This guide is the easiest to follow resource on how to lure a spider out of hiding.
Spiders are sneaky creatures. They enter homes and hide in the most inaccessible places.
Inside homes, the hiding spiders are difficult to spot. You’ll need to do your due diligence to get them out of your home.
Whether you want to catch a spider hiding in your room, or you lost a spider in your house, this guide will lay out the plan to find it.
This guide will not overload you with information. In fact, you’ll find out only three failproof hacks that do the job.
You’ll learn to prepare homemade spider traps and where to keep them so that you’ve a 100% chance to trap the spider.
Plus, this guide also reveals a spider bait that work without fail to catch the hiding spiders.
And a lot more!
Keep reading.
Common Species Of Spiders Hide Inside Your Home
There are 3,500 species of spiders in the United States. And they come in different colors.
For example, in Texas there are seven types of red spiders.
But only three species of spiders can get inside your home. These are the black widow spider, the brown recluse spider, and the common house spiders.
There are other species of spiders like the wolf spider, jumping spider, and the crab spider that can occupy your yard.
But the brown recluse spider and the black widow spider enter homes more often than these spiders.
Common house spiders like the cobweb spiders and the cellar spiders are easy to spot. These spiders hang in the middle of their spun web at the ceiling or wall corners.
You can get rid of these common house spiders with your vacuum cleaner or with a scoop of a broom. It removes both the spiders and their cobwebs.
The real challenge lies in spotting the black widow spiders and the brown recluse spiders.
Both the black widow and the brown recluse do not spin webs like the house spiders do. They make webs in their hiding places to retreat.
They’ll squeeze themselves in the thinnest of gaps and tightest of corners in the most inaccessible places of your home.
And they take you aback when they appear out of nowhere.
The worst part, both these spiders bite.
A bite from the brown recluse spider can cause necrosis on the skin which can get serious if you don’t seek immediate medical attention.
So, before you try to draw the spiders out of hiding, it’s critical to know where spiders hide in your home.
Knowing their hiding places will help you to use the traps that you’ll learn to prepare later in the post.
So, let’s find out where spiders hide in your home.
Where Do Spiders Hide Inside Your Home
Spiders love junk, clutter and tight spaces. So, spider will hide in places where they can find them.
So, inside homes spiders will hide in attics, basement, garage, storage room, crawl spaces, closets, and wardrobe.
That’s not all.
Cardboard boxes, newspaper piles, bookshelves, and even the damp areas near the plumbing areas of the sinks and basins are also hiding places for spiders.
The worst part?
Spiders can also hide and lay eggs in the tight gaps of your bed and bed’s headboard. That’s one of the reasons for sightings of tiny spiders in bed and bedroom.
The places that don’t receive much of light, and where there’s not much of footfall, are the prime real estates in your home for the spiders to hide.
But the question is why do spider enter your house? And where do they come from?
The following section reveals it.
Why Spiders Sneak Inside Your Home?
Spiders enter homes for three main reasons – food, water, and shelter. The fourth reason is in search of a mate.
But that is a bit more complex phenomenon which we’ll explain in a minute.
However, the main reason that spiders enter homes is to look out for alternative places to hide.
Spider activity increases in homes when the weather outdoors gets too hot, cold, and wet.
It’s false that spiders enter homes only during the summer months. Spiders can enter homes all through the year if the weather outdoors is too harsh for them.
When the weather outside starts to get cold starting from late fall, spiders will make a move towards your home.
So, how do spiders enter homes?
Spiders will crawl through thin gaps and crevices on your walls, windows, and doors. They’ll also sneak inside your home through the ducts and vents in the attic, roofs, and eaves.
Once inside your home, spiders will look for cluttered places and tight corners.
Presence of insects and bugs in your home also play a big role in attracting spiders.
Spiders can smell the insects from far and they make a move inside your home in search of food.
And the final reason is, presence of female spiders inside your home attracts a bunch of male spiders inside.
The female spiders inside your home emit scents that male spiders pick up as mating calls.
The females wait in places like garages, attics, and basements while the male spiders wander around waiting for their golden chance.
According to research, 80% of spiders that hide in homes are male spiders.
After mating the female spiders will lay eggs in egg sacs.
And if you don’t get rid of these egg sacs, then there can be a full-blown spider infestation in your home.
How To Lure Spiders Out Of Hiding?
Now that you know where spiders hide and why, you’re in an advantageous position to get the spiders out of hiding.
There are three ways to lure spiders out of hiding –
- Draw spiders out by using bugs as lures
- Keep spider traps and baits where spiders hide
- Removing clutter from the spiders’ hiding places
Let’s get into each of them in detail.
Draw Spiders Out By Using Bugs As Lures
Yes, bugs or other insects that spiders eat can draw a spider out from its hiding place.
One of the reasons that spiders are inside your home is that they’re hunting other bugs that are in your home.
But how do you get the bugs?
It’s not that hard. Spiders eat roaches, earwigs, flies, crickets, moths, and anything that crawls and smaller than them.
Here’s how to prepare a homemade spider trap with a duct tape and a bug.
Take a piece of duct tape and keep it with the sticky side up in the cluttered spaces of your home.
Place the bug you caught on the sticky side. Ensure that the bug is sticking with the tape.
Spiders are nocturnal creatures. And spiders like the brown recluse and the black widow spider will come out of their hiding at night to hunt.
So, keep the tape with a bug on it during the evening. And let it be there overnight.
The pheromones that bugs emit will draw out the hiding spider. And when the spider will step on the sticky duct tape, it’ll get stuck.
Noticing the spider stuck on the duct tape, place a jar on the spider.
Do not try to touch the spider. When stuck, the spider is aggressive and touching it can make it bite you.
So, pick the duct tape from underneath along with the jar covering the spider.
And dispose the spider outdoors away from your property.
You can use this approach to draw out a hiding spider in your bedroom, basement, attic, and garage.
Use Spider Traps And Baits
Another way to catch a hiding spider is to use traps and baits.
But to make it work, you’ll need to keep it in places where spiders will crawl and hide.
Spiders like to crawl along with edges of the baseboards on the floor.
Spiders love to navigate along edges and tight spaces. So, keeping these traps on these areas will give you results.
Inside your bedroom, you can keep the spider traps underneath furniture and bed.
Hiding spiders rarely walk in the middle of floor in places like bedroom, so keeping the traps at the middle of the floor won’t work.
The baits contain chemicals. These chemicals emit a scent that draws spiders to them.
You can use Rescue spider Traps to trap the spiders. It catches both the brown recluse spiders and the black widow spiders.
It’s easy to use. Unlike the average glue traps, you can use these spider traps straight out of the box.
Keep the trap where spiders hide. You can also use the trap to catch a spider hiding in your car too.
Removing Clutter In The Room Gets The Hiding Spiders Out Of Hiding
As you know, spiders love to hide in the clutter.
So, if you’re sure that a spider has disappeared in your room, then the best option is to declutter your room.
Many people come across spiders while they’re cleaning their attics, basements, and garages.
It’s because spiders hide there.
But remember, these spiders can bite. So, while decluttering, ensure that you’re wearing shoes and gloves so that spiders can’t bite you.
On spotting the spider, use a spider catcher on the spider to catch it.
And then dispose of the spider outside of your home.
How To Stop Spiders From Entering Your Home
Spiders tend to sneak inside your home when the temperatures start to rise or fall or rise dramatically.
So, to ensure that spiders don’t sneak inside your home, it’ll be best to follow these steps in the spring and early fall months.
Here’s how to ensure that spiders don’t enter your home –
Seals Gaps And Cracks In Your Home
As you know, spiders exploit the gaps and cracks to sneak inside your home.
And most of these fissures are on your home’s foundation, walls, window sills, and doors.
Caulk or seal these gaps with a silicone-based sealant to prevent spiders from sneaking in through these gaps.
Silicone-based sealants are strong, and they last long. And the best part is that bugs can’t chew through them.
Check out for any cracks on floors of your bathroom, basement, kitchen, and laundry room. These places are damp and they harbor many bugs.
That makes them the second favorite place, after cluttered places, for the spiders to hide.
Get Rid Of Bugs Inside Your Home
Spiders can’t sustain themselves for long if they don’t get to hunt and eat.
And the bugs living inside your home are their food.
Getting rid of them will deny the necessary food that need to survive.
So, ensure that your home is free from pests and critters. If there’s a heavy bug infestation of any type in your home, then hiring the services of a pest control company might be a good option.
Clean The Clutter Inside Your Home
Spiders love clutter. And the most cluttered places in your home are the favorite hiding places for the spiders.
Clean up those clutter in places like your storage room, basement, and attic.
Ensure that you remove cardboard boxes, newspaper piles, and discarded books.
These materials contain cellulose which attract bugs like silverfish and roaches. These bugs then attract spiders because they’re their prey.
Keep these places tidy, dust-free, and do not let waste materials pile up there.
Remember, more the clutter, more are the chances of hiding spiders and bugs. And more bugs means more is food sources for spiders.
Clean Your Yard And Garden
Spiders come from outdoors. If there are no spiders outdoors, then there’ll be no spiders inside your home too.
Outdoors, spiders will hide in places like organic debris, wood piles, underneath rocks and stones, and even under foliage.
So, to ensure that there are no spiders in your yard, keep your yard and garden clean.
Control the dampness in your yard too. The more moist your yard is, the more inhabitable it becomes for bugs.
And these bugs attract spiders.
One of the ways to control dampness in your yard is to stop overwatering your yard. Also, having a good drainage system in your yard prevents waterlogging.
Potholes with water makes your yard damp. And these potholes become breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
Clean the gutters, drains, and trim bushes that are bordering at the perimeter of your home.
Spiders will use these bushes to climb up to your windows and sneak inside your home.
Scatter diatomaceous earth on the plants and bushes on the home’s perimeter also deters spiders from crawling into your home.
Install window screens with fine mesh on windows, ducts, and vents, to stop both the spiders and flying bugs to get inside your home.
Use Home Remedies To Keep Spiders Away
Fortunately, when it comes to keeping spiders away, you can do it without using pesticides. You don’t need to hire even a professional exterminator.
Spiders are an important part of our ecosystem. They’re shy creatures that avoid human contact.
They’re also natural pest controllers that can keep a lot of bugs away from your home and property.
So, killing spiders isn’t necessary. And no matter how scary they look, spiders are harmless.
But that doesn’t mean you want to have them around in your home unless you’re someone who is fond of keeping spiders as pets.
There are some natural remedies that you can use right away to make your home repulsive for spiders.
The first is mixing white vinegar and water. Mix equal parts of white vinegar and water and pour it in a spray bottle.
Spray the mixture around your home, underneath patio, porch, eaves, attic, storage room, laundry room and basement.
Spiders hate the strong acidic smell of vinegar. And they’ll keep away from your home.
You don’t like the smell of vinegar? No problem.
There are essential oils that are also effective in keeping spiders and bugs away.
Peppermint oil spray that many homeowners use is a great way to keep spiders and bugs from entering your home.
Essential oils like eucalyptus oil, lavender oil, and citrus oil also repel spiders.
Mix 5-7 drops of any of these oils in a bottle of water. Shake it well, and spray it on cluttered spaces, windows, doors, and attic.
Spraying essential oils in and around your bedroom is a great way to keep spiders away from your bedroom. Couple it with a spider trap in your bedroom and be sure that there won’t be any spiders hiding in your bedroom.
Keeping lemon peel or lime peel, oranges peels, or horse chestnuts at entry points like windows, doors, vents, and ducts also stop spiders from entering your home.
All these products are natural spider repellents that helps you to keep spiders away from your home.
And all these natural remedies are safe for kids and pets.
Summary
There are three ways to lure out a hiding spider –
- Draw spiders out by using bugs as lures
- Keep spider traps and baits where spiders hide
- Removing clutter from the spiders’ hiding places
On top of that you’ve learned where spiders hide in your home.
Knowing these hiding places are essential as it helps you to lay the traps to draw spiders out from these places.
And finally, this post reveals the five steps that you can take right now to ensure that your home doesn’t attract spiders.
Nang Chen is an Entomologist and Arachnologist who is associated with Vienna’s museum of natural history. He’s also a consultant with real estate groups, insecticide conglomerates and law enforcement groups as a forensic entomologist. Nang Chen holds an M.S. from South China University and he’s a regular contributor to our site.