Summer is a lovely season, especially if you are a happy owner of a veranda, patio, or covered porch. However, there is someone who can prevent you from enjoying warm summer evenings outside. Yep, we talk about spiders!
Spiders on a porch is a common problem for many homeowners in the United States. These creatures tend to make their webs everywhere, turning your front porch into a Halloween decoration! No wonder people want to know how they can keep spiders off the porch.
In this article, we will provide several handy recommendations on how to get rid of spiders on your porch effectively and safely. Also, you will learn how you can clean your porch if there are spider webs all over it.
Finally, you are going to find out several useful tricks that will help you keep spiders as far from your porch as possible.
How to Prevent Spiders On Porch?
Every homeowner who had to fight spiders during the summer months will tell you that keeping spiders off the porch is not an easy task! These creatures are very stubborn, and tend to return again and again.
How to keep spiders from making webs on your porch then, you may wonder?
There are several options you can use, depending on your preferences. One of the ways you can keep spiders from making webs on your porch is to use web eliminator sprays and/or spider repellents.
These sprays will prevent the spiders from spinning their webs on the surface. Besides, the repellents reduce the spider population, which is an added bonus you get.
However, if you don’t want to use chemicals on your porch, there are less harmful ways of preventing spiders from making webs. For example, you can plant mint or eucalyptus plants around your porch and house.
These plants are not only easy to maintain and a source of a fantastic smell. Both mint and eucalyptus are powerful spider deterrents. Even if you don’t have enough space for a eucalyptus tree, mint or lavender can be a great substitute!
As an alternative option to chemical sprays and planting trees and plants (which is time-consuming), you can use simple homemade remedies that will help you keep spiders and their webs away from your porch:
- Saltwater
- Tobacco spray
- Horse chestnuts
- Boric acid
As for the boric acid, you should sprinkle some of it around the locations where spiders gather and spin their webs. Additionally, you may place some boric acid between windows and around the thresholds of your doors as extra protection.
Alternative Ways to Prevent Spider Webs On Your Porch
Now you know several remedies (like boric acid, anti-spider sprays, and some plants) that can help you keep spiders away from your porch.
But if none of those suits you for some reason and you are looking for a natural way to prevent spider webs on your porch, try the following alternatives, They will not only keep spiders away but also repel them from building webs around your house.
Diatomaceous Earth
Diatomaceous earth is very effective in killing spiders. This product ruptures the exteriors of the spiders and triggers dehydration. By spreading diatomaceous earth around your property, you will be able to keep spiders away from your porch. However, you must use it very carefully and responsibly since it is a very strong thing!
Essential Oils
In particular, peppermint essential oil and eucalyptus essential oil. Just like live peppermint and eucalyptus plants, their essential oils make wonders when it comes to repelling spiders!
You simply need to combine some peppermint or eucalyptus oil and water and spray the mixture around the porch and in the outside corners of your house. Once the spiders sense the smell of peppermint or eucalyptus, they will avoid any place where the essence is applied.
How To Keep Spiders Away From Porch Lights?
As a homeowner, you definitely noticed many times that spiders adore those well-lit areas around your porch lights! However, it’s not only unaesthetic to see the webs spread from corner to corner of your porch. Having spiders around can also be dangerous!
To keep spiders away from your porch lights, you can use sticky traps of course, but we would say it’s not going to be enough. You also need to periodically clean the webs because, if you remove them as soon as they appear, spiders will move somewhere else to make them again.
So we recommend you follow a few simple cleaning steps to keep your porch spider-free:
- Vacuum up webs as soon as you discover them
- Hang sticky traps around your porch
- Trim vines and tree limbs that are near your lights since they serve as connection points for spider’s webs
Now that you know what remedies to use to keep spiders from invading your porch, let’s talk about the methods that can help you get rid of them if they are already there.
How to Get Rid Of Spiders And Their Webs On Porch?
It’s good to know how you can prevent spiders and their webs around your property, but those tips will only work if you don’t have spiders yet or you have very few of them.
But if you have spider webs everywhere outside and your porch has already turned into a cozy spider nest, you need to learn how to get rid of spider webs on your porch!
Below are some quick tips on how to get rid of these creatures:
- Apply insect repellent sprays
- Vacuum spider webs regularly
- Caulk any cracks and crevices outside of your home
- Clean your porch every 2 weeks and reapply repellent scents
- Remove food, liquid, and refuge sources
For a more precise guide, check out a detailed step-by-step instructions on how to clean spider webs from the porch.
Clean Your Porch Thoroughly
Cleaning is the very first thing that should be done. Remove everything from your porch or entrance like furniture, welcome mats, and the kids’ backpacks or toys.
Then sweep, vacuum, or power-wash all areas from the roof eaves to the railing. You should even clean under the landing if possible. Pay particular attention to crevices and areas where there is air movement and/or light in the evening.
Choose the Spider Repellent You Will Use
There are many scents people find pleasant that are terrible for spiders and repel them. Depending on your preferences, you may want to try one of the following:
- Lavender
- Lemon
- Mint/peppermint/spearmint
- Geranium
- Citronella
- Orange
- Chestnut oil
- Neem oil
Apply Repellent Spray
After you choose the essential oil you like, make a repelling spray by mixing up a bottle of the following ingredients:
- 1 cup water
- ¼ cup liquid dish detergent
- 5 drops of essential oil or a combination of oils (up to 5 drops total)
Mix all the ingredients avoiding to make lots of bubbles and spray areas where you found webs while cleaning.
Investigate What Attracts Spiders
As you know, it’s not your porch lights that make spiders come. They get attracted by the moths and other insects that live in your garden or around your porch. This is why to eliminate spiders, you need to take care of those insects first.
Clean the Area Regularly
To keep your porch and the rest of your property spider-free, you need to clean it every 2 weeks and reapply repellent scents. or chemicals if you use those after each cleaning session.
Most spider egg incubation periods are longer than 2 weeks, this is why by following this cleaning routine, you remove spider eggs out of your porch.
Seal Up Cracks
Sealing your home’s entry is not only energy-efficient, but it will also create a barrier from spiders and insects, preventing them from getting inside. This is why remember to caulk up all the seams and apply them to the weatherstrip!
What Common Porch Spiders You Can Face?
People often get freaked out when they see a spider on their porch, but in fact, you should not be afraid of all of them. Quite many spiders are harmless to humans, but there are species that can cause serious damage to your health!
So we recommend you check out a list of the most common porch spiders and learn their specifics. Like that, you will be able to identify the spiders you have on your porch and see whether they are harmless or not.
Brown Recluse
A brown recluse is easy to define due to a black violin-shaped marking just below the eyes. The bad news is that the brown recluse is poisonous! Therefore, you must be very cautious if you see this spider on your porch!
Here are a few additional features of a brown recluse that might be helpful for you:
- They tend to form webs beneath objects
- They have delicate hairs on the legs
- Their body length is around ½ in. (1.27 cm).
- They have legs with no stripes or bands
- An abdomen color ranges from cream to dark brown
Black Widow
Having female black widows around your porch is a cause for concern since their bites may result in major medical complications! The bite of this spider can be painful, and the skin may be swelling.
Typically, pain begins at the bite site and extends to the belly and back. The abdominal muscles may also experience severe cramping or stiffness. Additional symptoms include:
- nausea
- tremors
- hard breathing
- elevated blood pressure
- fever
Female black widows are easy to recognize though: they have glossy black bodies with a red hourglass marking on the underside of the abdomen. They often dwell in woodpiles, sheds, porches, and behind stones.
Grass Spider
Grass spiders can be recognized by a yellow-brown to brown carapace with two darker longitudinal stripes from the lateral eyes. Also, their webs are enormously big and remind of sheets, with an off-center funnel. However, you will rather notice webs than spiders since this species is shy.
This spider is not dangerous for humans, but its bites can induce discomfort, swelling, redness, and itching. Luckily, these symptoms last between one and ten days without causing serious harm.
So, now you know what to do to get rid of spiders on your porch if they are already there, and what measures should be taken in order to prevent them from appearing on your porch at all.
In addition, we described several most common spider species so that you could easily recognize them and know how to act.
Now that you have several alternative repelling products you can use, and a complete web-removing guide, keeping your porch clean, safe, and spider-free will be very easy!
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