We have many spider species in Orlando. Some, like daddy longlegs spiders, are harmless intruders. Some can be a dangerous threat, like a brown recluse or black widow. But most of the spiders that get into Orlando homes are somewhere in between. These are jumping spiders, house spiders, yellow sac spiders, funnel weaver spiders, wolf spiders, and many more. They can bite you, but their venom isn't potent enough to be a medical concern. No matter what spiders get into your home, they are not welcomed guests. Spiders don't make life nicer. If you agree, take a look at the following five ways you can effectively control spiders and prevent infestations in Orlando.

1. Reduce Spider Food

Spiders go where the food is, so it is important to understand what they eat. Arachnids feed on insects, bugs, and sometimes small animals, such as mice. When you reduce pests around your home, you reduce a strong incentive for spiders to live near your home. When you reduce the number of spiders near your home, you reduce your chances of an infestation.

Here are a few tips for reducing spider food:

• Keep trash receptacles clean.

• Store trash in covered receptacles.

• Remove trash from your property weekly.

• Keep lights off where it is not a security concern.

• Consider replacing exterior white lights with insect-resistant yellow lights.

• Keep curtains and drapes closed at night.

• Reduce moisture around your home, particularly topsoil moisture.

• Clean your gutters.

• Remove palm leaves and other organic debris.

• Trim your bushes and shrubs.

• Keep your grass cut.

• Remove weeds.

2. Reduce Spider Hiding Places

When spiders come into your yard, they're going to look for places to establish webs. These webs can be in many places. While you can't remove all potential areas of harborage, you have control over some. Reduce harborage to reduce spiders.

• Consider removing any items from your yard that don't need to be there, such as cinder blocks, old tires, crates, that '64 Chevy you've been thinking about fixing up, and similar objects.

• Pick up toys that aren't being used.

• Seal openings in swing sets and other structures in your yard.

• Fill in ground holes. Some spiders create webs in ground holes—particularly venomous spiders.

3. Seal Entry Points Spiders Use

When spiders crawl on the outside of your home, it is important that they don't find a pathway inside. These potential entry points can be anywhere from the ground to the tip of your roof.

The most common entry points used by spiders are:

• Gaps in weatherstripping

• Holes in door and window frames

• Gaps around door and window frames

• Missing door sweeps

• Cracks in foundations

• Unprotected exhaust outlets

4. Reduce Spider Eggs

What do you do when you see spider webs around your home? If you shrug them off and consider getting rid of them later, it is essential that you understand the role spider webs play. Webs aren't just unsightly. A single web can have hundreds of eggs hiding in it. When all of those eggs hatch, tiny spiderlings emerge. Within a short period of time, you can have hundreds of new spiders crawling around on the outside of your home. If that just made you think, “Um, no thanks!” consider getting rid of spider webs as soon as you see them.

The best way to remove a spider web is to gently lift the web up and pull it away from the area where it is attached. You can use a broom or spider web-removal tool for this. Some of these webs can be high on your home, and a tool is the only way to really get at them. This is one of the ways investing in ongoing residential pest control can help to prevent infestations in your home. We use long poles to get hard-to-reach webs, and we remove spider webs (and eggs). We do not leave them in your trash cans so that they don't hatch in your garbage before your trash is picked up.

5. Spider Treatments

This is another way a pest professional can help. When your exterior has routine treatments performed by a licensed professional, you get the best protection from spiders as well as many of the pests those spiders come to feed on. Do you live in Orlando? Reach out to Green Flag Services today and get started with a pest control plan. We can help you find the right pest control for your specific needs and budget. Life is a whole lot better without spiders. Let us help you start living that life.