14 Great Ways to Keep Spiders Out of Your Home Naturally (2024)

Most people are not crazy about spiders, and they certainly do not want them in their homes. Learning how to keep spiders away from you, your family, and your pets keeps your home safer and healthier.

We have some great ideas for how to keep spiders out of your home naturally without resorting to dangerous chemicals.

Spiders like the Brown Recluse spider or Black Widow spider are quite common in the United States, and their bites can cause excruciating symptoms. The critical question to think about is how to keep your family safe by keeping these spiders away from your home.

There are different things you can do to repel spiders, like making a natural spider repellent, to prevent spiders from taking up residence in your house without using potent chemicals often found in commercial pest control sprays.

These natural spider repellent remedies are simple to use, and you can combine them for maximum spider-fighting effects.

How to Keep Spiders Out of Your House

While you may not like them, spiders have a natural place in the world, and they kill other pests like mosquitoes and flies. However, this doesn’t mean you want to share your home with them.

Here are some effective home remedies for spiders to keep them out of your house without using harsh chemicals.

While you don’t want ladybugs crawling around your house, if you have a garden that is right up against your house, introduce ladybugs to it. These tiny insects keep spiders out of your house.

Ladybugs feast on the same insects that attract spiders, virtually eliminating these eight-legged creatures’ food sources, forcing them to seek sustenance elsewhere.

Introducing ladybugs into your environment keeps spiders away from the perimeter of your home. This also helps if you have a lot of bushes or flowers close to the foundation of your home or near your windowsills.

Peppermint Oil

Pure peppermint oil is strong and not only do spiders hate it, but most other pests do, too. The smell is extreme to small insects, which makes peppermint an excellent spider repellent to keep these creepy crawly insects out of your home. Besides, it works well to repel wasps and yellow jackets, too.

Grab a plastic spray bottle and mix peppermint oil with water to make it last longer and to dilute the oil, so it does not irritate the skin of people or pets. Spray everywhere spiders are to repel them naturally.

You can also soak cotton balls with peppermint essential oil and place them strategically throughout your house, wherever you think they might be gaining access as one of the many natural ways to keep spiders away.

Natural Spider Spray

Make your natural spider repellent spray and spritz in areas where spiders congregate, such as the bathroom and other damp areas in your home. Also spray it outside of your home along windows, windowsills, and doors, so spiders won’t enter.

To make this spray, combine the apple cider vinegar, oil, pepper, and liquid soap. Put everything in a spray bottle and mix well. Respray everything every couple of days and after it rains.

Keep Things Clean

Spiders love clutter, and they like to set up shop behind boxes and other things that just sit there. Keeping the house clean and free of clutter is a natural remedy for spiders.

Dust at least once a week and put all boxes and packages away quickly to prevent spiders from spinning a spider web. Remove cobwebs as you see them.

It is even more critical to clean up the exterior of your home by removing vegetation in the yard that is close to the perimeter of your house to help create a spider free zone and eliminate places for insects and spiders to hide. Vegetation in your yard and around your home attracts spiders and are perfect places for spiders to spin their webs.

Get a Pet

Many pets, especially cats, will chase anything that moves, and this includes spiders. Cats and other pets will chase anything that moves, making them natural spider repellents.

While they may not be able to eliminate all of them, if there is one running across the floor, they may be able to catch it for you. Use caution if you have poisonous spiders in your home because these can harm animals, too.

Clean Around the Perimeter

If you want to know how to keep spiders away from your home, the perimeter of your home should be free of things like wood piles, trash, and debris.

Spiders will hang out in these, and if they find a small entry through a crack in the wall or unsealed windowsill, they will make their way into your home. If you have a fireplace and need a woodpile, make sure that this is several feet from your home.

Use Cedar

The smell of cedar wood is something that spiders are not crazy about, so adding some cedar mulch around the perimeter of your home can prevent spiders from coming in. Just make sure that you use a good quality cedar oil or cedar wood and that you maintain it.

If you don’t want to spend the money on cedar mulch, you can also use cedar essential oil mixed with water and spray the exterior of your home regularly. You can also place cedar in the house to repel spiders. The smell of cedar is an excellent spider repellent and can be used throughout your home as a natural remedy.

Citrus Peels

Just like mint, citrus has deep acetic acid properties that spiders hate. Spiders hate the smell of anything citrus, such as lemons, oranges, and grapefruits. You can find essential oils in citrus scents or save the cash and use the leftover peels when you enjoy a piece of citrus fruit.

To rid your house of spiders, you can rub the citrus peels on doorways, window sills, baseboards, bookshelves, and more. If you are using an essential oil, mix a few drops with some water in a spray bottle and spray throughout your house.

If you are using citrus peels, make sure to replace them every 24 to 48 hours to that the smell stays potent enough to chase spiders away.

It might be surprising to learn that a great way to rid your house of spiders is with chestnuts. Chestnuts are great at keeping spiders at bay.

Place these along the baseboards in your home and along the window sills to prevent spiders from coming in. One of the best things about chestnuts is that they do not go bad quickly, so you get long-term relief from spiders.

Tobacco

Spiders are not big fans of tobacco, and you can find loose leaf tobacco at smoke shops and even some grocery stores. Spread the tobacco leaves where spiders tend to occur or mix them with water and spray the mixture around the house.

You can also make tobacco balls by mixing the leaves with flour and water and placing them around your house to repel spiders. If you have children and pets, you can mix tobacco with water and create a spray, so they do not get a hold of the leaves.

Hedge Apples

Hedge apples are products of the Osage orange tree and can provide a natural way to get rid of spiders. Hedge apples are one of the oldest and most powerful ways to keep spiders from coming into your home.

However, it is critical to put these in places where children and pets cannot go because they are toxic. When you are placing them, wear gloves, and wash your hands afterward.

Check Your House for Cracks

For a spider to be in your home, they had to find a way in. If your house is old, they may be getting in through an abundance of cracks and crevices. Grab your caulking gun and head down into the basem*nt to look for cracks and then seal them.

You should repeat this around the foundation of your home, as well as at all windows and doorways. Filling any gaps, you find makes a big difference.

Borax

Borax is most commonly used to keep ants out, but it helps to repel spiders too because it kills them if they get into it.

Just sprinkle some Borax in areas where spiders are coming in and setting up spider webs. You can also put this between your window and storm windows and along the thresholds of your doors.

Essential Oils

Rather than turning to commercial pesticides that contain harmful chemicals, look to essential oils to repel spiders in your home.

Make sure to replace the different natural ingredients regularly to keep everything fresh so that the remedies continue to repel spiders.

You also want to be mindful of children or pets so that your treatments stay in place. If you have children or pets, make sure to place items where they cannot get to them.

Eucalyptus Oil

Eucalyptus essential oil comes from the eucalyptus tree, and it is packed full of useful properties. This essential oil is excellent for driving spiders away from your home. Apply a few drops to cotton balls and leave them in the corners, cracks, windows, and other areas in your home where you find spiders.

The smell, like the peppermint oil, will keep spiders and other insects far away. You can also mix the oil with water and place it in a spray bottle and spray the solution around your home. A bonus, eucalyptus oil is also a natural remedy for repelling snakes and mosquitoes.

More Ways to Keep Spiders Away

Use Vinegar

Along with being an essential kitchen pantry item, vinegar is an excellent spider repellent. It works like the peppermint oil in getting rid of spiders and ants in your home.

Fill a spray bottle with a mixture of water and vinegar and spray the cracks in wall and crevices, windowsills, and doorways. When it is hot and humid outside, you’ll want to apply this anti-spider spray every day.

Place the ingredients in a spray bottle and shake well. Spray the vinegar and water mixture around doorways, window sills, and other entry points in your home. For the best results, use the spray every week.

White vinegar will also repel those insects that spiders eat, so spray the vinegar in areas throughout your home where scorpions, mosquitoes, and other insects tend to gather.

It is essential that you combine exact parts water and vinegar and spray, stand back as the acid in the vinegar burns any spiders that are currently in your home, and leaves a pungent smell that works as a natural repellent.

If you’re worried about your house smelling like vinegar with this natural remedy, don’t the pungent smell of vinegar will disappear as the solution dries.

Baking Soda and Diatomaceous Earth

Other great home remedies to rid your house of spiders are found in the kitchen pantry. Strategically sprinkling baking sodaor diatomaceous earth around your home will help to keep the pesky eight-legged creatures at bay. Just a spoonful sprinkled in the corners, window sills, and doorways of your house will send spiders fleeing.

Dryer Sheets

Placing dryer sheets around your home, where spiders tend to enter, can help keep them from getting into your home. One of the main ingredients used in dryer sheets is a compound called linalool. The floral-scented element has a toxic effect on spiders and other insects.

Best Ways to Repel Spiders at Home

Natural spider repellents are easy to make at home and work just as well, if not better than pest control sprays you can find at the store.

How to Repel Spiders with a Natural Homemade Repellent Spray

Homemade sprays are all natural and won’t leave harmful chemical residue around your home.

Combine the ingredients in a spray bottle and shake well to combine. Spray the natural repellent around the entry points in your house and other areas where you tend to notice spiders congregating.

Make sure to reapply the solution once a week to ensure spiders keep out of your home.

Keep Spiders Away from Certain Areas

How to Prevent Spiders in Mobile Homes and on Boats

If you own a mobile home or a boat, then you probably have had to deal with spider infestations at least once. You can win the war over spiders by being diligent and using many of the same solutions used to keep them out of your house.

You can also use an ultrasonic spider repeller to prevent spiders from setting a single leg on your boat. You can purchase an ultrasonic spider repeller at any local hardware store or online.

This type of device can be plugged into one of your boat outlets, either inside or outside, emitting an ultrasonic sound that affects spiders by disrupting their living conditions and causes them to seek a less annoying place to stay.

What Keeps Spiders Away from Patio Furniture?

Nothing is more irritating than having an eight-legged creature join you on your patio furniture. While they are beneficial to have in your garden, they are less than welcome when it comes to using your patio furniture for their home.

The best way to keep spiders from making a home in your outdoor table and chairs is to keep outdoor furniture clean and free of debris. Don’t leave clothes, towels, children’s toys, gardening tools, or anything that they can hide in laying on or around the furniture.

Make sure you spray your garden furniture with one of these spider repellent recipes. Additionally using a brush or vacuum hose regularly remove any spider webs from around your house, your patio and the vegetation in your yard.

You can also dust and sweep your patio on a regular basis to keep spiders from returning. According to the University of Minnesota, switching your outside lights to yellow bulbs will keep spiders and other insects at bay. (..)

Spiders are no doubt a pest that many people want to keep out of their homes. There are so many different home remedies for spiders that will give you peace of mind while keeping your home free of toxic chemicals.

If you need to repel spiders in places that are easy to access, consider one of the non-toxic sprays mentioned above so that it is safe for humans and animals to touch it. We’ve provided you with numerous ways to keep spiders away from your home that is all natural and won’t cause your family harm.

If you found the information in this article helpful, please feel free to share the ways to keep spiders out of your home with everyone you know.