It is a common misconception that spiders invade homes during the wintertime to escape the cold. Although this is true for many other pests such as cockroaches, mice, and rats, spiders have one secret up their sleeves that allows them to shrug off the winter chills. This secret allows them to invade homes year-round, not out of necessity, but just because they want to. Want to find out how? We are ready to show you.
How Spiders Survive Winter
Do you know what antifreeze is? It is typically an ethylene glycol added to water to lower its freezing point. Most commonly, antifreeze is used in cars. What is interesting is that spiders have a sort of antifreeze running through their bodies. What is even more interesting is that spiders are cold-blooded creatures, meaning they should freeze right up in the cold. But they don’t. Instead, this miracle of biology allows them to invade our homes, undisturbed, regardless of what the temperature is outside.
Why You Are Finding Spiders In Your Home?
If it isn’t warmth and shelter from the winter cold that attracts spiders, then what does attract them? Most often, if your home has spiders, they have been around for a long time, hiding out of sight, either within your walls, in your basement, or around other secluded areas. But why are they there? Because other pests are also there. Spiders are carnivorous by nature and feed on other insects to survive. This means if your home has spiders, it also has other pests. This idea may bring some mixed feelings. Sure spiders are killing other pests that you don’t like, but they themselves can be dangerous (in the case of black widows, tarantulas, hobo spiders, and brown recluse).
If you are just now noticing spiders withing your home, chances are their populations are growing, which could mean trouble.
How You Can Prevent Spiders
There are many rights and wrongs when it comes to spider control. For instance, sealing gaps and cracks in your home’s foundation, repairing ripped screening, and replacing broken weather stripping are all great. Doing these things limits not only spiders’ ability to get into your home but other pests as well.
On the other hand, there are many home remedies that just don’t provide lasting results. For one there are smells. What smells do spiders hate? There are many that turn them away such as eucalyptus, tea tree, and peppermint. The only problem is the amount you would have to use to fully keep spiders away would be immense. These scents do not last forever, and they only deter spiders from the areas you put them.
To keep spiders away, you have to remove the pests they invade to hunt. Doing this on your own can be a huge undertaking. Each pest is different and requires different DIY methods to deal with. At the end of the day, you would likely be wasting money, time, and effort hunting for a combination of solutions that works.
What You Can Do To Keep Spiders Out
For centuries, scientists have been developing products and methods to deal with pests. These products and methods are implemented today by skilled and trained professionals and often are not sold for public use. If you want the absolute best pest protection for your home, the licensed and qualified pest technicians here at Ventura County Pest Control are here to help. We have the treatments needed to get and keep spiders (and the pests they hunt) out of your home.
Pest-free is just what we do. Give us a call today to schedule a service visit for your Ventura County home.
