Exterminating spiders outside your home sometimes feels like an impossible task. However, you can take steps to keep their numbers down and limit the spread of their webs.
How to keep spiders from making webs on your porch? To keep spiders from making webs on your porch, use web eliminator sprays and spider repellents. The sprays will create a surface on which the spiders cannot spin their webs, and the repellents reduce the spider population. Planting peppermint plants near the porch is another effective mode of prevention.
This post will address how to repel spiders from your porch, as well as the finest sprays and home cures for killing arachnids that are resistant to traditional repellents. It will detail some of the most common porch spiders and whether you should exercise caution near them.
Common Porch Spiders
If there are webs around your porch, there are definitely spiders near your home. You should note that humans are safe around most arachnids, but some of them won’t hesitate to bite when threatened.
Accidental bites may also occur when someone squishes a spider. Most of the bites often result in temporary redness and irritation.
However, the bites from certain species will almost always require medical attention. They include the following:
- Brown recluse
- Black widow
- Tarantula
Brown Recluse
A brown recluse has a black violin-shaped marking just below the eyes. The violin’s neck curves rearward toward the belly.
Unlike other spiders, this species features a pattern of six eyes in pairs separated by a gap. The majority of spiders have eight eyes arranged in two rows of four.
The brown recluse is poisonous. Therefore, you must exercise caution when interacting with them.
Additional features of a brown recluse include the following:
- Webs formed beneath objects.
- On the legs, there are delicate hairs.
- Body length is around ½ in. (1.27 cm).
- Legs that are uniformly light in color with no stripes or bands.
- An abdomen that is uniform in hue and ranges from cream to dark brown.
Grass Spider
Grass spiders are distinguished by their significantly expanded web-spinning organs. The abdomen is often darker than the carapace and has a lighter median stripe.
This species has a yellow-brown to brown carapace with two darker longitudinal stripes from the lateral eyes.
Their webs are enormous and sheet-like, with an off-center funnel. Homeowners remark that you will notice more webs than spiders since this species is shy. The webs may be on your grass, plants, and porch posts.
Their bites have been known to induce discomfort, swelling, redness, and itching. These symptoms last between one and ten days without causing significant complications.
Black Widow
The presence of female black widows around your porch is a legitimate cause for concern since their bites may result in major medical complications.
Typically, female black widows are glossy black with a red hourglass marking on the underside of the abdomen. They are often found in woodpiles, sheds, porches, and behind stones.
The black widow’s bite may be painful, and the skin may exhibit one or two bite marks with 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.
Additionally, nausea, tremors, hard breathing, elevated blood pressure, and fever may occur. Protective clothes should be used while dealing with black widow webs.
Related: False Black Widow Identification, Habitat and Control
Tarantulas
Certain tarantula species spin fine webs behind logs, around tree trunks, and on your porch. The webbing is mainly utilized to line the outside of their housing.
Typically, the head-thorax area and legs of these spiders are dark brown. Additionally, their abdomens have a brownish-black color. The most distinguishing feature of these spiders is their size and hairiness.
Although these spiders possess venom sacs, their venom is not dangerous to humans.
Why Are There So Many Spiders on your Front Porch?
You may have so many spiders on your front porch because your yard is a healthy source of spider food. The porch is usually the highest concentration of insects in homes where insects abound, so spiders weave a web to collect as many as possible.
Do Porch Lights Attract Spiders?
Porch lights can attract spiders. These lights attract various nocturnal flying insects, making it an easy-meal zone for insect-eating organisms, including spiders.
Spiders will spin webs around the light fixtures to capture their meal. The light does not attract the spider; instead, it is drawn to the food.
Because different species have varying temperature requirements, it is improbable that they are drawn to your porch light for the warmth it gives.
How To Get Rid of Spiders on Porch?
Below are some tips on how to get rid of spiders:
- Apply insect repellent sprays.
- Routinely vacuum spider webs.
- Caulk any cracks and crevices on the outside of your home.
- Remove food, liquid, and refuge sources.
How To Keep Spiders From Building Webs on Porch?
If you’re looking for a natural way to prevent spider webs on your porch and repel spiders from building webs around your house, try the following alternatives to chemical pesticides:
Diatomaceous Earth
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Diatomaceous earth kills spiders by rupturing their exteriors and triggering dehydration. Spreading it around your property helps keep spiders away from your porch, but you must use it responsibly.
Related: Diatomaceous Earth Uses as a Natural Pesticide
Peppermint Essential Oil
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Spray a combination of peppermint oil and water around the porch. Peppermint is repulsive to spiders, and they will avoid any place where it is applied.
Eucalyptus Oil
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As with peppermint, dilute this oil with water and spray it in the outside corners of your house.
How To Keep Spiders Away From Porch Lights?
To keep spiders away from your porch lights, you can use sticky traps and periodically clean webs. First, a spider’s web is where it will spend most of its time around your house. If you remove webs from your lights as soon as they are created, spiders will move somewhere else.
Below are some tips you can follow:
- It is best to vacuum up webs as you discover them.
- Another preventative measure is to use sticky traps. These are adhesive strips that trap spiders and other pests. You can set them near your porch light and then discard them after the pests have been caught.
- Try pruning vines and tree limbs that are near your lights. These serve as a handy connection point for a spider’s web.
How To Prevent Spiders From Making Webs?
To prevent spiders from making webs, you can plant mint or eucalyptus plants around your house. Along with being minimal and smelling fantastic, the powerful medicinal perfume deters spiders. If you lack space for a eucalyptus tree, other porch plants repel spiders, such as lavender.
With fewer spiders, there will be fewer webs.
Related: How To Get Rid of a Spider Nest?
What To Use for Spiders on Porch?
You can buy spider repellents that can be used for both indoor and outdoor use. By spraying these items on the spiders, you can either kill them or drive them away. Additionally, these chemicals are safe to spray on plants to poison spiders that come into contact with them.
There are also web removers that you can use on surfaces to deter spiders from constructing webs and choosing another location for their home rather than your porch.
Best Spider Repellents for Porch
If you’re wondering how to get rid of spider webs and spiders with the safest repellent possible, use the all-natural ones that can be found on amazon. All you need to do is to position them along the perimeter of your porch.
- Safe when used as directed
- Extra Concentrated for Long-Lasting Protection
- Natural Ingredients Proven Effective in the Real World
- Large 1 Gallon Container
- Powerful Essential Oil
- No More Spider Webs – Cobweb Eliminator prevents future web...
- Versatile – Apply it as a pre-season preventative treatment or...
- Easy to Use – Simply knock down existing webs then spray the...
- Fast Acting & Long Lasting – The spray starts working...
- Great for Porch Lights – Ideal for use around porch lights and...
- All-natural peppermint and lemongrass oil formula repels the...
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Lemongrass, citronella, and rosemary are just a few of the essential oils infused into these convenient sacks. This mixture provides a solution that is both environmentally friendly and very effective.
If the spiders on your porch are blocking your entrance, using Wet & Forget Miss Muffet’s Revenge Spider Killer from Amazon is how to get rid of spiders around the front door. This is a long-lasting repellent that will keep spiders away for up to 12 months.
Related: Does Windex Kill Spiders?
Best Sprays To Keep Spider Webs Away From Porch
If there are spider webs everywhere around your porch, sprays are one of the most efficient methods of eradicating them. Here are two options from Amazon.
- The Nisus Web Preventer Spray repels new cobwebs for an extended period. It also works instantly on pre-existing webs.
- Thyme Oil 2.0% Lemongrass Oil 2.0% Citronella 2.0% Sodium Lauryl...
- Web Out works in homes, offices, warehouses, school and other...
- Web Out is safe and effective to use against spiders ants...
- Item Package Weight: 28.0 pounds
- The Terro Cobweb Eliminator is an alternative to this. It works for up to two months and is as easy to use as other sprays.
- No More Spider Webs – Cobweb Eliminator prevents future web...
- Versatile – Apply it as a pre-season preventative treatment or...
- Easy to Use – Simply knock down existing webs then spray the...
- Fast Acting & Long Lasting – The spray starts working...
- Great for Porch Lights – Ideal for use around porch lights and...
Related: 7 Best Outdoor Spider Sprays Review
Home Remedy To Keep Spiders Away From Porch
Some home remedies to repel spiders from the porch include:
- Saltwater
- Horse chestnuts
- Boric acid: Sprinkle some around locations where spiders congregate and spin webs. Additionally, you may place this between windows and around the thresholds of your doors.
Related: How To Use Vinegar To Get Rid of Spiders?
Summary
You’re likely to have lots of spiders on your porch if they have easy access to food sources from there. To keep spiders from turning your porch into their home, use web eliminator sprays and spider repellents.
After vacuuming and cleaning your porch, you can also use more natural alternatives such as diatomaceous earth and peppermint essential oil.
List of Sources
Grantham, R., Wright, R. Spiders: Brown Recluse, Black Widow, and Other Common Spiders. Oklahoma State University.
Insects in the City. What is a sticky trap? Texas A & M Agrilife Extension.
Merchant, M. (2016). Understanding Common House and Garden Insecticides. Texas A & M Agrilife Extension.
Potter, M. (2018). Eliminating Spiders Around Homes and Buildings. University of Kentucky.
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