Spiders are overtaking your home and your backyard. If you’re tired of sharing your space with creepy crawly critters, it may be time to start using repellents and traps to send these guys packing.
But how do you repel or trap spiders? We’re going to share three easy-to-get spider traps and repellents that you can make at home today.
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3 Homemade Spider Traps
Homemade traps and repellents don’t have to be expensive or hard to find. These three solutions use common everyday materials you probably have in your home already. If you don’t, they’re inexpensive and easy to find.
1. Homemade Sticky Spider Trap
Unlike insecticides, sticky traps are highly effective, and they’re non-toxic. The great thing about these traps is that they can also be used to catch other bugs – bugs that you may not have even known you had.
Depending on what you have in your home, these effective sticky traps may cost you nothing at all.
What You’ll Need
- Piece of cardboard (an empty cereal box works well)
- 1 cup corn syrup
- 1 cup water
- Plastic spoon
How to Assemble the Trap
- Start by cutting your cardboard into 2″ x 4″ pieces. Set these pieces aside.
- In a heavy saucepan, combine the corn syrup and water.
- Cook over medium heat until it reaches a rolling boil, and turn down the heat to a simmer.
- Simmer until the mixture becomes a thick sticky paste.
- Remove from heat, and allow the paste to cool down.
- Dip the end of the spoon in the glue mixture to coat it (the coating will make it easier to spread the glue).
- Dip a spoonful of glue from the pot, and spread it over one side of a cardboard piece.
- Dispose of the spoon.
- Place the traps (sticky material side up)in rooms or areas that get the most spider activity.
The Benefits of a Sticky Trap
There are many benefits to making your own sticky trap.
The first and most obvious benefit is that it really does work. When spiders crawl over these traps – and they will – they will get stuck in the glue and will be unable to move.
Along with being effective, these traps are also inexpensive and easy to make with simple materials.
Tips & Warnings
While sticky traps are inexpensive and effective, they can also be cruel. When spiders walk over the glue, their legs get stuck and they’re unable to move. Because they can’t move, the spiders experience a slow and long death.
One other warning: this trap can be messy to make. The corn syrup and water mixture can create a big mess when putting the trap together, but once the glue thickens and dries a little, the cardboard is much easier to handle.
If you’re making your own sticky trap, it’s important to note that you can’t replace the glue with double-sided carpet tape. While this can work in a pinch, the tape will lose its stickiness rather quickly.
2. Homemade Spider Spray
Sprays can be an effective repellent to keep spiders and other creepy crawly critters away. And when you make your own spray, you don’t have to worry about slathering your home in chemicals.
Homemade sprays use things like essential oils to repel spiders. Essential oils are non-toxic (in most cases), and can be beneficial. Some recipes for sprays use fresh spices and herbs to keep spiders at bay.
We’re going to show you how to make two different spider sprays using all-natural ingredients.
Clove and Garlic Spray
This natural spider spray uses fresh garlic and clove to ward off those eight-legged foes.
What You’ll Need
- 2 cups water
- 4 cloves of garlic, smashed
- 5 drops of clove essential oil
How to Make the Spray
- Place the water, garlic and clove in a spray bottle.
- Spray entryways and potential nesting sites to keep spiders away.
Peppermint and Citrus Spray
For this spray, you’ll need some essential oils that spiders hate – peppermint and citrus.
What You’ll Need
- 5 drops of peppermint essential oil
- 5 drops of citrus essential oil, such as grapefruit or lemon
- 2 cups water
- A few drops of liquid dish soap
How to Make the Spray
- Combine essential oils, water and soap in a spray bottle.
- Spray entryways and potential nesting sites to keep spiders away.
The Benefits of Spider Sprays
Sprays are a great way to keep spiders out of your house – before they become a problem. By warding off these eight-legged creatures, you never have to make the difficult decision of whether to trap and release, or exterminate them all.
A DIY spray, like the homemade trap above, is made using natural ingredients that you probably have in your home already. This means you don’t have to spray dangerous insecticides. Most of the ingredients in these sprays also keep other bugs away, so it’s a versatile solution to a pesky problem.
And because you probably have all of these ingredients in your home already, it will cost you nothing extra to make.
Tips & Warnings
While these sprays use natural ingredients, essential oils can be toxic to pets and small children. If spraying, be sure to avoid areas where your pets and children play.
3. Homemade Spider Glue Board
A glue board is similar to the sticky trap listed above, but it’s much larger and typically designed to catch mice. While you can buy a plain glue trap from a big box store, you can also make your own version that works just as well.
But for this trap, you’ll need to buy a special glue designed exclusively for catching pests (these are used on store-bought traps). You can buy these at most home improvement stores.
What You’ll Need
- Large piece of cardboard.
- Insect trap sticky material coating, like Table Trap or Catchmaster
- Disposable brush
How to Assemble the Trap
- Apply a layer of insect trap coating using your brush.
- Dispose of the brush.
- Place the trap where you see the most spider activity. Along baseboards, in the corners of rooms, or near doors are all great locations for your trap.
The Benefits of Spider Glue Boards
Spider glue boards are easy to make and only require a small investment in the glue itself. But once you buy the glue, which comes in a fairly large container, you have it for use in the future.
Tips & Warnings
Just like with the spider sticky traps, glue traps aren’t exactly a humane way to kill spiders. Once they’re trapped, they’re stuck and die a slow death.
Also, depending on the glue you purchase, you may need to be careful about where you place the trap. If the glue contains toxic materials, make sure that they are placed away from areas where pets and children can reach them.
Ideally, you would find a non-toxic sticky material to coat the cardboard.
Some people use old motor oil or slather cooking oil on cardboard as an easy trick to trap spiders, but this method is going overboard and may not work as intended.
More on Spider Prevention
Looking for other ways to keep scary spiders out of the house? Spider traps are great, but there are other ways to keep these critters away.
One warning: if you’re dealing with male hobo spiders or brown recluse spiders, you may want to call in a professional.
Also – keep in mind that not all homemade insect traps are effective. You may have seen people use plastic soda bottle traps to catch spiders, but these are more effective for other insects and rodents.
If you’re looking for simple spider control using natural methods, here are some other options:
1. Vinegar
There are a million-and-one uses for vinegar around the house, from cleaning to cooking. But you can also use this same substance to keep spiders away.
Simply fill a spray bottle with half water and half vinegar. Spray this solution in corners, cracks and crevices to keep these critters away.
Be careful not to spray the vinegar solution on any varnished surfaces, as the acidity could erode the finish.
2. Clean, Clean, Clean
A clean home and yard is less hospitable for a spider. Sure, you’ll have the occasional critter build a web in the corner, but regular cleaning will help keep these webs away – and their residents.
Make the extra effort to keep your home and your yard neat and tidy. If spiders have nowhere to hide and nothing to eat, they’re less likely to stick around.
Be sure to remove all grass clippings, vegetation, leaves, wood piles and compost from your property (or at least near your home). These are great hiding places for spiders and other creatures.
Whether you’re dealing with outdoor or indoor spiders, home spider control can be tedious – but worth the effort. If you can find a natural way to keep spiders away, you can avoid spraying harmful chemicals and enjoy your yard.
Sticky traps are the most optimal solution, most homeowners say. But you can use sprays to keep spiders from entering your home in the first place. Using a combination of both methods can help rid your home of an infestation and prevent another one from happening in the future.