Spiders aren’t all that bad, but that doesn’t mean you want them in your home. Even if a spider isn’t poisonous, just the sight of them can make some homeowners go crazy.
Many of us have grown to develop a deep fear of spiders. If this is you and your home is experiencing a spider infestation, we’ve got the perfect guide for you. Our pest control company has been treating Utah homes for spiders for years and knows the most effective and safest ways to get rid of spiders.
While some methods for getting rid of spiders takes care of the problem for a week or two, this guide will provide you with spider control techniques that actually work for lengthy periods of time.
It also dives into safe spider repellants and treatments that naturally drive away spiders without endangering the health of you or others inside your home. Other methods aren’t ones you want to be using around small children or pets. But we’ll let you in on the ones that are.
Plus, our ultimate guide is specific to Utah spiders you may commonly see. Some treatments and precautions will vary depending on the spiders in your home, so being aware of which spiders you are up against can help you to know what steps to take for your specific spider situation.
Pick and choose sections below that grab your interest, or read our entire guide for a comprehensive understanding of how to get rid of spiders and keep them out. Tune back in every month as another section is added to our ultimate spider control guide.
So what spiders actually live in Utah? Correctly identifying which Utah house spiders are in your home is crucial in order to begin the most effective treatment for that particular species.
First, the hobo spider. These funnel spiders are some of the most common spiders you’ll see in Utah homes. The arachnid community currently is debating over whether or not hobo spiders are in fact dangerous to humans. Once believed to have a venomous bite that killed skin tissue and formed painful lesions, hobo spiders are now off the venomous spiders’ list due to recent studies.
Nevertheless, these aren’t the friendliest spiders to have in your home. They move quickly and stay close to the ground where children and pets are more likely to find them. However, they won’t attack unless their territory is threatened.
One clear sign of hobo spiders is their funnel-shaped webs. These webs can sometimes be confused with similar funnel webs made by grass spiders, although these are usually found outdoors.
Hobo spiders also can sometimes be misidentified as brown recluse spiders, which are dangerous to humans but do not live in Utah. The hobo spider can be recognized by their hairy-looking and solid-colored legs, often light brown or rusty red. They also have a unique marking on their abdomen that resembles a herringbone pattern that forms recurring V shapes.
Perhaps the most well-known spider, black widow spiders are notorious for their venomous bite that can cause serious health complications. After being bitten by a black widow spider, you may experience nausea, difficulty breathing, aching muscles, lightheadedness, a high fever, and/or other symptoms. Visit a doctor as soon as you can to receive proper medical treatment for this dangerous bite.
Most people recognize black widows from their black color and a red marking on the underside of their abdomen in the shape of an hourglass. You may see the red hourglass if the spider is hanging upside down in its web, often messier than other spider webs.
Don’t go without black widow pest controlin your Utah home, especially in cluttered and secluded areas such as storage closets, garages, and woodpiles. Black widow spiders will make their way into your house as the weather begins to cool down, so have the proper protection in place before winter hits.
In Utah, the jumping spider you may come across is the Phidippus audax spider, or bold jumping spider, aptly named for its daring jumping ability despite its small size. These black spiders in Utah grow to about .25” to .5” in length.
Most spiders on this list are nocturnal, but ground spiders are an exception to that norm. As such, homeowners generally find them near window sills, doors, or other well-lit areas.
You’ll notice their small size and quick jumps, but you may also notice other physical features. Look for their green chelicerae or pincers in front of their mouths, large eyes, and black and white coloring. Bold jumping spiders are playful and harmless to humans, but contact a medical professional if you do experience swelling, nausea, or other allergic reactions to a spider bite.
Wolf spiders most often are dark brown in color with lighter markings along their abdomen and legs. They get their name from their agile hunting skills. Rather than spin webs to catch their prey, wolf spiders run quickly before grabbing hold of their dinner. Swift and aggressive when attacking other pests, many people find the appearance of wolf spiders in their home alarming.
These spiders can tend to be hairier and larger than other spider species in Utah. They can grow to be as large as 1 ⅜”. But despite their size and quick speeds, wolf spiders are not dangerous to humans.
Once inside, it can be difficult to remove wolf spiders. But the right professional pest control experts can help place spider traps in the wolf spider’s habitat and apply other spider control treatments.
While their bite is not dangerous, yellow sac spiders tend to be more aggressive than other species. They may bite a human more than once in an attempt to defend themselves which can be painful. The area may become inflamed and fill with an oozing substance.
Frequently found along walls or ceilings, yellow sac spiders are also often found in clothes closets, hiding inside shoes or lingering clothes on the floor. Be cautious, especially if you notice any spider webs nearby.
Yellow sac spider webs resemble small, silken sacs which can be located where walls and/or ceilings meet. Be careful, though; black widow egg sacs can look very similar to these webs.
Another yellow spider in Utah is the crab spider, although crab spiders can come in many different colors to blend in with flowers, rocks, trees, and other surroundings. Their eight legs resemble, yep, crab legs which also allow them to scurry sideways.
Like wolf spiders, crab spiders run to attack their prey rather than wait for them to get trapped in a web. Their bite is venomous to small pests, but not to humans, although their speed and camouflaged bodies may frighten some.
A unique trait to crab spiders is that they suck out their prey’s insides through small holes, but leave the rest of the prey’s body once they finish. Small pest carcasses could be a sign that crab spiders are lurking nearby.
Utah has two common types of orb-weaving spiders that may pop up on your property, particularly in the fall. They are the banded garden spider and the cat-face spider. Both orb-weaving spiders are not a threat to humans and eat many unwanted pests. However, they may invade your home when looking for a place to lay their egg sacs in the months leading up to winter.
Look for orb-weaving spiders’ geometric webs that appear in a circular pattern for identification. Banded garden spiders have beautifully striped bodies and legs that also make them easy to identify, while cat-face spiders have rounder bodies and shorter legs.
Woodlouse spiders are distinguishable by their bright red or rust-colored legs and bodies. They have large fangs to eat their favorite prey, the pill bug or rolly-pollies. These bugs are a type of wood louse which is where the spider gets its name.
These fangs can make their bite painful, but not dangerous to humans unless you experience an allergic reaction. Their abdomens also have an easily noticeable tan color in contrast with the rest of their body.
You may not find too many ground spiders inside your home as they prefer outdoor habitats. But like other spider species, they may seek shelter inside once the weather cools down before winter.
Like their name implies, ground spiders remain close to the ground to live and find their prey. Their silk webs won’t be large and generally are used for keeping eggs safe and fortifying a shelter, which often will be under a pile of leaves, rocks, wood, etc.
Should they make their way into your home, ground spiders may climb on ceilings and walls, but they do not have a dangerous bite to humans.
Sometimes confused with the arachnids known as daddy longlegs, cellar spiders have long and thin legs attached to a smaller abdomen than most of the Utah spiders on this list. These spiders are not dangerous, but may become a nuisance once they start spinning webs in corners and crannies around your home.
As the name suggests, you’ll find these spiders in dark spaces such as cellars, basements, or attics. What will attract cellar spiders even more is if the area is cooler than the rest of the house and slightly moist or damp. Consider having a pest control company inspect these secluded corners in your house to seal up cracks or gaps where spiders may be getting inside.
Generally, most spiders will be more active at night. That’s not to say that all Utah spiders are nocturnal, but a large majority are. They will often keep to their webs or the dark corners of your home until nightfall.
However, you may still see spiders up and about during the day. They may do so if they feel that their eggs or habitat are being threatened, or if their prey is more active during the day. If the pests that spiders feed on are diurnal, then the spiders themselves will adapt their sleeping patterns so that they don’t miss out on their next meal.
Many homeowners wonder if they can drown a spider or flush it down the toilet, or if spiders are good swimmers. With the exception of a few species such as diving bell spiders that survive underwater using air bubbles, spiders do not swim. You may have seen some species run across water, but these also are not the best of swimmers and won’t often make an appearance in your Utah home.
It’s true that many house spiders in Utah can jump, sometimes up to 20 times the length of their body in the case of jumping spider species. This can alarm many people, but it’s comforting to know that the bite of a jumping spider isn’t harmful to humans unless you experience an allergic reaction.
Other Utah spiders that do have more dangerous bites to humans are quick movers, but in most cases will not jump and not at such considerable distances.
A hidden spider egg sac can turn into a massive infestation quickly with 300 or so eggs filling a single sac. That is, unless you are able to remove the sacs before the eggs hatch. The answer to when and where spiders lay eggs will depend on the spider species in your house. Hobo spiders, for instance, one of the most common house spiders in Utah, will lay eggs in the autumn. Their mating season generally falls around September to October when you may notice an influx of spiders making their way into your home.
As for the location of the egg sacs, some spiders, like wolf spiders and cellar spiders, actually carry their egg sacs with them. Other spiders, like black widows, will leave their egg sacs near their webs or nest. You can vacuum up any egg sacs you see as long as you empty the vacuum bag and trash immediately. But your best chance for removing egg sacs completely and your best defense against spiders laying eggs in your home in the first place are professional spider control services.
Again, some spider species are dangerous while others are just your friendly neighborhood spider. Wondering which Utah spiders are dangerous? While many of the spider species mentioned above have painful and venomous bites, most are not considered dangerous to humans. Younger children and older adults, however, may experience more extreme reactions to a spider bite and should seek medical help if symptoms like nausea, difficulty breathing, or ongoing headaches persist or worsen.
Be sure to watch out for black widow spiders. These are perhaps the most dangerous spider in Utah that you might encounter. Brown recluse spiders also have a wicked bite that’s been known to cause serious health reactions, but these reside predominantly in southern Utah. Brown recluse spiders often get confused with hobo spiders, which also have painful bites, but will not put your health in danger. Other Utah spiders that may leave painful bites, but that are not dangerous, include yellow sac spiders and wolf spiders.
In the chance that you are bitten by a poisonous spider, clean the wound and pay careful attention to how your body reacts to the bite. You may suffer from an allergic reaction which in turn could be life-threatening if medical attention is not sought immediately.
Why are so many spiders coming into your house in the first place? To answer that, think about the basic necessities we as humans need. Spiders and other pests require the same bare necessities: shelter, food, and water. Their nature (and our own) is to seek out a place that provides these indispensable essentials.
Should your house offer one or more of these necessities, chances are that spiders will come searching for a way inside. They have acute senses to locate shelter, food, and water sources, meaning that you need to do everything in your power to cut off such sources.
Evaluate if your home offers good shelter and protection for spiders. Is there an abundance of dark, warm spaces that keep them out of the cold in winter, while also keeping them out of sight from you?
Basements, attics, garages, closets, and cupboards all are notorious for housing spiders because of the hidden shelter they provide. But even before spiders make their way into these indoor sanctuaries, what may first attract them is outdoor clutter. Woodpiles alongside your home, piles of fallen leaves, and overgrown bushes all can give shelter to spiders.
If you’re noticing more spiders on your property, start by decluttering these outdoor areas. Then move your way inside, regularly checking and cleaning less noticed spaces and corners.
Among the most important things that you can clean up are food sources that may be attracting more spiders. Dirty dishes, unsealed trash cans, or piles of crumbs on the floor may not be what spiders feed on, but the pests that this food entices certainly are.
To get rid of spiders, you first need to address any pest problems. Try to keep your home free of filth and food lying out overnight by cleaning up after meals (easier said than done). Make sure food stored away and in trash cans are sealed shut, preferably in strong plastic, metal, or glass containers. The more you can keep ants, flies, and other pests out of your house, the more spiders you will keep away as well.
A large majority of the house spiders you may find in your home prefer to reside in moist spaces. Utah isn’t humid like other states, but there may be certain areas around your property that offer the water sources spiders are seeking.
For instance, standing water might begin to form underneath leaking pipes or outside by a garden hose. Because these areas are often left unattended, spiders may jump at the chance to make these areas their new homes.
Even before spiders get inside your home or onto your property, measures can (and should) be taken to keep spiders at bay. This is where a powerful spider deterrent or repellent can come in handy. But the most powerful spider repellent isn’t always a spider spray at all, but a series of steps that protect the environment and your home.
We’re referring to what’s known as Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Considered one of the best methods for pest prevention in the industry, IPM uses an approach that resorts to more than just spraying chemical pesticides over a property. It addresses the root of the problem in order to identify the best spider repellent for a long-term solution, which may or may not include chemical spider control.
Foundation cracks, gaps around windows and doors, small holes in the walls, and more can all be entrances into your home that spiders will use to their advantage. If you want to repel them and prevent an infestation, begin by sealing off these entry points. Use caulking, replace weatherstrips, repair broken panels, or do whatever you have to do to close spiders’ points of access.
As part of this inspection, look as well for areas that have been neglected and need to be disinfected. The best spider repellent spray won’t do much if you continue to provide spiders with the perfect habitat.
Refer back to those items that attract spiders: places of shelter, food, and water sources. Is discarded clutter offering spiders prime places to hide and spin webs? Has it been ages since you’ve done a deep clean, leaving crumbs on the floor for pests to feast? Have you recently checked for any leaks around your house’s pipes?
Make note of what within your home attracts spiders, then disinfect or remove the entire lot. Spider sprays will only do so much, but if you take away what draws spiders in, then most all repellents will do their job easily.
Finally, remove any spiders you do see, webs, egg sacks, and all. This can be done by hand (with caution) or with a vacuum. Baiting systems and spider traps can also be effective here to capture the last remaining arachnids lurking about.
Once the current population is removed, repeat the mentioned steps as needed. Be on the lookout for those tiny cracks and holes that need to be sealed. Regularly clean up and inspect those forgotten corners of your home. Then remove any spiders you do see. Even without any chemical treatment or spray, this method of natural spider repellent works again and again.
Simply put, most spider repellent sprays will only provide a band-aid solution for an infestation; they hold off the masses for a time, but don’t actually resolve the issue. On the other hand, a professional pest control team, like H2 Pest Control, will know which spider treatments will best repel spiders, but they will also offer this Integrated Pest Management to provide you with the ultimate spider repellent.
More natural spider deterrents can include peppermint oil (the main ingredient in Miss Muffet’s Revenge Spider Killer), vinegar, and citrus peels such as from oranges or lemons. These natural repellents are convenient should you have them lying around, but there isn’t as sure of a guarantee that such treatments will get rid of pests completely.
When it comes to spider control in your house, IPM will be most helpful. But even before professional pest control specialists come to treat your Utah home for spiders, you can begin your own indoor spider control in some key places around your house where spiders are most likely to pop up.
Consisting of dark and secluded spaces, it’s not uncommon to find spiders in your basement. Generally, spiders in basements will be web-weaving spiders, such as hobo spiders, black widows, and cellar spiders. Knowing this key information can help you to remove them.
The spiders themselves may be difficult to spot, especially when they are nocturnal. However, you may be able to locate their webs. Search in corners, along baseboards and ceilings, in dark spots, under furniture, and wherever may be a well-concealed spot. Vacuum up any webs and egg sacs that you find.
From there, an Integrated Pest Management solution will be your best defense to getting rid of spiders in your basement completely. But clearing the spiders’ webs and habitat with frequent vacuuming and cleaning will deter many away.
Even more dark and secluded than basements are crawl spaces, another prime spot for spiders to take up residence. Far too many forgotten corners in a crawl space become home to the beginnings of a spider infestation.
Again, keeping the space clean will help enormously. The more you clear out their webs and invade their privacy, the more likely they’ll find somewhere new to spin their webs.
Another good rule of thumb for basements and crawl spaces is to move as many boxes, furniture, and other items as you can away from the walls. Spiders more often than not will stay close to the walls of a home and even more so when a couch or piles of storage lined up against walls offer them even more protection and privacy.
As you clean the crawl space, move what’s up against the walls so that you can clean along all the walls where spiders are most likely to hide. Putting spider repellent along these walls will help as well, something a professional pest control team can help you with.
Also, if the floor in your crawl space is an unfinished dirt floor, you may want to consider laying down concrete. Pests can very easily dig their way through a dirt floor and into your home, and when pests make their way inside, spiders won’t be far off.
The same principles apply for keeping spiders out of your garage. Although this doesn’t always seem like the place for indoor pest control, protecting your garage from spiders will be an important step to preventing a spider infestation in the rest of your home.
Again, begin by cleaning your garage frequently. Declutter where you can to give spiders less space to hide away. Sweep, dust, and vacuum the garage, particularly along the walls and in corners. If boxes or other items have been left untouched for a while, move them and give them a sweep for any spider webs.
Spiders will be searching for the tiny gaps and cracks leading into your home, many of which can be found in garages. Make sure that your garage is well-sealed to help stop this. You may need to buy new weatherstrips and caulking for garage doors and windows. Any pipes or utilities leading into your garage or home should have sufficient sealant around them as well.
Garage doors are trickier to get sealed shut completely. If the weatherstripping or rubber threshold shield leaves a gap between the door and the ground, you may need to replace it. Certain garage door weather seals are designed specifically to keep out pests. Attaching this or another durable garage door sweep will block a spider’s entrance inside and help to maintain the temperature within your home.
Around these vulnerable areas is a good place to spray spider repellent for additional protection. Spider control specialists near you can help spray openings and places that have recently been sealed, as well as along the base of your garage.
Don’t leave your attic too long unattended either. Continue your deep cleaning and decluttering up in the attic, storing belongings in plastic containers rather than cardboard boxes where possible.
What may draw more spiders to your attic is if the air is moist and humid. Most Utah homes don’t have this problem, but if you notice your attic is feeling a little muggy, invest in a dehumidifier to clear the air of too much moisture or an attic fan to better circulate the air. If you have an attic fan installed, just be sure that it’s well sealed and sprayed with a natural spider repellent for the areas that cannot be sealed.
Spider traps can also help with indoor spider control in your attic. Lay them along the secluded walls and corners where spiders will likely lurk. Your local spider control experts can help you place traps and spider bait in the places that will make the biggest impact as part of their Integrated Pest Management.
Remember that all these steps—cleaning, removing spider webs, decluttering, spraying spider repellent, sealing holes and cracks, dehumidifying the area, applying new weatherstrips, and setting spider traps—combined will provide you with better protection than just singling one or two steps on their own. Solely spraying your home with pesticide can provide some protection, but it doesn’t solve other problems like Integrated Pest Management is designed to do.
Outdoor spider control will help improve your indoor home spider control, too! Spiders begin their search for food, water, and shelter outside, so eliminating these around your home may stop an infestation inside it. Strong pesticides and organic pest control barriers will also be a critical part of the Integrated Pest Management that will get rid of spiders outside, as will these suggestions you can do.
Overgrown yards and landscaping offer excellent hiding spots for spiders and other pests. Just like you need to keep indoor spaces clean and tidy, so should you keep your yard in good order. When you see any spider webs under eaves, along the walls of your home, under bushes, in the grass, or elsewhere in your ward, remove them as soon as possible! Use a broom or outdoor vacuum to get rid of webs, especially those ones that are connected to your house.
Trim bushes, tree branches, and all plants regularly to expose any hiding places. Experts recommend creating a 6-8 ft perimeter around your house that’s free of plants. No shrubs or any vegetation should be touching the sides or foundation of your house. Otherwise, you’re just inviting spiders to find those cracks and crevices leading indoors.
You may want your perimeter to also be free of other good places for spiders to hide, like woodpiles, mulched areas, and stone or rock piles. Sometimes this is less feasible, but the fewer sheltered areas for spiders and pests near the base of your house, the fewer infestations you’ll be experiencing.
Want to keep spiders out of a backyard shed? Remember to declutter! Just like with your areas in your home that are prone to spiders, a cluttered shed will also attract pests. More places to hide equals more places to thrive.
Regularly clean outdoor sheds, clearing away cobwebs and getting rid of unnecessary items that sit collecting dust. Spiders are likely to get inside if cracks or openings are left unsealed. Caulk and weatherstrips can help close window and door frames, holes, and other entrances from unwanted intruders.
If you have a light fixture outside or inside your shed, certain light bulbs won’t attract as many pests as others do. Rather than buy incandescent or white light bulbs for your shed and other outdoor lights, the better option, at least for spider control, will be warmer-colored light bulbs. Fewer pests will be drawn to LED and sodium vapor yellow light bulbs which in turn will draw fewer spiders to your yard.
If you’re looking for more natural and organic pest control for getting rid of spiders outdoors, consider taking the following steps as part of your Integrated Pest Management.
As always, your best resource for outdoor spider control will be professional pest control services. A team that implements Integrated Pest Management will assist you in getting rid of a spider population using organic pest control that’s effective and eco-friendly to protect your yard.
