Spiders tend to divide households. Some people welcome them as quiet housemates that keep flies and gnats in check. Others see a spider on the wall and feel their skin crawl. Both reactions are fair. In my years working with homeowners, property managers, and restaurant operators, I have learned that handling spiders well is less about fear and more about risk, tolerance, and a practical plan. The right approach balances prevention, correct identification, and when necessary, help from a reliable pest control service.
This guide walks through what actually works, where do‑it‑yourself methods help or backfire, and how to choose an exterminator who knows spiders rather than just selling a monthly spray. Along the way, you will see what pros look for inside attics, what matters in a basement with webbing in every corner, and when a single photograph is enough to change an entire treatment strategy.
Start with the facts that matter
Spiders are not insects. They are arachnids, which changes the way they interact with common insecticides. Most species you meet in homes are accidental invaders or quiet residents that prefer undisturbed corners. They are solitary, they do not share food, and they do not colonize the way ants or roaches do. That is why blanket indoor spraying rarely solves spider complaints on its own. The more effective strategy pairs habitat modification with targeted controls.
Two risks drive most calls to a pest control company: bites and mess. Bites are rare. Verified bites typically occur when someone presses a spider against skin while dressing, sleeping, or handling stored items. The mess is more common. Webs, egg sacs, and carcasses of trapped insects create an untidy look that bothers customers and homeowners. Good service plans address both risk and mess, without turning your living room into a chemical project.
Understanding which spiders you have
A quick identification is worth more than a cabinet full of sprays. Light color orb weavers along porch eaves are almost always harmless and seasonal. Long‑bodied cellar spiders in the basement look spindly and fragile, and they ignore people. On the other hand, recluse spiders prefer low, dark storage areas, and widow spiders favor garages, crawlspaces, and patio furniture. The difference shapes everything: inspection routines, safety gear, and treatment choice.
I have walked into garages with a dozen false black widow webs and one confirmed southern black widow near a cluttered tool chest. The webs looked similar to an untrained eye. One gentle lift of the chest with a gloved hand revealed the glossy female tucked under the lip with a messy, trip‑wire web. That single finding changed the plan from cosmetic web removal to a targeted control program that included reducing harborage, sealing gaps, and a careful application of residual insecticide to specific cracks and junctions.
If you are unsure, take clear photos of the spider and the web style, then share them with a pest control contractor who is comfortable identifying species. Web architecture helps: orb weavers build classic wheels, cobweb spiders spin irregular nets, funnel weavers create sheets that taper into a tunnel, and recluse spiders leave sparse, flat webs in tight spaces. A competent exterminator service will use this information to narrow species and focus the inspection.
Where spiders live, and why they chose your property
Spiders go where food and shelter align. If your exterior lights pull in moths and midges, you will see more web builders near doorways and soffits. If your basement harbors crickets or beetles, you will find hunting spiders along baseboards and behind storage. Moisture matters too. Downspouts that dump near the foundation, leaky hose bibs, and open crawlspace vents attract insect prey, which invites spiders.
Inside, clutter helps spiders hide and hunt. Cardboard boxes are a favorite for both prey and spider. In one storage room I serviced for a small office, we reduced spider sightings by more than half simply by swapping cardboard for sealed plastic bins and lifting everything off the floor. No chemicals, just less opportunity for spiders to establish.
Reasonable expectations for DIY
There is a lot you can do before calling an exterminator company. Consistent housekeeping and simple exclusion steps solve a surprising number of spider issues. Vacuuming webs, egg sacs, and dead insects disrupts breeding cycles. Caulking gaps around window frames and installing door sweeps cut down on entry points. Outdoor, adjusting lights to warmer color temperatures reduces insect draw, which in turn discourages web build‑up around entryways.
Store‑bought insect sprays tend to promise more than they deliver for spiders. Many products are formulated to kill insects through contact or ingestion. Web‑building spiders seldom walk across treated surfaces long enough to pick up a fatal dose, and hunters avoid exposed areas. Sticky traps, placed correctly along baseboards or behind furniture, provide a realistic sense of activity and capture wandering individuals, but they will not remove a resident population if conditions remain favorable.
Essential oils have mixed results. Peppermint and cedar oils can nudge spiders away from treated spots for a time, especially in small spaces like RVs or garden sheds. The effect is often short‑lived and depends on reapplication. If you choose to use them, test in a small area and avoid saturating surfaces where children or pets spend time.
When professionals add real value
A good pest control service approaches spiders differently than they do ants or roaches. They lead with inspection and habitat change, then add targeted treatments where justified. In practice, here is what I expect from a competent provider during a spider service:
- Exterior inspection of eaves, soffits, siding junctions, light fixtures, and stored items, followed by web removal with a soft brush and vacuum. Identification of high‑value harborage zones, such as gaps behind utility conduits, weep holes, crawlspace vents, and the threshold under garage doors. Recommendations for lighting adjustments, vegetation trimming, and storage changes to reduce prey and shelter. Limited, precise application of a residual insecticide to cracks, crevices, and protected surfaces where spiders are likely to travel, not a broad mist across walls. Use of insect monitors indoors to track activity and confirm reductions over time.
If a pest control company jumps straight to a whole‑house spray without inspecting, you are paying for theatrics, not results. Spiders will rebuild webs within days if the conditions that favor them remain untouched.
Special cases: widows and recluses
Most residential spiders are nuisance species, but widow and recluse spiders deserve careful handling. With widows, the danger centers on adult females guarding egg sacs. The bite is medically significant but rarely fatal with modern care. Recluse spiders present a different challenge. They are shy and prefer undisturbed storage areas. Verified populations tend to persist once established, especially in older homes with many voids.
Here is how a seasoned exterminator service typically handles these species:
For widows, focus on exterior harborage. Inspect under patio furniture, in fence line crevices, around stored firewood, and near the lower lip of outdoor equipment. Remove webs and egg sacs mechanically first. Apply a residual to tight junctions and underside seams, then re‑inspect within two to three weeks. Recommend gloves for homeowners handling outdoor storage. Keep in mind that one adult female in a garage does not equal an infestation. If you reduce food and shelter, the problem often drops to occasional sightings.
For recluse, inspection and clutter reduction are the backbone. I like to start in closets, basements, and under stair storage. Shoes and items left on the floor are common pinch points. We deploy sticky monitors in a grid pattern to map movement. Structural gaps behind baseboards, around plumbing penetrations, and inside wall voids are treated with dust formulations that have a long residual and do not rely on spiders crossing an exposed surface. This is one of the few situations where recurring service for several months makes sense, because egg sacs hatch over time and you want to intercept emerging juveniles.
Safety without drama
People often overreact to spiders with heavy indoor spraying, which raises more safety concerns than the spiders themselves. The safest approach minimizes chemical exposure. Mechanical removal, exclusion, dry dusting of voids, and targeted crack and crevice treatments keep active ingredients where bugs go, not where people live.
If you hire an exterminator company, ask about the product class, target sites, and re‑entry intervals. Pyrethroids are common for exterior use, but they can flush insects indoors if misapplied near entry points. Desiccant dusts like silica and diatomaceous earth have low mammalian toxicity when used correctly in voids, but they do not belong on exposed surfaces where they can become airborne.
Pets complicate things. Dogs and cats are curious, and cats in particular find sticky traps irresistible. Your pest control contractor should place monitors in protected corners and use tamper‑resistant dusting techniques. If a technician cannot explain how their plan safeguards your pets and kids, keep looking.
Setting service frequency and budget
Routine monthly sprays do not make sense for most spider issues. Activity is seasonal, with peaks tied to insect availability and breeding cycles. In my experience:
- Exterior services every 60 to 90 days during high season, paired with web removal, covers most properties well. Interior service should be reserved for specific findings, such as confirmed recluse activity, recurring widow sightings in a garage, or consistent captures on monitors. One‑time deep service following major clean‑outs or construction can reset the baseline effectively, followed by lighter maintenance.
Pricing varies by region and property size, but expect a one‑time spider‑focused service to run in the low hundreds for a typical single‑family home, with seasonal maintenance priced lower per visit. If a pest control contractor quotes a flat monthly fee without discussing your home’s layout, lighting, and storage patterns, they have not tailored the plan.
Choosing a pest control company that understands spiders
Experience shows quickly during the first call. The scheduler should ask about where you are seeing webs, whether there are bites or just sightings, and what the storage conditions are like in basements or garages. The technician should arrive with a telescoping web duster, a flashlight that can reveal webbing and droppings, and a calm manner. Panic is contagious and unhelpful.
Check licensing and insurance, of course, but go further. Ask whether the exterminator service uses monitors to verify reductions. Ask how they decide between sprays, dusts, and mechanical removal. Look for a pest control company that is willing to say no to unnecessary interior treatments and instead leans on exclusion and habitat changes. That restraint is a mark of competence.
Online reviews are useful when you filter for details. Reviews that mention respect for property, careful web removal, and specific advice about lighting or storage are more telling than five stars with no context. A contractor who can name local spider species and explain seasonal patterns in your area will likely deliver better results than one reading from a generic script.
What a thorough spider service looks like, step by step
A good visit follows a rhythm that values observation over spray volume.
- Interview and walkthrough that focuses on sighting locations, times of day, and recent changes like new exterior lights or landscaping. Exterior sweep and vacuum of webs under eaves, around entry lights, at fence lines, and in play equipment, followed by inspection of weather stripping and door sweeps. Identification and treatment of specific harborages with crack and crevice applications, while avoiding broad exposure on open surfaces. Application notes recorded for future follow‑ups. Interior inspection of high‑risk areas if warranted, placement of discreet monitors, and use of void dusting where structural conditions call for it. Practical recommendations you can act on immediately, often with a handout or photos from the inspection showing problem spots.
That last point matters. Advice without context is easy to ignore. I often show homeowners a close‑up photo of a gap under a back door, with daylight pouring through. That single image is usually enough to get a door sweep installed before the next visit.
Practical changes that make a measurable difference
Not every fix requires a tool belt. A few adjustments usually have outsized impact because they starve spiders of prey or shelter.
Switch porch bulbs from bright white to warm or yellow‑tinted LEDs. You will see fewer moths battering the door at night, and fewer webs stitched across the entry by morning. Trim vegetation back from the foundation by a foot. Plants brushing siding create bridges for insects and spiders. Move firewood and seldom‑used items off the ground and away from structures, ideally by 15 to 20 feet. If that is unrealistic, elevate stacks on racks and keep them tidy.
Seal simple gaps. Silicone around window frames and a strip of weather seal along the bottom of the garage door block a surprising amount of traffic. Inside, swap open shelving in dusty basements for closed bins, and label them. The act of organizing forces you to handle items that may hide spiders, which flushes problems early and discourages re‑establishment.
If you live in a dry climate where recluse spiders are common, get in the habit of shaking out stored shoes and clothing. It takes seconds and eliminates most bite risks. In one home with recurring recluse captures on monitors, we recommended airtight under‑bed storage and replaced a fabric skirt with a simple frame that did not touch the floor. Captures dropped by more than half without a single chemical application inside the living area.
Commercial and multi‑unit considerations
Spiders in restaurants, office lobbies, and apartment corridors create a perception problem, even when they are harmless species. The playbook changes slightly in commercial settings because aesthetics and liability take center stage.
Regular web removal becomes a service product on its own. A skilled exterminator company will schedule evening or early morning visits, sweep high corners with pole brushes, vacuum vents and light housings, and wipe away egg sacs before customers arrive. Lighting adjustments matter even more for retail and hospitality. Diffusers, warmer temperatures, and minimizing upward light that attracts insects can cut webbing around signages and entryways dramatically.
In multi‑unit housing, coordinate with facilities to reduce clutter in shared storage rooms and enforce door sweep standards on unit entries. If a resident reports a bite, respond quickly with inspection, communication, and documentation. Most bites turn out to be from insects or skin conditions unrelated to spiders, but the concern is real. A pest control service that communicates clearly and provides educational materials will keep fear in check and focus attention on the measures that matter.
Children, pets, and sensitive occupants
If someone in the home has asthma, chemical sensitivities, or a strong fear response, all interventions should aim to minimize exposure and https://maps.app.goo.gl/SepUF1fwpdn78uoq9 visible evidence of spiders. That means more attention to exclusion and cleanliness. Use HEPA‑filtered vacuums for web removal. Prefer void treatments over surface sprays, and schedule service when sensitive occupants can be elsewhere.
For pets, especially cats, assume they will investigate anything new. Place traps where paws cannot reach them, or use low‑profile monitor stations that cover the sticky surface. Communicate re‑entry times after treatments, and ask your pest control contractor for product labels and safety data sheets. Clarity builds trust and keeps everyone comfortable with the plan.
What not to do
Over the years, I have cleaned up several well‑intentioned mistakes.
Do not fog for spiders in occupied structures. Foggers scatter insects, drive spiders deeper into voids, and leave residues on surfaces you touch daily. They also miss the target entirely if webs and harborages are not addressed.
Do not spray pesticides onto visible webs and call it a day. Webbing repels liquid and does not guarantee contact with the spider, which often retreats to a protected nook. Mechanical removal followed by treatment of the anchor points works better.
Do not rely on bug bombs before moving into a home or after a tenant leaves. You create a false sense of security and may void warranties if a professional later needs to treat.
Do not keep outdoor clutter pressed against siding. Firewood piles, stacked planters, and unused furniture become spider factories, and they hide moisture issues that bring more prey.
Measuring progress without guesswork
Spiders come and go with seasons, so measure progress on a 30 to 90 day timeline. Photograph problem areas at the start. Count webs during weekly walkthroughs. Check monitors biweekly and log captures. I recommend a simple spreadsheet or a note in your phone with dates and quick tallies. If activity drops steadily, stick with the plan. If it plateaus or rises, bring your notes to your exterminator service and ask for a revised strategy.
Professionals track the same way. On one lakefront property with persistent orb weaver webs around railings, our counts dropped from two dozen webs nightly in August to under five by late September after we adjusted dock lights, added motion‑activated fixtures near the back entrance, and trimmed reed grass that swarmed midges at dusk. We still performed web removal, but the property no longer looked like a set from a haunted movie.
When a single visit is enough, and when it is not
If your main complaint is entryway webs and occasional basement sightings, a one‑time deep clean and targeted exterior application can reset things for months, especially when paired with lighting and storage changes. Plan a follow‑up inspection within six to eight weeks, not necessarily another full treatment.
If you have confirmed widow or recluse activity, expect a series of visits. Egg sacs mature over weeks, and newly hatched spiders disperse into the same favorable conditions unless you remove those conditions. Three to four visits over a season, with clear benchmarks, is a realistic commitment.
Where climates are mild year‑round and insects never disappear, periodic maintenance makes sense. The best pest control company will let you scale up in summer and taper in winter rather than tying you to a rigid monthly cycle.
Final guidance for selecting the right partner
A thoughtful pest control contractor will talk more about your home’s ecosystem than about product names. They will carry a web duster, monitors, and a flashlight as their first tools out of the truck. They will recommend specific, inexpensive changes you can make today and only then discuss where a residual treatment adds value. They will be transparent about pricing and timing, and they will not oversell broad interior sprays.
If you are calling around, ask three questions:
- What does your spider inspection include, and how long does it usually take on a typical home? How do you decide where to treat, and what non‑chemical steps do you usually recommend first? How will we measure success over the next two months?
The answers will tell you whether you are talking to a true partner or just a sprayer. With the right plan, spiders become manageable neighbors rather than house‑guests you dread. Your home stays cleaner, your risk stays low, and you spend less time knocking down webs and more time enjoying the place you live.
Clements Pest Control Services Inc
Address: 8600 Commodity Cir Suite 159, Orlando, FL 32819
Phone: (407) 277-7378
Website: https://www.clementspestcontrol.com/central-florida