How to Keep Spiders Away from Your House

Spiders gather where food is easy, and around a house that means the insects drawn to porch lights, plus sheltered corners, gaps and clutter to build in. The most effective way to keep spiders away is to remove that combination: switch to warm, yellow-toned or motion-activated exterior lights, seal the gaps they use to get inside, clear vegetation and debris from the foundation, knock down webs regularly, and, if numbers stay high, apply a labeled perimeter spray around the foundation, eaves and entry points. Repellent sprays and essential oils alone rarely solve the problem because they do nothing about the insects that keep spiders coming back. Here is a practical, step-by-step plan.

In this guide

1. Why Spiders Gather Around Your House
2. Step 1: Change Your Exterior Lighting
3. Step 2: Seal Entry Points
4. Step 3: Clean Up the Foundation Zone
5. Step 4: Remove Webs and Egg Sacs Regularly
6. Step 5: Use a Perimeter Spray the Right Way
7. Natural and Low-Toxicity Options
8. Garages, Basements and Crawl Spaces
9. When to Call a Pest Control Pro
10. A Seasonal Spider Prevention Calendar
11. Frequently Asked Questions

Why Spiders Gather Around Your House

Most spiders you see on porches, eaves and window frames are orb weavers, cobweb spiders and funnel weavers. They are not attracted to your house itself; they are attracted to what it provides: a steady supply of moths, flies and gnats drawn to lights, rigid surfaces to anchor webs, and sheltered corners out of the wind and rain. Late summer and fall bring the most webs because spider populations peak then, and some species wander indoors as nights cool.

A few spiders around the outside of a home are normal and even helpful, since they eat mosquitoes, flies and other pests. The goal is to reduce numbers around doors, porches and windows and keep them out of living spaces, not to eliminate every spider from the yard.

Step 1: Change Your Exterior Lighting

Lighting is the single biggest lever for porch spiders. Many night-flying insects are strongly attracted to blue and ultraviolet light, which bright white and cool-white bulbs emit more of. Fewer insects means less food and fewer webs.

• Use warm or yellow bulbs. Choose warm-white LEDs (around 2700K or lower) or yellow “bug light” bulbs for porch and entry fixtures. Amber LEDs are among the least attractive to insects.
• Add motion sensors. A light that is on only when someone approaches draws a fraction of the insects of one left on all night.
• Move the light away from the door. A post light or a fixture on a garage corner, aimed back toward the door, pulls insects away from the entry rather than onto it.
• Close curtains at night. Indoor light shining through windows also attracts insects to the glass and frames.
• Turn off decorative lights such as string lights and landscape uplights when you are not outside.

Our exterior house lighting ideas show how to light entries and paths attractively with warm, shielded fixtures.

Step 2: Seal Entry Points

Spiders enter through the same gaps as cold drafts. A weekend of sealing does more to keep spiders out of the house than any spray.

• Install door sweeps on exterior doors and garage entry doors; you should not see daylight under a closed door.
• Replace worn weatherstripping around doors and the garage door seal.
• Caulk gaps around window frames, siding joints, trim and where pipes, wires and cables enter the house.
• Repair torn window and door screens and make sure screens fit tightly.
• Cover attic, soffit, crawl space and dryer vents with fine mesh or vent covers.
• Seal foundation cracks with a suitable masonry caulk or patch.

Step 3: Clean Up the Foundation Zone

Shrubs, vines and ground covers touching the house give spiders a bridge to the walls and shelter for their prey. Clutter does the same.

• Trim shrubs and hedges so there is at least 12 to 18 inches between foliage and siding.
• Keep vines off walls near doors and windows.
• Replace mulch directly against the foundation with a gravel strip, which stays drier and offers less shelter.
• Stack firewood well away from the house and off the ground.
• Clear leaf piles, stacked pots, boards and stored items from along the walls.
• Fix leaking spigots and gutters; damp areas attract the insects spiders eat.

Step 4: Remove Webs and Egg Sacs Regularly

Regular web removal is tedious but effective. Spiders that keep losing webs in one spot often relocate. Use a long-handled web brush or extendable duster to sweep eaves, porch ceilings, light fixtures, window corners and railings every week or two in late summer and fall. Remove egg sacs, the small round silk balls tucked into corners, and dispose of them in a sealed bag. A pressure washer or strong hose stream clears webs from siding and soffits quickly.

Indoors, vacuum webs, spiders and egg sacs from corners, behind furniture, basements and closets, then empty the vacuum outdoors.

Step 5: Use a Perimeter Spray the Right Way

If the steps above are in place and spiders are still a nuisance, an exterior perimeter treatment can help. Most homeowner and professional perimeter products for spiders are pyrethroid insecticides such as bifenthrin, lambda-cyhalothrin or cypermethrin, sold as concentrates or ready-to-spray bottles labeled for spiders around structures.

1. Read the label first. It sets the rate, where you can spray, re-entry time and how often you can reapply.
2. Spray a band, not the whole yard. Treat a strip a few feet wide along the soil next to the foundation and a few feet up the wall, as the label allows.
3. Target hiding spots. Spray around door and window frames, under eaves and soffits, around vents, light fixtures and porch ceilings.
4. Avoid water and blooms. Do not spray near ponds, streams, storm drains or flowering plants visited by bees, and avoid windy or rainy days.
5. Keep people and pets off treated areas until dry.

Perimeter sprays kill spiders that contact treated surfaces and many of the insects they feed on, but residual activity fades with sun and rain. Expect to reapply on the schedule the label allows during peak season. A spray is a supplement to lighting, sealing and cleanup, not a substitute.

Natural and Low-Toxicity Options

• Diatomaceous earth: a thin dusting of food-grade DE in dry cracks, crawl spaces and along sills can kill crawling arthropods that walk through it, though it stops working when wet. See our guide to diatomaceous earth for pests.
• Sticky traps: placed along basement walls and in garages, they catch wandering spiders and show where they are coming in.
• Peppermint and other essential oils: widely recommended online, but evidence that they repel spiders for more than a short time is limited. Use them as a pleasant-smelling extra, not your main defense.
• Vinegar sprays: can kill a spider on direct contact but have no lasting repellent effect.
• Insecticidal soap: kills soft-bodied spiders and insects on contact, with no residual.

Garages, Basements and Crawl Spaces

Garages and basements are where most indoor spider problems start, because they combine gaps to the outside, clutter and the insects that come in with them. Store items in lidded plastic bins instead of cardboard boxes, which spiders and their prey use for shelter. Keep items off the floor on shelving and away from walls so you can sweep behind them. Run a dehumidifier in damp basements; lower humidity means fewer silverfish, crickets and other insects for spiders to eat. Check the weather seal at the bottom of the garage door and the gap between the door panels and the frame, and replace worn seals. In crawl spaces, make sure vents are screened and the access door closes tightly. Sticky traps placed along the base of walls in these areas will show you how many spiders are getting in and where.

When to Call a Pest Control Pro

Call a licensed pest control company if you find black widows or brown recluse spiders regularly in or around the home, if spiders are established inside walls, attics or crawl spaces, or if you would rather not handle insecticides. A pro can identify the species, treat hard-to-reach eaves and voids, and set up a quarterly perimeter service through the warm months. Ask what product they use, where they will apply it, and how they protect pollinators and ponds.

Black widows are glossy black with a red hourglass on the underside and hide in woodpiles, meter boxes and cluttered garages. Brown recluses are tan with a darker violin shape on the back and are most common in the South-Central and Midwest states. Wear gloves when moving stored items in areas where either is found.

A Seasonal Spider Prevention Calendar

Season	What to do
Early spring	Seal gaps, replace sweeps and weatherstripping, repair screens, trim shrubs back from walls
Late spring	Swap porch bulbs to warm or yellow, install motion sensors, clear clutter along the foundation
Summer	Sweep webs every week or two; apply a perimeter treatment if needed
Late summer to fall	Peak web season; brush eaves and remove egg sacs; check door seals before spiders move indoors
Winter	Vacuum indoors, check basements and garages, plan exterior fixes

Spiders are just one of the pests that a tidy foundation and smart lighting help control; our pest control guide covers ants, mosquitoes and other common yard pests with the same prevention-first approach.