What Drives Spiders Into Houston Homes
Extreme weather changes have an effect on bugs. Spiders are no exception. When we go through a drought, it can drive spiders into your Houston home. When we get a lot of rain and the ground is oversaturated, this can drive them in as well. But changes in the weather aren't the greatest factor for spider infestations. The number-one reason spiders get into our homes is that they enter by accident while searching for food. Understanding what spiders eat can help reduce your chances of having a spider infestation.
Spiders eat flying insects. If you have flying insects around your home, you're going to have more spiders. The more spiders you have, the greater the chance of infestation. Here are a few ways you can reduce flying insects near your home:
- Make sure your trash is in sealed containers. Open trash is an attractant for many flying insects. Also, be sure to routinely clean your receptacles to prevent smells from luring pests in.
- Where it is not a home security issue, turn exterior lights off at night or replace them with insect-resistant yellow bulbs; insects are drawn to white light.
- Keep shades drawn at night to prevent interior light from drawing insects to your home.
Spiders eat ground-dwelling bugs and insects like beetles, ants, and cockroaches. Reducing these insects will lower spider populations as well. Here are some tips that will help:
- Put space between plants in your landscaping to allow the air to flow through and dry your topsoil.
- Clean clogged gutters and fix broken gutters and downspouts.
- Trim tree branches to let the sunlight into densely shaded areas.
- Pick up objects that lay on the ground and trap moisture underneath.
- Fix leaky spigots or hoses.
- Loosen up any ground where compact soil allows rainwater to create puddles.
If spiders find a way into your home, they will be happy to stay when they find flies or crawling bugs. Everything you do to make your home a bug-free zone will have an impact on how many spiders you'll see.
- Put fruit in the fridge, instead of displayed in a bowl on the table, to help prevent a fruit fly infestation.
- Practice good sanitation to resist all of the many bugs that can invade your kitchen.
- Consider storing pantry foods in sealed plastic containers to keep smells in and resist attracting pantry pests.
- Be cautious about bringing plants in from outside. Fungus gnats are sometimes brought into a home this way.
Controlling the food sources that spiders eat is the best way to control spiders; not the other way around. If you're hoping those spiders will take care of your pest control for you, you're in for some disappointment. The pest control spiders offer is far from complete. Plus, you have to put up with creepy spiders crawling around in your home and the potential for spider bites. In the case of brown recluse spiders and black widow spiders, bites can be a serious medical threat. It is best to have a pest-free home.
How To Make A Pest-Free Home
The best way to keep your home free of bugs is to stop those bugs before they find their way inside, and the best way to stop bugs before they get in is by investing in a residential pest control program that includes routine treatments to your foundation perimeter and key areas of your landscaping.
At Modern Pest Control, we offer three programs for controlling the bugs in your yard (and the spiders that eat them). Modern Plus gives you the basic coverage you need to make it hard for bugs to live near your home. It also addresses fleas and fire ants in your yard. When you step up to Signature pest control, you get termite control with the award-winning Sentricon® System with Always Active. When you go with our comprehensive service, Signature Plus, you get the added protection of seasonal mosquito control.
Get started with essential pest control for spiders and other pest threats by scheduling a free inspection for your Houston home. We'll help you figure out what pest pressures you're dealing with and guide you toward the right package for your needs and budget.
