We’ve all encountered spiders before, be it out on the road or inside our homes. They’re a fairly common insect to come across.
Though they can be found everywhere, their presence isn’t always welcomed. While taking care of your yard, you might come across a few spiders loitering around.
At this point, you might begin to wonder how you can get rid of these little pesky insects. In the following sections, we’re going to discuss how to get rid of spiders in your yard, covering a bunch of different methods for your convenience, so stick around.
What Causes Spiders to Appear in Your Yard
There are multiple reasons why spiders start appearing in your yard. The most common one is food.
Just like any other living organism, spiders get drawn to places that contain a large quantity of food.
A yard could be seen as an all-you-can-eat open buffet with different types of insects and bugs spiders can feast on.
Another thing that can attract spiders are trash cans. If you have a trash can placed near your yard and said trash can is left open, it will attract other insects and thus, attract more spiders.
Note also that spiders are quite fond of the color green. The more greenery there is in your yard, the more likely you’ll see spiders.
How to Get Rid of Spiders in Your Yard
Though spiders can be of help when it comes to pest control, they’re not always welcome. Many of us have a fear of spiders. That’s why getting rid of them is an inevitable thing.
That’s not to mention that there are a few spiders that can cause serious harm to humans, such as the Black Widow and Brown Recluse Spider.
That’s why even if you don’t necessarily find spiders frightening, it might be better to control their population in your yard to avoid dangerous spiders from showing up.
Eco-Friendly Ways to Get Rid of Spiders in Your Yard
Even if you don’t like spiders, you may wonder if there’s a way to get rid of them without hurting or killing them.
Fortunately, there are a couple of natural ways you can use to chase away the spiders without causing them harm.
1 – Paint Your Porch in a Color Spiders Dislike
Though there are colors that spiders like, such as green, there are a few other colors spiders find unappealing.
Baby blue is one of the colors that spiders tend to avoid. Adding baby blue to your yard by painting your porch’s ceiling will stop spiders from nesting there.
If your plants are being pestered with spider webs, you can try to change their pots with baby blue ones to discourage spiders from approaching.
2 – Use Cinnamon to Get Rid of Spiders in Your Yard
If you’re unable to repaint your porch in baby blue, you can still get rid of the spiders by using different scents.
Spiders are known to dislike a lot of scents that we find appealing. One of these scents is cinnamon.
There are multiple ways you can use cinnamon to chase spiders away. The first way is by using dried cinnamon sticks.
Placing these sticks around the yard and around the places you’ve seen spiders at will eventually chase these spiders away.
You can also use cinnamon powder and simply sprinkle some of the powder around the spider’s locations. Cinnamon oil is another method you can use to get rid of spiders.
Simply add six drops of cinnamon oil to every one ounce of water and use it to spray around the yard. This will also effectively chase the spiders away without harming them.
3 – Using a Vinegar Spray
Another thing you can use to repel spiders is vinegar. Just like cinnamon, spiders find the vinegar smell very unappealing so spraying it around your yard should do the job.
Bring a spray bottle and add in equal amounts of vinegar and water. Try to pinpoint where the spiders are dwelling and spray the vinegar around that area.
If the spiders are nesting on your plants, spray the vinegar around the plant and not directly on it.
Sprinkling vinegar on your plants can cause them to die, so avoid spraying vinegar there as much as possible.
4 – Repelling Spiders With Citrus Fruits
Citrus fruits are another item on the long list of things spiders hate. That’s exactly why they make great spider repellents!
You can use any citrus fruit you have around for this method. Lemons, oranges, grapefruits, mandarins, and limes will all do the job.
Slice any of the previously mentioned fruits in half then squeeze one of the halves in a bottle. Mix the juice with water then start spraying the content around the yard and porch.
You can also use the peels and rub them around the window sills to prevent the spiders from entering your house.
Don’t throw away the peels after you’re done, though! You can place the peels out to dry in the sun then grind them into a powder.
Scattering this powder around your yard will also act as a spider repellent.
5 – Use Essential Oils
Another eco-friendly method you can try is using essential oils to repel spiders.
Many essential oils are said to be useful in repelling spiders, but only two essential oils were actually scientifically proven to work.
These two oils are peppermint oil and chestnut oil. You can use them by adding six drops per one ounce of water to a spray bottle.
Like the previously mentioned methods, all you’ll need to do now is spray the oil-water mix at any place you suspect spiders to be present.
If you have a hard time mixing the oil and water together, you can try using a dispersant like Solubol. Adding around forty drops to every ten drops of essential oil should help dissolve the oil faster in water.
Growing Plants to Get Rid of Spiders in Your Yard
Trying the previously mentioned methods should help in preventing spiders from lingering around your yard too long.
Though even after doing all that, you might still want something more to guarantee your yard’s safety.
In this case, you can try growing some plants that can help discourage spiders from showing up in your yard.
1 – Lavender
Other than being a great addition to your yard for its beautiful color, lavender carries a fragrant scent that is well-liked by humans but very disliked by spiders.
Lavender is a perennial plant which means it can live for a long time to protect your yard and is best grown in USDA zones five up to nine.
Lavender is easy to grow outside in pots or flower beds and can be grown indoors too.
2 – Rosemary
Though rosemary doesn’t carry a heavy, repelling scent for us, the same can’t be said about spiders. For the little insects, the smell rosemary emits is very unpleasant.
Planting rosemary in your yard will prove to be very beneficial for both getting rid of spiders, and for supplying you with it whenever you’re cooking!
Rosemary is easy to grow in USDA zones eight to ten and can be grown in pots outdoors or indoors.
3 – Chrysanthemums
Known to come in many different colors, chrysanthemums are one of the best plants to use to repel spiders.
Not only do they look pretty, but they also contain pyrethrum. Pyrethrum is a substance that is used in many insect repellents so it makes chrysanthemums a natural spider repellent.
Chrysanthemums grow in USDA zones three up to nine, so they’re fairly easy to grow no matter your location.
4 – Marigold
Marigold is another flower that can brighten up your yard with its colorful petals and chase your spiders away at the same time.
Marigold releases a certain scent that spiders can’t tolerate, and thus helps keep spiders far away from your yard!
Marigold can grow in almost all USDA zones from two up to eleven so you won’t have to worry about it being incompatible with your zone.
Organizing Your Yard to Get Rid of Spiders
Spiders are drawn to clutter and dark places, so the next step to getting rid of spiders is to organize your yard well.
If you have any clusters around your yard, sort them out. Keep everything tidy and clean to discourage the spiders from staying.
For example, if you have any rocks gathered in one single place, remove the rocks from your yard as spiders may use them as hiding places.
The same could be said about wooden logs or fallen leaf piles. The sooner you get rid of all potential hiding places, the sooner the spiders leave.
There’s a chance spiders are dwelling in these objects while you’re cleaning your yard so be careful while moving them. It’s recommended to wear gloves to avoid getting bit by the spiders.
Trimming the Vegetations Around Your Yard
Some types of spiders are attracted by the overgrown grass and the insects living around said grass. They’re typically called lawn spiders and grass spiders are one example of them.
Getting rid of lawn spiders can be done by mowing any overgrown grass around. So if there are any weeds around, remove them while trimming the long grass.
The same can be said about the bushes. It’s best to prune back all the bushes in your yard to reduce the places where the spiders can live.
Lawn spiders love living in dense leaves so the more you take care of your lawn, the bigger the chance the spiders leave.
Remove Any Spider Web You Find
The next step to getting rid of spiders is to remove any spider web you come across. Once the spiders find a place they fancy, they’ll start swinging around and creating their little web.
Removing these webs will let the spiders know that this place is not suitable for them to stay.
They may try creating another one so you should also remove the new one. Do that until they finally give up and leave.
If the spiders have built their webs on one of your plants, you can use water to remove the webs while watering your plants. You can also use a stick or broom but be careful not to damage the plants underneath.
Make sure to clean the area around and remove any hiding place so that the spiders don’t move over to a hard-to-reach area.
Using Diatomaceous Earth to Get Rid of Spiders
All the previously mentioned methods don’t necessarily harm the spiders. However, if you’re suspecting that there’s a venomous spider around, you might want to try using diatomaceous earth.
Diatomaceous earth is a white powder spider and insect repellent. It’s made from fossilized marine organisms and is a non-toxic, but effective way to get rid of spiders.
You can use this powder by spreading it around your porch and around any plant that you suspect spiders are infesting.
If spiders get near this powder, they’ll become dehydrated and die. Though diatomaceous earth is not toxic to us, it should not be ingested or inhaled.
Be careful while placing it so as to not breathe in any of it. Sprinkling just a thin layer around the areas where spiders are dwelling should be enough to get the job done.
Using Pesticides
Though they can be effective in getting rid of spiders, pesticides are toxic and using them wrong can cause more issues to occur.
It’s best to try natural ways to solve the spider problem and if all fails, contacting a pest control would help solve the problem without putting yourself at risk.
Final Thoughts
While encountering insects around your yard isn’t something you can avoid, decreasing their number is. There are many methods you can use to discourage spiders from living in your yard.
After trying out the previously mentioned eco-friendly ways, your yard should start clearing up from any pesky spiders. Now you can go back to enjoying your yard without fear of any spiders showing up or entering your house!
Ben has a bachelor’s degree in construction engineering. When not constructing or remodeling X-Ray Rooms, Cardiovascular Labs, and Pharmacies, you can find him at home with wife and two daughters. Outside of family, He loves grilling and barbequing on his Big Green Egg and Blackstone Griddle, as well as working on projects around the house.
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