your home through the tiniest of entry points. Some entry points are sealed when you do home repairs. Others are sealed with products made for weather-proofing homes.
- Replaced old, dry, or worn out weatherstripping.
- Install door sweeps on exterior doors that don't have them.
- Patch damaged window and door screens.
- Use a caulking gun to create seals around window and door frames or to fill in rotted wood holes and gaps between wood members.
- Use expanding foam to fill in structural voids, such as pockets of space behind joists. Expanding foam is also great for sealing gaps around pipes and PVC pipes.
Spider and insect control around your home takes a dedicated effort. If you lack the energy, drive, or know-how to deal with these all-natural solutions, or you'd like extra preventative protection, consider professional pest control.
Professional Pest Control Makes For The Best Spider Control
A year-round pest control service plan provides direct and indirect control of spiders in Omaha. In a direct way, your technician will remove spider webs and egg sacs, apply control products to monitor spider activity, and administer materials if needed. Indirectly, your pest control service will reduce the food spiders eat and provide exclusions to keep spiders and other pests from entering your home. You'll also have appropriate treatments that provide even more protection. A crack-and-crevice barrier can make it hard for pests to live near your home or find any tiny entry points that were not sealed. Spot treatments in your yard can reduce insect activity and make it harder for spiders to find a bite to eat. Targeted control of insect colonies works to further reduce spider food.
Are you in Omaha? If so, contact Quality Pest Control today to learn more about year-round pest control. We can help you find answers to your pest control questions, guide you in understanding why you're seeing pests in your home, and offer sustainable solutions. Jump to our contact page and connect with us. You don't have to live with pests creeping around inside your home.