Get Rid of Spiders, Naturally and Without Pesticides

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Some Natural Alternatives-Getting Rid of Spiders

Move the wood pile away from the house…it is less accessible for the fireplace, but I don’t have the wood stove going often in the summer and can move the wood pile to a more convenient place when the winter has sent the spiders into hibernation or they are dead.  Also, cut any vegetation close to foundations or near air vents, and check for holes in the foundation or where wires run into the house, and caulk them.

I learned that spiders smell through their legs, and they hate the scent of lemon.  Using a lemon oil cleaner on doorways and windows sends them a message that they are not welcome. Another natural deterrent is eucalyptus oil…a few drops of that sprinkled in areas where spiders frequent , like corners or baseboards, tells them to hit the road quickly. 

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More Natural Methods

My cousin  lives in Ohio, where a tree called the Osage Orange grows.  Every fall she searches them out, as the inedible fruit the tree bears, often called “hedge apples”  are a natural spider repellent.  These ugly, green wrinkled baseball size fruit chase off spiders and last for several months, and if she finds a tree full in the woods, the price is free and you get a pleasant walk in the woods included. If they don’t grow in your area, I have seen them for sale st Safeway…someone there may have discovered their usefulness, and they had them last fall at under $2.00 each.

Keeping your kitchen clean of crumbs and food refuse is also important in getting rid of the dangerous spiders.  Brown recluse spiders like dark cupboards and dusty pantry corners, but love to sneak out for a snack and will eat off dirty dishes or under the toaster.  They do not spin webs or make web nests so are hard to locate, and who wants something like that in the kitchen.  Lots of spiders do like to nest in cardboard boxes or undersides of wood bookcases, so discarding unused cardboard is a must, and a swipe with lemon cleaner behind and under wood furniture would be time well spent.

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Rid your Home/Yard of Spiders

The use of baking soda, sprinkled under the sink or in the pantry is also a good idea…spiders hate it and so do roaches, who eat it and die. Out west we have a saying, that at the end of the world, the last two things living will be roaches and coyotes. Baking soda will get rid of one of these, at least. Another friend who likes to do things without pesticides swears by talcum powder, sprinkling it liberally on door jambs and window sills, and swears the powder deters ants from entering, and if they do, they die.

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