How to Exterminate Spiders?

[cosmie]

So for the last eight months the majority of my belongings have been in a storage while I've done various internships around the country. All of my furniture, a large percentage of my clothes, linens, kitchen and bathroom stuff, etc is in there.

I get back last week, ready to move my stuff back into an apartment, and discover a horde of demons spiders have adopted my belongings. All kinds of spiders: I saw a few tiny ones, some daddy longlegs, some daddy longlegs-sized spiders that  were much beefier. How the hell do I get rid of these beasts so I can get my stuff back? After being bitten by a brown recluse as a child, I'm a pretty big arachnophobe and really don't want to bring these beasts into my apartment. I've puffed a good layer of diatomaceous earth in there, as well as tossed in quite a few sticky traps to try to prune the population.

What else can I do to try to get rid of these things? Would waiting until it's cooler out to unpack the storage help?

[dragoncar]

Also:

http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/03/spiders-are-scary-its-okay-to-be-afraid.html

[DreamingofFreedom]

Borrow a cat!  Mine love spiders.  Plus, the whole process saves you money because the cat gets a free meal.

[Greg]

If the boxes/items are small enough, place them overnight in the freezer, one at a time.  The spiders will die, but you will have clean them off your stuff.

As a beekeeper, I know that one drop of insecticide is enough to decimate and entire hive of honeybees.  So I would encourage you not to use insecticide.  It has a nasty way of getting where you didn't intend it to go.

[cosmie]

<snip epic picture>

Also:

http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/03/spiders-are-scary-its-okay-to-be-afraid.html

@Epic Picture: The first irrational thought that popped into my head after I saw the second spider:"It's all ruined! I spent so long acquiring this stuff, and now I have to start from scratch!"

That article made me feel better. There were a couple tiny spiders inhabiting some of the upper corners of my new apartment (it had been uninhabited for a few months), which has seriously disturbed my sleep cycle and I can't enter a room without scrutinizing all 6 surfaces (walls, ceiling, and floor).

Borrow a cat!  Mine love spiders.  Plus, the whole process saves you money because the cat gets a free meal.

It'd be kind of cruel to lock the poor thing in my storage unit. :(

If the boxes/items are small enough, place them overnight in the freezer, one at a time.  The spiders will die, but you will have clean them off your stuff.

As a beekeeper, I know that one drop of insecticide is enough to decimate and entire hive of honeybees.  So I would encourage you not to use insecticide.  It has a nasty way of getting where you didn't intend it to go.

It's an 8' x 8' storage that's packed pretty full (about ~7-8' high), so freezing them out one by one won't work. And transporting the infested items would in turn infect my vehicle. :-/

Don't worry about the insecticide. I don't want to coat all of my belongings in it anyway, and other than foggers (which I'm not allowed to set off), I don't know anything that would penetrate the unit and kill the spiders (as they need direct contact with the poison).

[theSchmett]

Purify by Fire!

Sorry, I'm searching the internet for you, I have no idea how to do what you want to do without using some kind of poison. I've read some notes about essential oil, Neem oil (I use that on my tomatoes)... you spray it mixed with water.  I've chased ants away mixing spearmint oil with water... with limited success.

The best idea I've had would be to release some of the centipedes I have in my basement/house... they seem to do some pretty good spider control around here, so I don't exterminate them.

And I'm not saying that is a very good idea btw.

Good luck and please report back!

And BTW- What storage facility did you use so I NEVER store things there!

[Simple Abundant Living]

Can you use pyrethrin?


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrethrin

It's made with chrysanthemums and is non toxic for humans and pets. (Not sure about bees).

[cosmie]

The best idea I've had would be to release some of the centipedes I have in my basement/house... they seem to do some pretty good spider control around here, so I don't exterminate them.

And I'm not saying that is a very good idea btw.

These centipedes? You're right in that I'd no longer have a spider problem. But I don't know if I'd feel better with those, especially if they run out of spiders to eat...

I had one of those come out of a vent in my last house. I sent a picture of it to an entomologist I know and he said at the size the guy grew too, I had bigger pest problems to worry about than the foot long centipede. *shivers*

I had to completely rearrange my house so that I always had an eye on the vents (they were in the ceiling - one was over my bed).

And BTW- What storage facility did you use so I NEVER store things there!

There's a Walmart-sized gym being constructed directly behind the storage facility, and I'm in the very back row. So I'm assuming they've been dislocated. Also, Tennessee is just crawling in the demons.

Can you use pyrethrin?

I'll look into it. :)
I put down the sticky traps and DE on Wednesday, so plan to go back tomorrow and see how well (or not) it helped to purify my belongings.

[dragoncar]

The best idea I've had would be to release some of the centipedes I have in my basement/house... they seem to do some pretty good spider control around here, so I don't exterminate them.

And I'm not saying that is a very good idea btw.

These centipedes? You're right in that I'd no longer have a spider problem. But I don't know if I'd feel better with those, especially if they run out of spiders to eat...

I had one of those come out of a vent in my last house. I sent a picture of it to an entomologist I know and he said at the size the guy grew too, I had bigger pest problems to worry about than the foot long centipede. *shivers*

I had to completely rearrange my house so that I always had an eye on the vents (they were in the ceiling - one was over my bed).

And BTW- What storage facility did you use so I NEVER store things there!

There's a Walmart-sized gym being constructed directly behind the storage facility, and I'm in the very back row. So I'm assuming they've been dislocated. Also, Tennessee is just crawling in the demons.

Can you use pyrethrin?

I'll look into it. :)
I put down the sticky traps and DE on Wednesday, so plan to go back tomorrow and see how well (or not) it helped to purify my belongings.

SKINNER
No problem. We simply unleash wave after wave of Chinese needle snakes. They'll wipe out the lizards centipedes.

LISA
But aren't the snakes even worse?

SKINNER
Yes, but we're prepared for that. We've lined up a fabulous type of gorilla that thrives on snake meat.

LISA
But then we're stuck with gorillas!

SKINNER
No, that's the beautiful part. When wintertime rolls around, the gorillas simply freeze to death."

[momo]

Would wearing a covered and sealed head to toe & goggles, gloves, & boots & protective suit (or just really old disposable clothes) help?  Asking b/c if you can, perhaps you can try fumugating first (shouldn't damage your stuff - you may need to wipe the things down) and then returning and vacuum up everything you see using a vacuum attachment?

I personally hate all insects (they don't pay rent - get the heck out of my space) and now I leave my walls exposed, nothing blocks mine especially the closets, just so I can carefully examine the walls, edges/trims, hallways and the like and efficiently eliminate all insects STAT!  I find the result is a more clean and less cluttered home, it feels much more spacious with less stuff too.  Good luck and let us know what you end up doing.

[theSchmett]

Re the centipedes I said it wasn't necessarily a good idea!

But I don't mean those monsters, I mean the house centipede. Creepy, crawly, but only slightly bitey but VERY quick.

[olivia]

Could you get a friend/family member who is less of an arachnophobe to help?  Or even hire someone?  Maybe even an exterminator?  They (with your assistance at a safe distance) could go through everything box by box and shake it all out to make sure there aren't any spiders in your clothes/books/etc.  And stomp some while they go.  Then once you clear out some of the stuff you'll have more room for traps and more places to put the diatomaceous earth. 

I would be afraid of a serious bite, too, but if you're mostly seeing daddy long legs and such they're likely mostly harmless.  If you see a brown recluse or a black widow or anything then I'd definitely abandon ship.

[cosmie]

I personally hate all insects (they don't pay rent - get the heck out of my space) and now I leave my walls exposed, nothing blocks mine especially the closets, just so I can carefully examine the walls, edges/trims, hallways and the like and efficiently eliminate all insects STAT!  I find the result is a more clean and less cluttered home, it feels much more spacious with less stuff too.  Good luck and let us know what you end up doing.

I definitely feel that! My master bath requires walking through the closet, and every time I go through there I scrutinize everything.

But I don't mean those monsters, I mean the house centipede. Creepy, crawly, but only slightly bitey but VERY quick.

Those monsters were in my house, and are centipedes. It qualifies as a house centipede. >_>
It also moved quite fast. The vent was on the side wall because the room had vaulted ceilings; I saw a shadow moving across the wall in the glow of the TV. I got up and turned the light on, and by the time my eyes adjusted (~1 second) it had streaked across to the other side of the wall and down to the floor. Apparently their speed is measured in feet per second, not inches. >_<

Could you get a friend/family member who is less of an arachnophobe to help?  Or even hire someone?  Maybe even an exterminator?  They (with your assistance at a safe distance) could go through everything box by box and shake it all out to make sure there aren't any spiders in your clothes/books/etc.  And stomp some while they go.  Then once you clear out some of the stuff you'll have more room for traps and more places to put the diatomaceous earth. 

I would be afraid of a serious bite, too, but if you're mostly seeing daddy long legs and such they're likely mostly harmless.  If you see a brown recluse or a black widow or anything then I'd definitely abandon ship.

That's actually what I may be doing. I have some family coming to visit this weekend anyway. And when they learned I hadn't gotten around to moving my furniture in, they've grudgingly graciously offered to assist.

After digging around online, the "beefy daddy longlegs" appear to be some type of barn spider by it's shape. I don't know it's colorings, as I only noticed it hiding two feet in front of my face after puffing it with DE and turning it white. There were also several smaller spiders, which I'm hoping are smaller spiders and not baby spiders. I didn't see any brown recluses or black widows, but then, I haven't actually been in the storage, only opened it (and saw several right in the front).

[Simple Abundant Living]

Could you get a friend/family member who is less of an arachnophobe to help?  Or even hire someone?  Maybe even an exterminator?  They (with your assistance at a safe distance) could go through everything box by box and shake it all out to make sure there aren't any spiders in your clothes/books/etc.  And stomp some while they go.  Then once you clear out some of the stuff you'll have more room for traps and more places to put the diatomaceous earth. 

I would be afraid of a serious bite, too, but if you're mostly seeing daddy long legs and such they're likely mostly harmless.  If you see a brown recluse or a black widow or anything then I'd definitely abandon ship.

That's actually what I may be doing. I have some family coming to visit this weekend anyway. And when they learned I hadn't gotten around to moving my furniture in, they've grudgingly graciously offered to assist.

After digging around online, the "beefy daddy longlegs" appear to be some type of barn spider by it's shape. I don't know it's colorings, as I only noticed it hiding two feet in front of my face after puffing it with DE and turning it white. There were also several smaller spiders, which I'm hoping are smaller spiders and not baby spiders. I didn't see any brown recluses or black widows, but then, I haven't actually been in the storage, only opened it (and saw several right in the front).

I just moved to a somewhat-spider-infested place less than a week ago too! I spent the first two days wiping down the walls/floor/ceiling/cabinets/etc to clear out the spiderwebs (especially the corners!). I didn't want to spray insecticide all over my room (after all I'm living in this place), so I just killed the spiders as I found them (final kill count was 23 over the first two days). Good thing I'm not afraid of spiders.

My apartment's right next to a park, so there's probably going to be no permanent way of preventing insects from coming back in unless I hermetically seal up the room. My strategy now is to just clear away the spiderwebs whenever I see them, hope that the spiders get a hint that my apartment's not a good place for them to set up their homes, and then eventually they'll go away.

If things get really bad again, I might try spraying insecticide around the windows and doors to prevent more bugs from getting into the apartment. I'd avoid spraying any in the apartment itself though.

Again, look into

Can you use pyrethrin?


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrethrin

It's made from chrysanthemums and is non toxic for humans and pets. (Not sure about bees).

[babysteps]

This may give you some hope:

A couple years ago we moved into a house that had been vacant for several months, lots of spiders.

I vacuumed up their webs and the spidies themselves, then we moved in.  The spiders never came back as strong, and after a few weeks of vacuuming the few that did come back, we were back to normal-indoor life (the occasional seasonal spider, but no ongoing spider activity).

At least in the northeast US, most spiders seem to like a little dampness and an open corner - so if you are lucky your spiders will be all on the *outside* of your stuff and boxes. 

For a no-chemical approach I'd try finding a spider-brave person to vacuum the outside of your stuff as it comes out of the storage unit, before it goes in whatever transport vehicle you are using. 

If that isn't close enough to nuclear effectiveness, you can always run a second inspection point at your new place and vacuum stuff again before you bring it indoors.  Maybe the spider-brave person has a vehicle you can borrow for stuff transport?

[worms]

If all the stuff is in a storage container, you could perhaps treat it with CO2.  This works for insects in stored grain so might work for your spiders.

[Ductyl]

Can you use pyrethrin?


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrethrin

It's made with chrysanthemums and is non toxic for humans and pets. (Not sure about bees).

Agreed on this one. I use Ortho Home Defense, the white jug with the spray nozzle.... spiders die within 30 seconds or so when they come in contact with this stuff. You could totally open the unit, spray a layer on everything visible (and the floors and walls), come back the next day, pull out a layer and repeat.

[viverl]

CO₂  would definitely work for spiders too! But you would have to open all boxes etc beforehand. Times like this I am glad to live in Europe where all our ancestor got rid of those. I really don't want to come to the US or Australia...

[dragoncar]

CO₂  would definitely work for spiders too! But you would have to open all boxes etc beforehand. Times like this I am glad to live in Europe where all our ancestor got rid of those. I really don't want to come to the US or Australia...

And make sure that 2 is on the end there, or your gonna have a real bad time.

[cosmie]

Small update:

I took a trip back this weekend. I didn't see any large spiders anymore, either dead or alive. I did find a half dozen apparently-well-fed daddy long legs, as well as quite a few little tiny spiders. I pulled a layer of boxes out, went through them, and only one had any spiders inside of it (a few small mite-spiders). Two others had a few crawling on the outside, but none inside. However, after pulling the layer of boxes near the door out, I found what I'm hoping are now abandoned webs between all of the boxes. I knocked all of the webs I could see down, swept out the empty space I created, and left the daddy long legs to continue feasting on whatever the hell they find in there before I go back next weekend to load the rest of it up.

The dozen glue traps were empty, and the daddy long legs and tiny spiders were all over the DE, so neither one of those seemed to help any.

[dragoncar]

Small update:

I took a trip back this weekend. I didn't see any large spiders anymore, either dead or alive. I did find a half dozen apparently-well-fed daddy long legs, as well as quite a few little tiny spiders. I pulled a layer of boxes out, went through them, and only one had any spiders inside of it (a few small mite-spiders). Two others had a few crawling on the outside, but none inside. However, after pulling the layer of boxes near the door out, I found what I'm hoping are now abandoned webs between all of the boxes. I knocked all of the webs I could see down, swept out the empty space I created, and left the daddy long legs to continue feasting on whatever the hell they find in there before I go back next weekend to load the rest of it up.

The dozen glue traps were empty, and the daddy long legs and tiny spiders were all over the DE, so neither one of those seemed to help any.

I'm really disappointed in DE.  I get silverfish sometimes and used DE to kill em.  But it wasn't helping so I did a little test.  I trapped one in a bowl and dumped DE on top of it.  It took around a week for it to die, and I'm not really sure if it was the DE or just general dehydration/starvation.  Stupid DE.

[Hamster]

You just need to hire the right person for the job.

[cosmie]

I'm really disappointed in DE.  I get silverfish sometimes and used DE to kill em.  But it wasn't helping so I did a little test.  I trapped one in a bowl and dumped DE on top of it.  It took around a week for it to die, and I'm not really sure if it was the DE or just general dehydration/starvation.  Stupid DE.

Yes, I'm pretty disappointed too. I'm not against chemical insecticides, I just didn't want to spray everything I own with them. I've had to use foggers in the past, and there are some things I'd prefer not to get a layer of that stuff on.

It did seem to help a bit on fleas with my dog; it didn't appear to outright kill them, but it extended the usefulness of a flea bath from a usual one-week relief period to almost a month.

[theSchmett]

I'm happy to hear the spiders have gone and you didn't have to resort to my insane drastic measures!

Any idea how to prevent this in the future?

I'm thinking climate controlled storage would be a starter, however expensive, but have you come across any straight up repellent to use before infestation?

The real mustachian answer is likely: don't store your stuff, its all just stuff anyway, but I don't dig in that far!

[cosmie]

I'm happy to hear the spiders have gone and you didn't have to resort to my insane drastic measures!

The (huge) daddy longlegs are still eating something, so I don't know if I"m home free just yet.

Any idea how to prevent this in the future?

I'm thinking climate controlled storage would be a starter, however expensive, but have you come across any straight up repellent to use before infestation?

A climate controlled storage should work, but would probably be overkill in most cases. I've never really had this kind of issue before with an outdoor storage. The cause is most likely the Walmart-sized fitness center being constructed directly behind my storage unit; tearing down the old shopping center there and erecting the fitness center probably dislocated an entire spider/bug ecosystem.

The issue with spiders is that a repellent/insecticide has to be sprayed directly on it in order to kill it, so laying anything down pro-actively won't help the spiders per-se. The exception would be glue traps; put them in corners and areas where spiders would enjoy, and they should help. Not to say repellents wouldn't be worth it; they'd kill  other insects, so the spiders have no food and stay away.

The real mustachian answer is likely: don't store your stuff, its all just stuff anyway, but I don't dig in that far!

I wouldn't consider that mustachian. All of the little things that make up a household add up (basic furniture, kitchen equipment, cleaning equipment, linens, seasonal clothing, etc); and after 4 years, I finally have most of it. Liquidating that just for an 8-month absence would be very anti-mustachian, as it would have all been needed again and the cost of the replacement would have far outstripped the cost of the storage.

[Ashcons]

Despite the willies that spiders provoke, I usually ignore non-venomous spiders or scoot them onto a piece of paper and evict them from my house, but if I had to clean webs on stored boxes, I'd feel pretty confident armed with a small Shop Vac (2.5gal or 5/6 gal model) for removing the unwelcome guests.

I assume you mean Pholcidae, not Opiliones? Those Opies run around outside, get huge, and give me the creeps...if I ever found one in the house, I might grab the vacuum or dust pan for it.

[worms]

I assume you mean Pholcidae, not Opiliones? Those Opies run around outside, get huge, and give me the creeps...if I ever found one in the house, I might grab the vacuum or dust pan for it.

Aaah! That makes sense! I always thought that daddy longlegs in US were harvestmen and was wondering why they would be invading a storage container!  Of course for us here in UK, daddy long legs are Tipulid flies.

[EMP]

And here I appreciate my spiders for eating the rest of the bugs in my house.  Unless it crawls right in front of me or the baby, then it dies. 

[KulshanGirl]

I lived in a basement apartment that would get overrun with wolf spiders every fall. I would set up my tent right on top of my bed and sleep in there.  The Anti-Spider Chamber. 
 

[AlmostIndependent]

I lived in a basement apartment that would get overrun with wolf spiders every fall. I would set up my tent right on top of my bed and sleep in there.  The Anti-Spider Chamber.

lol

[dragoncar]

I'm happy to hear the spiders have gone and you didn't have to resort to my insane drastic measures!

The (huge) daddy longlegs are still eating something, so I don't know if I"m home free just yet.

Any idea how to prevent this in the future?

I'm thinking climate controlled storage would be a starter, however expensive, but have you come across any straight up repellent to use before infestation?

A climate controlled storage should work, but would probably be overkill in most cases. I've never really had this kind of issue before with an outdoor storage. The cause is most likely the Walmart-sized fitness center being constructed directly behind my storage unit; tearing down the old shopping center there and erecting the fitness center probably dislocated an entire spider/bug ecosystem.

The issue with spiders is that a repellent/insecticide has to be sprayed directly on it in order to kill it, so laying anything down pro-actively won't help the spiders per-se. The exception would be glue traps; put them in corners and areas where spiders would enjoy, and they should help. Not to say repellents wouldn't be worth it; they'd kill  other insects, so the spiders have no food and stay away.

The real mustachian answer is likely: don't store your stuff, its all just stuff anyway, but I don't dig in that far!

I wouldn't consider that mustachian. All of the little things that make up a household add up (basic furniture, kitchen equipment, cleaning equipment, linens, seasonal clothing, etc); and after 4 years, I finally have most of it. Liquidating that just for an 8-month absence would be very anti-mustachian, as it would have all been needed again and the cost of the replacement would have far outstripped the cost of the storage.

I think theshmett is saying that the vast majority of that stuff isn't really needed to be happy in life.  How much did you miss your linens?

[cosmie]

Despite the willies that spiders provoke, I usually ignore non-venomous spiders alone or scoot them onto a piece of paper and evict them from my house, but if I had to clean webs on stored boxes, I'd feel pretty confident armed with a small Shop Vac (2.5gal or 5/6 gal model) for removing the unwelcome guests.

That's a fantastic idea! My vaccuum is modular and converts into a shop-vac like unit. I did that to clear off my balcony at home, but never thought to take it to the storage. >_<

And here I appreciate my spiders for eating the rest of the bugs in my house.  Unless it crawls right in front of me or the baby, then it dies. 

I appreciate them too, which is why the daddy longlegs were spared, but I'm not a spider aficionado so the other unidentified handful of species that were in there made me twitch. And teh fact that they're only in there to eat something, so there is a yet-to-be-found diet of bugs in there somewhere. All of which I don't want to track back to my place, which I've recently de-buggified.

I lived in a basement apartment that would get overrun with wolf spiders every fall. I would set up my tent right on top of my bed and sleep in there.  The Anti-Spider Chamber. 
 

That's horrific! :-o

I had to do something similar with fleas at one house I lived at (the unattended field/woods next to our property meant we could never get rid of them). My bed was ringed in baking sheets turned flea traps. Most effective flea traps I've ever seen; killed hundreds of fleas a week.

I think theshmett is saying that the vast majority of that stuff isn't really needed to be happy in life.  How much did you miss your linens?

Quite a bit. Sleeping on a felt-covered air mattress with just a flimpsy blanket isn't the most comfortable after a while. Re-using the same towel every day until you have enough dirty laundry to pay for a full load, not fun. Trying to get stuff out of the oven without a kitchen towel or oven mitt gets frustrating. Trying to dry your hands without anything but a single bath towel available. Those all start to add up to go and replace. And that's just linens, the cheapest of all of the things in there.

[theSchmett]

I didn't mean to be critical  about you storing your things, just waxing philosophical about minimalism, badly it seems. I'm on a personal quest to reduce the clutter in my own life, which I see as a mustachian enterprise, although Im not giving up bed linens or kitchen tools.

[Tami1982]

I do not know how well DE works for spiders, but it worked GREAT to keep ants out.  At the beginning of the summer I found little lines of big black ants marching into my house in the kitchen AND my bathroom.  Interwebs told me put a ring of DE around my house and clean my hard floors with vinegar.  Did it, never saw them again:)