There are spiders native to every state. Some of us love them, others fear them, either way, no one is welcoming them into their apartment. There are many methods to keeping spiders out of your apartment. If you find spiders in your apartment, there are strategies to trap them and keep them away for good.
Keep Clean
Spiders aren’t fond of clean places, so regular cleaning is the best way to keep them away. Vacuum the corners between the walls and floor, walls the ceiling, along the baseboards, and around windows, and even the inside of drawers and cupboards. Dust and dirt make for great hiding places to weave a web, so if they don’t have any to hide behind, they won’t be interested in hanging around!
Caulk Cracks
Spiders can squeeze their bodies through the smallest openings. It is vital to seal all cracks and crevices in your walls, windows, and doors. Caulk can close any crack near windows and doors. Invest in a weatherstrip for under your doors to eliminate the space from them to crawl through. Closing any possible opening to your apartment is the first part to preventing a spider scourge.
Catch and Trap
If you’re a humanitarian, use a spider catch to move spiders from your apartment and relocate them outside. If you’d rather eradicate, then use a spider trap. A multi-pest sticky trap can be used for spiders, bugs, and insects, otherwise you can purchase traps created solely for spiders. There are multiple types of spider catchers on the market. Some work similar to a vacuum, carefully sucking spiders up to be let free outside. Other spider catchers work like a scoop, not making use of a suction. Try to avoid using poison if you have kids or pets in the apartment. Poison should be used as a last resort, as bats, wasps, and toads eat spiders. If you poison the spider, you will unintentionally harm other creatures that play an important role in the local ecosystem.
Products and Strategies to Keep Spiders Out
There are numerous at-home remedies to keep spiders out of your apartment should you dislike the idea of a catcher or trap.
Essential Oil
Spiders greatly dislike the strong scents of peppermint, tea tree, lavender, rose, and cinnamon. Drip a little bit of oil on a several cotton ball sand place them strategically around your apartment where you know spiders enter. To conserve essential oil, dilute it with water, pour it into a spray bottle, and disperse the solution throughout your apartment.
White Vinegar
Mix up a solution of one half water to one half white vinegar and pour it into a spray bottle. Wherever you see spiders entering or living in your apartment, shower the solution over these problem areas and watch them disappear.
Citrus
Spiders do not like the smell of citrus, so use acidic fruit or citrus-scented cleaners to keep them away. The peel of a lemon, lime, or orange can be rubbed along the baseboards, around windows, doors, and walls to keep them from entering. Use citrus-scented cleaners to enhance the citrus smell spiders dislike so much. For outside on your private balcony or communal patio, citronella candle will keep spiders from crashing the party.
Cedar
If you aren’t big on citrus, you can use the earthy-scent of cedar to keep spiders out. Cedar blocks can be put in all problem areas, otherwise you can use them specifically for drawers, cabinets, and under the sink.
Garlic
Two birds with one stone! Spiders and vampires detest the smell of garlic. Leave bowls of garlic throughout your apartment for spiders to smell and scurry away. Should you find the scent of garlic pleasant, make a solution like you would with white vinegar but with garlic instead and drizzle it within your apartment.
Stop Before Starting
Take all necessary precautions to keep your apartment free of spiders before they ever start moving in. Routine cleaning, with citrus-scented cleaning products, will do the majority of the work at keeping spiders out. It is crucial to caulk all cracks around your doors, windows, and walls, especially before fall when temperatures drop with winter approaching. Be sure to catch or trap any spiders you find and release them outside. Be mindful of all the aromas spiders aren’t fans of, these will aid you tremendously when trying to keep your apartment free of spiders.
