Home remedies to keep spiders out of your house

As summer ends I find myself confronting wildlife in my personal space more and more. First it was a mouse taking up residence in the back of my ATV. Now, it's spiders in the house. Nothing creeps me out more than spiders and seeing 3 in one week inside my house sends me into a panic! 

Unfortunately as temperatures turn cooler, spiders are looking for a warmer spot to hole up for awhile and a house seems like a good deal to them. Luckily there are several things I can do to keep spiders out of my house.

I'm well aware that most species of spiders are completely harmless, yet that gives me no peace of mind whatsoever! If I see a spider in my house I'm either squishing it, or sucking it up with the hose attachment on my vacuum. 

That actually works really well for spiders that have gotten themselves up to the ceiling. As a bonus you can vacuum up the web at the same time! Now is a good time to mention that I'm actually allergic to spider bites...so you can understand why I've tried so many methods of getting rid of them over the years.

Keep spiders off your house

First things first, you need to stop them from getting into the house! To keep spiders from getting into your house, make sure your window screens don't have any holes in them and the frames fit tightly in the windows. Make sure to clean out window tracks and use a broom to clean under the gutters or overhangs to remove old webs or debris.

Bugs hang out by windows because they are attracted to the light. Spiders like bugs, so it just makes sense that spiders are hanging out outside your windows. Make sure there are no holes they can slip through and no spaces between the frames so they stay on the outside of the window. 

Don't use more outdoor lights on your house than needed, and if you must use them mount them away from the house. Chose motion sensitive lights if possible so they spend the majority of the time off. The longer they are on, the more bugs they'll attract which attracts the spiders. 

Natural ways to keep spiders out of your house

Caulk any gaps and holes around doors and window frames where spiders can get into the house. Cracks let drafts in anyway, so they're best filled in before they start affecting your heat bill! 

Essential oils to keep spiders away

Make spider spray. Get a large spray bottle and add 1/2 cup of white vinegar and 1 1/2 cups of water. Add 10 drops of peppermint essential oil and 2 drops of dish liquid. Shake well. The dish liquid helps to break up the oils so they are distributed evenly throughout the liquid. 

Spray around the outside of windows, doors and other places that spiders might be getting into the house. 

Dab a bit of peppermint oil on a cotton ball and place inside on window sills especially if there are trees, shrubs or other places for spiders to hide in right outside the window. 

Not fond of peppermint smell inside your home? Spiders don't like tea tree oil, eucalyptus essential oil or lavender essential oil much either so give one of those a try instead.

Plants to keep spiders away

Speaking of mint and lavender, many people plant these along the outside of their houses just to repel spiders. Pretty and functional! Just make sure you plant your mint in a container or it might take over! 

Lemongrass, lemon verbena and lemon balm also seem to keep spiders away as do other herbs like basil, rosemary, citronella and rosemary. If you're looking for spider repelling flowers then marigolds, mums (chrysanthemums) and lavender would be your best choices.

Other ways to keep spiders out

Citronella candles. It's said that spiders dislike citrus scents, so using lemon cleaners and burning citronella candles might keep spiders out of your home. I haven't tried the candles but it's worth a shot! I do use a lemon scented window cleaner on my glass doors and windows and haven't seen spiders around there. 

Spiders hate cedar. Using cedar mulch around the outside of your house will help keep spiders away. If your not the mulchy type you can buy cedar clothing balls (mine are heart shaped) and place them inside the house where spiders like to hang out. They dislike the smell. 

I also use these cedar clothing hang-ups in my closet and have never had a spider in there.

Keep the floors and counters free of crumbs. While it's highly unlikely that spiders will be inside your house looking for food crumbs, other insects will be. The more bugs inside the house, the more comfortable a spider will be inside if he has a ready food supply. 

Sweep the floors and wipe down the counters regularly to remove food particles.

Spiders dislike vinegar. Mix water and white vinegar in a spray bottle and spray near areas that spiders come in through, like the cracks under and around screen doors. I mix a 50/50 solution and it works to keep the spiders from coming inside!

You can also make a spider spray with water and vinegar plus peppermint and cedar essential oils. Mix your water and vinegar as mentioned above and add 12 drops of essential oils for every 4 oz of water/vinegar solution. 

Shake to mix every time you go to use it, otherwise the essential oils will just float on the surface. I shake in between every few sprays. I use this one inside the house and the one above outside...because of the dish soap content.

Old wives tales: hedge apples and chestnuts keep spiders away when placed inside the house. If you have hedge apples and chestnuts and want to try it, then give it a go! I've heard they work really well and hedge apples have an almost cult like following...but I've never tried them.

Having problems with stink bugs invading your house? Click here for How to get rid of stink bugs indoors!

~L

Related reading: 13 Most Common and Deadly Spiders in the US.

Want healthy living information sent right to your email weekly? Click right here to join my list and get new posts sent directly to you the day they're published!

(This post contains affiliate links. If you chose to purchase something through the link, I will get a small payment from Amazon. It will not affect your purchase price. Click for full disclosure.)