Question: What is the best way to get rid of spiders outside. Is there a spray we can use?

ANSWER: Spiders are not easily controlled, whether inside or outside the house. They are often abundant around the outside of the house, especially around outdoor lights. Insects are attracted to outdoor lights at night, and spiders are there to hunt for insects. Spiders are predators of insects. This is their food and this is where they will be most abundant and active. A program to reduce the spiders around the outside of the house should begin by reducing the presence of insects around the outside of the house.

When they occur outside the house in large numbers, such as on the siding or on the ornamental shrubs, try to reduce the use of outdoor lights. The most common spiders around the outside of houses are wolf spiders. These are the large and often ”hairy” spiders that are hunters and do not make webs. Next in abundance would be the web-making or orb-weaver spiders. Orb-weaver spiders are often bright yellow and black.

Spraying outdoors to control spiders is usually not effective because those that you may kill will be replaced from areas surrounding the house. There are many more spiders than we can possibly kill with the application of an insecticide.