Spiders

Come share your ideas for sprucing up your property.

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hallencra

This is my first Manufactured Home. I must say that I love it and wish I had moved to one earlier. I have been working outside all summer to do some much needed landscaping (photo's will be posted) and am just now getting a chance to think about the inside.

My question though is this. There are so many spiders under and around my home that they are driving me crazy. None have come into the house as of yet, however they are everywhere outside. They are also in the soffits and they poo down over the sides of the house. I have washed so much spider poo off my house this year. I just can't believe it. I'm reluctant to spray an oil based spider killer on the home because it might stain.

Any ideas? How about those mothballs under the house? Do you think that would help. My home is tied down to a cement slab so there is no dirt under there but tons of spider webs.

Thanks .....

Herbert
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Robin
Posts: 83
Joined: Thu Aug 30, 2007 10:00 am
Location: Epps, Louisiana

We've had our share of pests, inside, outside and underneath our mobile home! Every summer we have a time with fireants getting inside, I guess because it's cooler in than out!

My husband mixes up concentrated bug killer from Wal-Mart in a sprayer and sprays the sides of our home, at the base of the skirting, the flower beds around the mh and underneath it as well. I'm pretty sure it's Malathion. I've not noticed any staining, but ours is gray.
Guest

I had tons of co-habitating spiders when I first moved into this neglected 1972-built mobile home. Once I vacuumed the window wells and removed all of the residual webs, they have never re-entered except for a very few that have obviously lost their way. I spray the perimeter and belly with Ortho Home Defense in spring and fall now and do not have any problems with spiders or any other insects inside my home.
I do, however, have a lot of spiders outside my home. They hang out in the top rail of my skirting and build webs in every nook, corner and cranny that is available. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as long as they stay outside. It means they are feeding on other nuisance pest insects before they enter and become a problem inside my home. Spiders have voracious appetites for other creepy-crawlies even worse then themselves. They are without doubt the best natural insecticides on the planet. For that reason I put up with their presence outside my home. We have an understanding. I will not deliberately "nuke" them with insecticide unless they deliberately cross that border from outside to inside. So far they have kept the truce and I keep up my end of the bargain by directing the spray nozzle around the ones that are out sunning themselves on a warm fall day. Every spider I spare is preventing other, much more nasty things from entering my home.
hallencra

Thanks for the advice. I guess for now I will see if I can tolerate them. As I said, they are outside not inside. I just am not happy with them pooping all over the side of my house. Well not all over but enough to upset me.

Thanks again,

Herbert
User avatar
Robin
Posts: 83
Joined: Thu Aug 30, 2007 10:00 am
Location: Epps, Louisiana

You can't very well let spiders deface your home. I'm all for living and letting live, too, but sometimes you have to do these things!

We live in a very rural area, so spiders have plenty of other places to live around me - they usually have big, beautiful webs on our porch this time of year, so we have to be careful walking out in the mornings. But I couldn't and wouldn't tolerate the "poo" situation you seem to have.

Good Luck!!
Guest

If you're really adamant about getting rid of them, perhaps a product like the one in the link below would get them off your home. I would tend to think they would just move into untreated areas where you really don't want them though. Like under the belly or inside. Keep in mind that anything more than an occasional chemical response may be doing you more harm than them in the long run.

http://www.pestproducts.com/cobweb_eliminator.htm
mist1953

A friend of mine told me about Tempo, its sold at Farm Services. She lives on a farm and has big problems with spiders even the bad ones the brown recluse (I'm not sure I spelled it right). She said ever since she's used it she has no problem with spiders or any other insect for that matter. They sell it in quart containers and you have to dilute it.
Guest

Tempo is simply a broad-use insecticide that you have to mix yourself with water. It is sold in farm stores because most farmers use a lot of insecticide and it is more cost-effective to buy that way and mix it on site. Any of the commercially sold insecticides, like Spectracide Bug Stop or Ortho Home Defense Max will do the same thing and are pre-mixed and available at your local hardware store for $10-12 a gallon with sprayer. Much more convenient and safer than messing with insecticide in powder or concentrated liquid form.
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