Your home is your castle and if, despite your best defenses, spiders and other creepy insects have invaded it’s understandable that you’d want to put a stop to it immediately. The first step to ending their home invasion is to figure out how they got inside. Here are the most common methods of entry that they use – knowing what they are can help you to put a stop to it!

  1. Spiders target weak lines of defense around windows and doors

Do a thorough inspection of your windows and screens. Make sure your screens fit properly, with no gaps that’ll allow bugs to sneak inside your home by squeezing between the screen edge and window frame.

Also look for gaps around the outside of windows and doors. Sometimes these are due to a poor caulking job. It’s also possible that the caulking was done properly initially, but over time it’s deteriorated. Both of these scenarios can lead to gaps and cracks that bugs will use as a highway into your home.

  1. Spiders often hitchhike

Have you ever heard surprising stories of some exotic poisonous spider from a faraway tropical country hitching a ride on a bunch of bananas and getting inside a Canadian home?

The good news is that that’s rare. But before you relax too much, you need to be aware of the following far more common scenario.

It turns out that our local spiders, silverfish and other insects are also able to hitch a ride into your home via boxes, local produce, or items from outdoors that are being brought indoors. Before bringing any of these things inside your home, inspect them thoroughly to make sure an uninvited guest isn’t hiding on them.

  1. They accept the open invitation of cracks in your foundation

Cracks can do more than let water seep into your home. They can also be used as a kind of secret passageway into your home by creatures small enough to use them. The problem is twofold:

  1. Cracks are great points of entry for insects that are simply exploring in search of food or a safe spot to live.
  2. Any water that seeps into your home via these cracks results in dampness that can attract water-loving insects.

Silverfish, centipedes, mold mites, earwigs, and sow bugs are some of the species you might find if you have cracks in your foundation. Interestingly, spiders may be helping you out a bit by eating some of those very insects you’re trying to get rid of.

Seal up those foundation cracks. And build up the soil level surrounding your home so that it slopes gently downward away from the foundation, thus preventing insect-attracting water from building up around the exterior.

  1. They use stacks of wood and piles of leaves next to the walls of your home as a starting point

Avoid storing piles of firewood or allowing piles of leaves to collect next to your home. These are insect magnets for good reason: they provide a dark, sheltered place to live. The trouble is that if you allow these things to attract insects right next to your home, they may explore further and take advantage of weaknesses in your home’s defenses to get past your foundation walls and invade the interior! Find a new place to store your wood. And regularly rake up any leaves that collect around your home.

Spiders and insects are tactical – outsmart them to stop them!

If you have unwanted spiders or other insects inside your home, now is the time to take steps to put an end to their visit. With careful attention to repairing cracks and gaps on your home, plus, ensuring you don’t inadvertently attract bugs via having wood and leaf piles too close to your foundation, you’ll be well on your way to stopping bugs from getting inside your house.

Have spiders, silverfish or other insects in your home? If you’re in the Burlington, Oakville, Milton or Hamilton Ontario region and would like a fast quote for insect extermination services, call Halton Wildlife Services today!