How to get rid of spiders and keep them from coming back

• Spiders typically come into homes because they're attracted to other insects inside.
• Vacuuming up spiders and their webs is the best and easiest form of spider removal.
• Keep spiders out by sealing up a home, limiting the number of lights used, and cleaning up spills.

Although spiders are generally beneficial to the environment, it's not exactly fun to catch these eight-legged critters crawling up the walls of our homes. Especially since some can be dangerous to humans.

According to Doug Webb, a manager of technical services of Terminix, spiders are most often attracted into homes by a potential food source, specifically small insects that are already in a home and make for easy prey to capture. Thus, one of the best ways to get rid of spiders is by eliminating the insects and cutting off the spider's food source.

However, there are a number of short- and long-term spider removal methods to help get rid of spiders already in a house and prevent you from attracting more.

How to get rid of spiders

The best way to eliminate spiders is by taking preventative measures to keep them from getting inside in the first place, and large-scale infestations should generally get handled by professionals. But Webb points out a few removal methods to use after you've taken the bigger steps to keep the eight-legged friends out of your home.

Vacuum thoroughly

It may seem deceptively simple, but Webb asserts that this is the best and easiest way to get rid of spiders. Simply physically remove both the spiders and their webs. "[The vacuum] will suck [the spider] in and [it] won't survive the ride into the [vacuum] bag," Webb says.

Vacuum a space like you normally would, paying special attention to anywhere you've noticed spiders or spider webs, then dispose of the bag's contents. This method is especially useful when dealing with potentially dangerous spiders, as it limits the amount of direct contact you might have with it.

Stress the environment

Sometimes all it takes to get rid of an unwanted house guest is making their living situation as uncomfortable as possible so they don't feel inclined to hang around. In the case of spiders, this means removing webs as soon as you see them and making sure you're taking steps to prevent insects, the spider's food source, from getting inside.

Glue traps

Webb explains that glue traps, which are sheets or tubes covered in a sticky substance that the spiders then get trapped on, are most effective in catching hunting spiders, since they crawl around on the ground more than web-building spiders. While glue traps shouldn't be depended on to get rid of all spiders, Webb states they can help in diagnosing the scale of a spider invasion and determining what kind of spiders you might have.

Quick tip: Don't step on wolf spiders. Baby wolf spiders climb onto their mother's back upon leaving the egg sack. If you step on the wolf spider, dozens of baby spiders may go scurrying everywhere. "So if you see a wolf spider and they're kind of fuzzy looking, they probably have those little spiders all over their back," Webb says.

How to stop spiders from getting inside

Long-term tactics are often the best line of defense when permanently rooting out spiders. Often many of these tactics are aimed at not only getting rid of the spiders themselves but also their insect food sources, which helps prevent spiders from being drawn to a house in the first place.

• Seal up your home. One of the easiest ways for insects and spiders to invade a space is by getting in through small entry points. Seal up any holes or cracks in the foundation of a home, and add weatherstripping to the bottoms of doors and windows as well.
• Limit lights. According to Webb, insects are often attracted into homes by light, making it important to limit the amount of light you use in your home at night to minimize the chances of insects being drawn in. Don't leave lamps on in rooms that they don't need to be on, and utilize weatherstripping to snuff out any light coming in under a door. Also be aware of any outdoor lamps you have and where they are in proximity to a door or window, as there might be flies and other bugs hanging around them.
• Clean up food and spills. One of the most common reasons critters come into a home is because of food-related messes. Be sure to maintain tidiness at home, cleaning up any spills, throwing out food, and not leaving anything sitting on the counter for too long. Webb says it's important to pay special attention to the edges of the floor and otherwise neglected areas under counters or furniture when cleaning.

Common house spiders

There are a few things to know when identifying spiders, the most important being if they are venomous or dangerous.

Most spiders are venomous, as injecting venom is how they hunt prey. However, not all are considered dangerous, according to Webb, because they either don't have fangs large enough to penetrate and inject venom into humans or they don't interact with people enough.

Rather, the main issues with spider bites arise from secondary infections, like a staph infection, that might happen in part because of the bite, but not necessarily because of the venom itself.

"It is extremely rare for somebody to die from a spider bite," says Webb. "It does occasionally occur, [but that's more because of] the person's susceptibility to the bite than it is the bite or venom itself."

The second thing to keep in mind is whether a spider is web-building or hunting. This helps inform some preventative measures you take, as hunting spiders tend to spend more time on the ground and can therefore be caught using traps.

Important: If you're bitten by a black widow or brown recluse spider, or are unsure about the type of spider that's bitten you, the Mayo Clinic says to visit a hospital or other medical provider immediately. If you're able to identify that the spider that's bitten you is non-dangerous, but you're experiencing severe symptoms such as spasms, redness, or soreness, you should also visit a medical professional.

Black widow (web-building): Perhaps one of the most notorious spiders, black widows are both distinct and dangerous. While Webb says it's rare for someone to die from a black widow bite, it is the more threatening bite out of all the common house spiders and can result in painful muscle cramping and hospitalization in extreme cases. He states that there are a few different species of black widows that have slight variations in appearances. The most common species is a shiny, jet black with a recognizable red hourglass shape on their back, however other species might also have reddish nondescript shapes or will look brown with orangish markings instead.

Brown recluse (hunting): Also called the fiddleback spider, the best way to identify a brown recluse spider is if it has a violin shape on its back. As the name implies, brown recluses typically tend to be a tan color and, while most of the other spiders Webb lists can be found across the country, brown recluses are mainly limited to the central region of the US. Because of its necrotic venom, which can cause damage to the skin and muscle tissue area around the bite, Webb states that brown recluse spiders are also considered dangerous.

Wolf spider (hunting): The wolf spider is one of the most common spiders, but it is often mistaken for a brown recluse. Both are brownish or a dark tan color, but where the brown recluse has the unique violin shape on its back and is considered dangerous, the wolf spider just has black stripes and does pose a threat.

Cellar spider (web-building): Described by Webb as appearing "lightweight," cellar spiders have especially thin bodies and long, spindly legs and are not dangerous to humans.

Common house spider (web-building): Another incredibly common and non-dangerous spider, the house spider is a brownish orb-weaver spider, meaning it builds wheel-shaped webs. Like the black widow, it has a big, bulbous backside and a smaller cephalothorax, or front part of the body made up of the head and thorax. Webb states you'll often find their webs on ceilings and in corners.

Quick tip: Contrary to popular belief, daddy longlegs actually isn't a type of spider. Like spiders, they belong to the arachnid family but the daddy longlegs is a completely different type of arachnid called opiliones.

Insider's takeaway

Spiders often are attracted into homes because their insect food source has already entered, so it's important to deal with both when thinking of removal methods. In the long term, make sure you adequately seal up a home, limit the number of lights used at night, and properly clean up any food-related messes. To handle any spiders that have already entered a home, simply vacuum them up or use glue traps.

While most spiders are venomous, most house spiders aren't a threat to humans. But it is important to recognize the few that are, such as black widows and brown recluse spiders, and to proceed very carefully when handling them.