Learn how to keep spiders out of the basement with these simple tips and tricks.
It’s easier than you think with the seven tips and tricks we discuss in this guide, that range from a little housekeeping and routine tidiness, to using some preventative sprays and remedies.
Soon you’ll have no excuse for not turning your dark basement into a scare-free, web-free, spider-free zone!
What You'll Learn
Seal Cracks and Other Small Openings
The first thing that you should do is to seal your house from potential entrances. Cracks, crevices and tiny gaps on your windows and doors can serve as gateways for spiders to enter the basement.
Cover these openings wisely. Put caulk on the cracks and crevices. Fix your doors and windows and attach fine mesh screens on them. You can also install cinch door seals if you don’t want to put screens on your doors.
Get rid of Other Pests
Generally, spiders dwell inside houses to catch more food. These food items can be insect pests like tiny roaches, termite alates and mosquitoes. So getting rid of these them leaves the spiders with less prey and therefore makes them less inclined to stay in your home.
To repel and kill insect pests, check out our directory. We have guides that can show you everything you need now in getting rid of them.
Get Rid of the Clutter
Spiders thrive in cluttered places, especially in our basements. Clutter invites more insects. And as we’ve mentioned, their presence lures in arachnids.
To keep this from happening, of course, you have to clean and organize your basement. There’s no way around it.
Throw away anything you don’t need or hold a yard sale and sell them off. Store your things away from the walls to discourage the spiders from building nests on them. And you should also invest in plastic organizational or container boxes instead of regular cardboard boxes. Insect prey like roaches are attracted to paper boxes.
Use a Peppermint Oil Spray
Peppermint oil is a known spider repellent. Combine the essential oil with other ingredients and spray the concoction on the spots where spiders usually stay. These places can be near light bulbs, inside gaps, holes and crevices and on window sills.
Peppermint oil isn’t the only known repellant either, you can use tea tree oil to repel spiders…in fact there are many different natural remedies to repel spiders. Take you pick!
Spray Lemon Oil
If peppermint oil isn’t available, you can use lemon oil instead. Basically, it works the same way as the peppermint oil. You just have to mix, point and spray.
Don’t Stack Wood Inside
Black widows and many other spiders love to hide underneath woodpiles, probably because they attract insects. So if you have a habit of keeping a pile of wood inside your house, it’s time to stop it.
Store them out in the backyard instead. Preferably, keep them a few feet away from your house. The distance will discourage the arachnids from getting back inside.
And if the weather’s constantly bad and you don’t want the logs to soak in water, invest in building a good toolshed – again, put it up a few feet away from your house.
Eliminate Attractants
If you want creepy spiders out of the basement, you need to inspect your home and see if you are unwittingly inviting them.
Here’s a list of all the possible spider attractants in a house. You may be luring the spiders in without even knowing it.
Lastly, remember that in order to keep spiders out of the basement, you need to put a lot of effort into it. You need to do some maintenance and inspections regularly. After all, you can’t keep a pest out if you’ll only apply a repellent once. It has to be done weekly for you to get actual results.
