EXPERT ADVICE
“When the weather gets cool, the cockroaches are much less active,” says Smith. “They almost go dormant, even though they don’t necessarily die out.”
There’s nothing worse than having an uninvited guest taking up residence in your home. After all, it is your space and you want to feel comfortable in it. However, when the unwelcome visitor is a spider (or several), mild annoyance can quickly turn into terror.
Learn how to keep spiders away from your home with this article that covers ways and techniques you can use to repel the eight-legged creatures if they dare to venture too close.
How to prevent spiders from entering your home
The first step is to remove any existing cobwebs or spiders from your home and dispose of them securely. Read our article on how to get rid of spiders to find out how to do so as effectively.
With the spiders eliminated from your home, the next step is to prevent spiders from entering your home in the future. Some steps you can take:
Make sure doors and window screens are tight-fitting; seal any gaps if necessary.
Get rid of spiders in your basement or garage with Mortein Kill & Protect Crawling Insect Control Bombs designed to eliminate spiders and other household insect pests.
Check around the outside of your home in areas where spiders might establish themselves before straying into your home, such as around pool pumps and aircon compressors, under the eaves and behind downpipes. Keep these areas, treated with an outdoor surface spray such as Mortein PowerGard DIY Indoor & Outdoor Surface Spray or Mortein Kill & Protect Crawling Insect Surface Spray Barrier, both of which remain effective for up to six months. It is also recommended to use one of these products to establish a spider-free perimeter outside your home by spraying doorways and any other entry points.
How to deter spiders from your property
While the steps above can help stop spiders from entering your home, keeping them away from your property entirely might be an even better solution. Considering the visceral reaction many of us have on sighting a spider, it might be a surprise to learn that the best way to deter spiders away from your property is simply by cleaning it regularly.
You’d also want to declutter your backyard, garden, shed and patio, including trimming back any overgrown bushes near the house. In fact, make sure anything that spiders could hide away in are placed as far away from your home as possible. This means keeping objects such as piles of wood, spare roof tiles and bricks, and wheelie bins, and other objects well away from the walls to minimise opportunities for spiders to nest in close proximity to the house.