Your home’s outdoor space is a crucial area to entertain friends and family — and make memories that will last years to come. Unfortunately, when spending time outdoors you may run into unwanted guests such as insects and spiders.
Luckily, there are numerous ways to repel spiders from your outdoor space to keep it in pristine condition season after season.
I have compiled a list of ideas you can take to keep eight-legged critters out of your hair and ensure you have an excellent area to enjoy.
There are plenty of ways to repel spiders from your outdoor space and keep your entertaining space free of eight-legged critters that are sure to ruin any night.
If you’re in a hurry, simply follow the following guidelines to keep spiders away from your outdoor space.
- Keep the area clean and free of debris.
- Fill in any cracks and holes with caulk.
- Get rid of excess leaves and store campfire wood away from your porch.
- Use natural deterrents such as Eucalyptus.
- Use yellow lightbulbs in your light fixtures to keep other insects at bay.
Preventative Measures
Naturally, the best place to start repelling spiders from your patio is to make sure they don’t set up shop to begin with. There are a few preventative measures you can employ to make sure your area stays arachnid-free.
Clean potential hiding spaces
Spiders love to create webs in easy to reach crevices that are not touched frequently. Taking the time to clean these areas and pick up yard waste reduces likelihood of spiders making your backyard into a home.
Simply grab a broom or vacuum, get rid of unwanted webs, and keep the area as clean and clutter-free as possible. This will reduce your chances of encountering any unwanted arachnids.
Need ideas for where to clean? Patio furniture, birdbaths, grills, and general clutter provide a dark, perfect spot for spiders.
Another area that many people forget to clean is their gutters, which can be a prime habitat for the eight-legged foes.
Repair cracks or holes with caulk
Holes or cracks in your patio, foundation, or siding are perfect hiding places for spiders to live. To remedy this situation, simply take caulk and fill in the holes accordingly.
Keep the area free of firewood & leaves
People all around the world love fire pits, and I’m sure that you’re no exception!
However, one problem with having an outdoor fire pit is finding a place to store your firewood.
As I state in the article above, I do not recommend keeping your firewood pile near your patio. It can attract creatures of all shapes and sizes, including spiders. Find a spot for your outdoor woodpile away from the outdoor area.
Additionally, keep it off the ground and somewhere clean and dry — like a firewood rack.
Since spiders love dark places to hide, unkempt piles of leaves are perfect places for them to take up residence. Taking the time to use a leaf blower will keep your patio clean and also repel spiders from your outdoor space.
Natural Approaches
If you’ve taken the steps above and still find yourself with a spider problem, it may be time to employ some light natural repellants. This will help make your outdoor space less hospitable and ensure that the outdoor spiders won’t stick around for long.
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is one natural way to repel spiders from your outdoor space without using pesticides or harmful chemicals. Simply grab dried Eucalyptus and place it on the perimeter of your patio.
For the more ambitious, plant Eucalyptus to use as a border around your patio.
Spiders hate the smell of this more fragrant herb and will stay away from any area that smells of Eucalyptus.
Salt and Water
You can also combine household salt and water to create a homemade spray that will keep spiders at bay. Spray your mixture around the border of your patio as well as along the edges of your home to keep spiders away from your outdoor spaces.
Citronella Candles
A common cure for keeping mosquitos and gnats away from you while you are enjoying the outdoors is by burning citronella candles, but what many people do not realize is that it also works to keep spiders away as well.
Crushed Garlic
Another way you can repel spiders, and other pests naturally are by crushing one or two pieces of garlic and adding it to a spray bottle with garlic.
Using this spray to spray around the border will deter many pests, including spiders, from joining you while you enjoy your outdoor space.
For me, this has an added benefit — I absolutely love the smell of garlic. Although others may find it less appealing.
Cedar Chips
Cedar Chips a natural deterrent to a multitude of pests and is one of the great ways to repel spiders from your outdoor space.
You can grab a bag of cedar chips at your local home and garden store and use them to cover your garden beds, which will help your plants thrive and keep pests away.
Dichotomous Earth
Finally, you can repel spiders by sprinkling dichotomous earth around the base of your house and around our flower beds.
Dichotomous earth is typically made up of dried algae and provides adequate nutrients to your garden while at the same time keeping pests away.
How to Keep Spiders Away from Your Outdoor Lights?
You took the time to string up patio lights or install new lights on your back porch. But what you didn’t think about is the eight-legged friends who would soon call them home!
Often the outdoor lights that we all install on our patios typically attract insects that spiders love to eat. Research suggests that you can install yellow bulbs to prevent spiders from creating webs in outdoor light fixtures.
Yellow bulbs have proven time and time again that they keep unwanted insects and pests at bay, which in turn will have spiders moving somewhere else to find a snack.
Final Thoughts
No matter what time of year you like to enjoy your outdoor patio and setup, you always want to enjoy your time without worrying about pests or spiders joining you throughout the night.
I just covered a number of ways to repel spiders from your outdoor space. However, there’s always the chance that I missed something. Do you have an approach that I didn’t cover?