Spiders on Your Porch or Patio? 5 Easy Ways to Keep Them Off

(KMDL-FM) If you ever want to see just how flexible a human being can be, just watch them when they walk into a spider web. We all twist, turn, gyrate, and curse because while that tiny bit of webbing won't hurt us, our imaginations create the image of something terrifying. But are spiders really that bad?

shallow focus photography of spider web

I am sure some of you read the headline on this article and immediately switched into "Spiders are good; they eat mosquitoes and other pests". I don't disagree, but this article isn't about spiders; it's about your porch or patio and why spiders may or may not be the reason you don't choose to hang out there as often as you might like.

Sure Spiders Do Good Things, But There Is a Bad Reason Why They're at Your House

The obvious reason is that they have a food supply. Which means you have an abundance of insects, bugs, mosquitoes, gnats, no-see-ums, and a lot of other Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, Hemiptra classified creatures that you'd rather not share your outdoor space with. My dad was an entomologist; I had to learn all those scientific classifications and orders. You just need to know them as "bugs".

a street lamp lit up on a snowy night

And if you eliminate the bugs from your patio, the spiders will follow. And one more for the "spiders are harmless" crowd. Sure, you have spiders on your porch and patio during the warm weather months. Where do you think spiders go when it gets cold? The same place you do: inside. So, do you want spiders in your living room? Didn't think so.

READ MORE: Old Camping Hack Keeps Wasps and Flies Away Without Chemicals

One simple way to reduce the bug population on your porch or patio is to change your light bulbs. Most lights attract bugs at night, so if you're home in the evening, turn that light out. Or, switch to a yellow bulb. That attracts fewer bugs, which means less food for spiders.

Another way to make spiders leave your porch is to make them feel unwelcome. You can do that by sweeping down their webs every few days. Eventually, they will move to a location where their handiwork can stay intact and ready for catching food instead of having to spend their waking hours weaving a new web.

a cat sleeping on a bench

Clutter is not only the friend of the spider; it's the home of their food. If you remove clutter from around patio furniture, potted plants, decorative items, and the like, you'll find the critter population will see this as an invitation to leave. Mission accomplished for our purposes, right?

Finally, Something Essential Oils Can Actually Do That's Not a Scam

You can also enhance the aroma of your outside space by using natural repellents that stink to spiders and bugs but smell pretty good to us humans. Peppermint oil is a good one; lavender, citrus, and eucalyptus might not repel spiders, but they do repel a spider's food source. Usually, those oils mixed with water in a spray bottle will make a nice repellent that you can feel comfortable using in and around your porch.

And if you're worried about spiders in your house, now would be a good time, while it's still warm, to check the seals around windows and doors and make sure you aren't leaving any openings that a spider might use to come in from the cold this winter.

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And if your problem is less about spiders and more about love bugs and the paint job on your car. Try these wonderfully helpful solutions.