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Cleaning Up:  Spiders in my house  |
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ali2583
True Blue Farmgirl
404 Posts
Alison
Winnipeg
Manitoba
Canada
404 Posts |
 Posted - May 09 2006 : 3:15:40 PM
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Hi Girls,
Any tips for an environmentally safe way to rid my basement of spiders? I'm getting so tired of sweeping away cobwebs...
DH told me that spiders only come into clean houses (which is his way of throwing me a compliment!) but that still doesn't make them go away. Any advice would be much appreciated!
"God's gift to you is life. What you choose to do with that life is your gift to God" |
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brightmeadow
True Blue Farmgirl
2045 Posts
Brenda
Lucas
Ohio
USA
2045 Posts |
Posted - May 09 2006 : 3:52:08 PM
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I have the same problem but with ants. Unfortunately the reputation of ants is NOT for clean houses! Any ideas?
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands - You shall be happy and it shall be well with you. -Psalm 128.2
Visit my web site store at http://www.watkinsonline.com/fish or my homepage at http://home.earthlink.net/~brightmeadow |
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therusticcottage
True Blue Farmgirl
4439 Posts
Kay
Vancouver
WA
USA
4439 Posts |
Posted - May 09 2006 : 5:56:00 PM
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I make up a mixture of Dr. Bronner's lavender (or peppermint) castille soap, water, and lavender essential oil. In a 32 oz spray bottle put 5 tbsps of soap, 5 drops of lavender eo, and fill with water. If you spray directly on the spiders it does kill them and smells good too. If you want something stronger then you can use pyrethrin -- which kills them and keeps them away. But a word of caution is that it will kill good bugs too. This is what was used in our house when we were infested with hobo spiders.
Handcrafted soaps and sundries at http://therusticcottage.etsy.com
http://www.homesteadblogger.com/therusticcottage/
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sonflowergurl
True Blue Farmgirl
349 Posts
Katee
Tampa 'Burbs
FL
USA
349 Posts |
Posted - May 10 2006 : 12:50:25 PM
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As I was growing up, we never killed the spiders because they were "good" bugs who eat the "bad" bugs. BUT, I hate them in my house too. Places like Home Depot or any hardware store should have those little electric devices that send out a sound wave that's really high (not audible to humans) and it keeps the mice away as well as spiders because the vibrations from the sound shake their webs. They run about $20 but work for both, we used to have a problem with both mice and spiders in our old farmhouse in WV.
Katee
The end will justify the pain it took to get us here.
"Looking Toward the Son"---- http://sonflowergirl731.blogspot.com
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Mari-dahlia
True Blue Farmgirl
269 Posts
Marianne
Hoosick Falls
New York
USA
269 Posts |
Posted - May 11 2006 : 2:11:39 PM
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My insulation guy, when he inspected my cellar, told me that spiders like air movement and this is how he found all of the air leaks. I had insulation sprayed in around the threashold of the house and I have no more spider problem.(so far).
There are two of ants, one that likes sweet stuff (little red ones)and the black ones. The black ones like dampness and anytime you have a cement slab or wood that can hold the dampness, you will find black ants.
The south has alot more I don't know about. |
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Mari-dahlia
True Blue Farmgirl
269 Posts
Marianne
Hoosick Falls
New York
USA
269 Posts |
Posted - May 11 2006 : 2:13:11 PM
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| Oh, I almost forgot. Boric Acid around the perimeter, behind your baseboards. Nothing crosses it. It does'nt help if everything is overhead though. |
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_Rebecca_
True Blue Farmgirl
568 Posts
Rebecca
OK
USA
568 Posts |
Posted - May 11 2006 : 3:09:46 PM
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Brown Recluse/Fiddlebacks eat bug carcasses. They are very hardy and don't respond to sprays. You have to keep your areas bug-carcass-free in order to not have them around. Vacuum and clean areas often. Sticky traps work pretty well for them. Also, don't keep any cardboard around.
.·:*¨¨* :·.Rebecca.·:*¨¨* :·.
Wife of Jonathan, Mother of Joel, Caitlyn, Elia |
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brightmeadow
True Blue Farmgirl
2045 Posts
Brenda
Lucas
Ohio
USA
2045 Posts |
Posted - May 13 2006 : 06:16:19 AM
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I have a big brown spider that keeps making a web on the outside of our patio door. I keep knocking it down and she keeps making another one. I find out usually when I go out to feed our dog at night and bump my head on the bottom of the web. I'm assuming she's some kind of garden spider -- don't the brown recluses live in holes in the ground??? I'll have to look around the web (no pun intended) to see if I can find a spider identification page.
The tip about the carcasses is a good one, we've had a lot of those little Asian ladybugs on the south side of our house and there are a lot of their carcasses out on the patio. Maybe I need to get out the pressure washer and get rid of them.
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands - You shall be happy and it shall be well with you. -Psalm 128.2
Visit my web site store at http://www.watkinsonline.com/fish or my homepage at http://home.earthlink.net/~brightmeadow |
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Cleaning Up: Spiders in my house |
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Spiders in my house
