Author Topic: Mustachian pest control  (Read 6383 times)

Cressida

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Mustachian pest control
« on: July 13, 2015, 02:09:02 AM »
We have a spider problem. It's probably a result of the unseasonably warm weather starting this spring in the PNW. I'm killing approximately 2-3 spiders per day, and it's only going to get worse. I *HATE* spiders.

I don't want to call an exterminator because that's an extreme and spendy solution. Does anyone have experience with more Mustachian approaches to such problems? Like, certain effective DIY sprays or other solutions?

Thanks much.

katstache92

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Re: Mustachian pest control
« Reply #1 on: July 13, 2015, 07:10:34 AM »
I've heard good things about home defense, but I haven't tried it myself.  This would be a more preventative thing that you spray outside around your house.

I really like the Raid Bug Barrier Auto-Trigger.  It has battery powered spray assist so you can shoot it at bugs from a distance.  I used this is my old unfinished basement, because I'm a big arachnophobe, and it kept me away from the big ones.  I think it's meant to be more of a barrier type thing, but if there was a spider it was too late for that.  The Orkin guy (I was with them before I started reading MMM) said that spiders can avoid a lot of bug sprays because their legs are long enough to keep their bodies out of the poison.

My dad recommend getting rid of all of the webs you can find as frequently as you can... but I haven't been good at doing that, since I really don't like spiders, so I'm not sure how well it works.

I'm also following this so I can find something new to use, since I moved and the new basement has carpet and I don't want to soak it in bug spray.

Good luck!!

forummm

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Re: Mustachian pest control
« Reply #2 on: July 13, 2015, 07:23:16 AM »
The spiders are probably there because other critters are available to eat. Do you leave food out or crumbs or trash that attract the critters?

Also, 2-3 isn't that many.

swick

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Re: Mustachian pest control
« Reply #3 on: July 13, 2015, 07:34:14 AM »
We have been dealing with spiders in the basement of our new house. The big one is to make sure that any brush/weeds/plant material is away from the side of the house (at least for us, many of the spiders are ground dwellers and lay their eggs in these spots) Also protection/breeding ground/food source for wood bugs.

Having a few spiders inside isn't too bad, they have been dealing with our other problem, wood/pill bugs. A solution that has been working for both issues is a spray bottle with some dish soap and essential oils. Spiders and pill bugs hate peppermint oil and lemon. We spray them directly if we see them, but also spray the solution around cracks/doors/windows anywhere they might get in. Has substantially reduced the numbers of all the crawlies in the basement.

ShoulderThingThatGoesUp

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Re: Mustachian pest control
« Reply #4 on: July 13, 2015, 07:41:29 AM »
Spiders are a solution. They eat other bugs. So you need to eliminate food sources for other bugs.

Crawling bugs can be defeated with diatomaceous earth. Flying bugs can be defeated with window screens and it's probably a good time to find the air leaks in your house before winter.

Make sure your siding doesn't dip below ground. Dirt and leaves shouldn't touch your siding.

I'm not a big "oooh, scary chemicals" kind of guy, but I try to avoid putting stuff in my house that's designed to kill the same kingdom of life I'm in unless I have to (carpenter ant infestation, for example).

jackiechiles2

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Re: Mustachian pest control
« Reply #5 on: July 13, 2015, 08:13:58 AM »
I've heard good things about home defense, but I haven't tried it myself.  This would be a more preventative thing that you spray outside around your house.

I really like the Raid Bug Barrier Auto-Trigger.  It has battery powered spray assist so you can shoot it at bugs from a distance.  I used this is my old unfinished basement, because I'm a big arachnophobe, and it kept me away from the big ones.  I think it's meant to be more of a barrier type thing, but if there was a spider it was too late for that.  The Orkin guy (I was with them before I started reading MMM) said that spiders can avoid a lot of bug sprays because their legs are long enough to keep their bodies out of the poison.

My dad recommend getting rid of all of the webs you can find as frequently as you can... but I haven't been good at doing that, since I really don't like spiders, so I'm not sure how well it works.

I'm also following this so I can find something new to use, since I moved and the new basement has carpet and I don't want to soak it in bug spray.

Good luck!!

If you're talking about Ortho's home defense that's available at Lowes or other normal outlets, then what you've heard is correct.  I spray it once a year, normally in spring, and have relatively few interactions with bugs as a result.  I've seen a grand total of one spider, and two dead bugs since spraying in May. 

tjalexander

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Re: Mustachian pest control
« Reply #6 on: July 13, 2015, 08:54:30 AM »
http://store.doyourownpestcontrol.com/cyper-wsp

I mix the cyper with water in a hudson sprayer. I will spray along baseboards in the house and around the outside of the house. Works great!

Cressida

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Re: Mustachian pest control
« Reply #7 on: July 13, 2015, 10:26:35 AM »
Also, 2-3 isn't that many.

2-3 per day isn't that many? For real?

swick

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Re: Mustachian pest control
« Reply #8 on: July 13, 2015, 10:36:30 AM »
Also, 2-3 isn't that many.

2-3 per day isn't that many? For real?

Nope, I'd be pretty happy with that!

katstache92

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Re: Mustachian pest control
« Reply #9 on: July 13, 2015, 01:56:52 PM »
If you're talking about Ortho's home defense that's available at Lowes or other normal outlets, then what you've heard is correct.  I spray it once a year, normally in spring, and have relatively few interactions with bugs as a result.  I've seen a grand total of one spider, and two dead bugs since spraying in May.

Yep, that's the one I mean.  Glad to hear it works - maybe I'll have to pick some up for myself.  Although I'm a middle townhouse unit so I can really only spray the front and back.

Also, 2-3 isn't that many.

2-3 per day isn't that many? For real?

I wouldn't be able to handle this.  Orkin would be on speed dial.  I guess my new MMM ways can be defeated by spiders, ack.

AZDude

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Re: Mustachian pest control
« Reply #10 on: July 13, 2015, 02:12:44 PM »
Sometimes its not even your own home. Used to live next what I referred to as the "hillbilly house". Backyard was full of old piles of wood and random junk. Weeds grew everywhere. No yard maintenance was being done. Because of them I would find 2 or 3 black widow spiders in my yard every week. I bought a big tub of pesticide and would spray around the base of the block wall separating us, and that helped, but some would still make it through. So I would just spray wherever I thought would be a good spider hangout, and then just made sure to be careful when I was outside at night. Biggest problem was the pool filter. It was in a corner of the yard, and there were plenty of holes and shade for the spiders. Problem was that I had to go over to do pool maintenance(backwash, clean the filter, let the air out, set the timer, etc...). I used to carry around a shortened broom handle as my "spider stick".

Once the hillbillies moved out, the problem went away.

Cressida

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Re: Mustachian pest control
« Reply #11 on: July 13, 2015, 03:22:59 PM »
Thanks everyone, this is helpful information. I hadn't made the connection, but we do have an ant problem too and that could be part of the cause. We are not slobs (believe me, if anyone were leaving out "food or crumbs or trash" I would get homicidal, lol), but we do have a cat who is a messy eater, and that can be hard to stay totally on top of. And there is a house across the alley that verges on hovel status.

So I guess I shouldn't be surprised at the spiders. I'll look into the Ortho home defense.

katstache92, I carry a collapsible golf alignment stick in my purse. Every day when I get home, I extend it and swipe it all around the porch area to detach the webs. Keeps me far enough away from the spiders that it's not too terrifying.

letired

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Re: Mustachian pest control
« Reply #12 on: July 13, 2015, 04:01:52 PM »
On easy and painless way to take care of spiders is to vacuum them up. They tend to die in the vacuum process, no muss no fuss. But as pointed out above, you should work out what is attracting them inside the house first.

Highbeam

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Re: Mustachian pest control
« Reply #13 on: July 13, 2015, 04:14:38 PM »
I am not sympathetic to bugs or spiders. I feel no sadness in killing them dead. For control of all bugs I use and recommend termidor or its generic Taurus which are both available at the site linked above. Follow the directions to kill all creepy crawlies for a long time.

I live near the OP in the puget sound region and have not seen a spider in my house for years. 

Cressida

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Re: Mustachian pest control
« Reply #14 on: July 13, 2015, 10:31:29 PM »
So I stopped at Lowe's after work and picked up the Ortho home defense. DH sprayed it around the house a couple of hours ago. Just minutes ago, I discovered a dead spider on the windowsill. I love this forum.

Lanthiriel

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Re: Mustachian pest control
« Reply #15 on: July 14, 2015, 02:45:49 PM »
FYI, we have a spider problem too (I killed a tarantula-sized black house spider this morning), and the things we've found most effective are 1) getting rid of all debris against the side of the house, and 2) leaving cotton balls spiked with peppermint oil in the places the spiders like to hang out (which for us seems to be our baseboard radiators). We are also planning to spray our entire foundation where it meets the siding with diluted peppermint oil. When we are diligent about the peppermint, we're relatively spider-free, but if we let it slack, they seem to come back with a vengeance. In their defense, we have been doing significant amounts of work on a very overgrown yard, so they are being disturbed from their habitat. Though the ones I see outside never seem to be the ones I see inside.

MoonShadow

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Re: Mustachian pest control
« Reply #16 on: July 14, 2015, 06:18:48 PM »
Learn to deal with your spider problem.  The one in your own head, not the one you think you have.  Spiders eat other bugs, so if you kill all the spiders, you will find out what they have been eating.

Cressida

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Re: Mustachian pest control
« Reply #17 on: July 14, 2015, 09:53:25 PM »
Moonshadow, this is the second thread where you've been obnoxious to me. Please knock it off.