By Wayne, Owner, Wayne’s Pest Extermination

What I Walked Into

August is when I usually get more calls about spiders across the Greater Ottawa area. By late summer, they’ve had plenty of time to grow, and homeowners start noticing them more often inside the house.

A couple of weeks ago, I got a call from a homeowner who said they were finding spiders almost every day.

It started with a few webs in the basement and around the garage. Then they began seeing spiders near the windows, in the corners of the living room, and even in one of the bedrooms.

The home was a detached house with a finished basement and plenty of trees and shrubs surrounding the property.

The homeowner had been vacuuming the webs and using a store-bought spider spray, but new webs kept appearing every few days.

That is usually when people reach out. When cleaning no longer seems to make a difference.

The Problem

One thing I always explain is that spiders usually show up because something else is attracting them.

During my inspection, I found webbing in several quiet areas of the home, including the basement ceiling corners, behind stored items, and around the garage windows.

Outside, there were heavy shrubs growing close to the foundation and several window screens that had small tears. Those openings allowed insects inside, and where insects gather, spiders usually follow.

I also noticed outdoor lights being left on every evening near the back patio. Those lights attracted flying insects throughout the night, creating an easy food source for spiders around the doors and windows.

The homeowner's biggest concern was that the number of spiders seemed to be increasing every week.

That is something I see fairly often during August. As spiders mature, they become much easier to notice, even if they have been around the property for some time.

The Process

I started with a complete inspection of both the inside and outside of the home so I could see where the spider activity was coming from and what was allowing it to continue.

Inside, I removed active webbing from the main problem areas and carefully checked the basement, garage, storage spaces, window frames, ceiling corners, and other quiet areas where spiders commonly settle. I also looked behind stored items and around less-used parts of the home where webs can build up without being noticed.

Outside, I inspected the foundation, landscaping, windows, doors, siding, and exterior lighting. I paid close attention to small gaps, damaged screens, and areas where insects were gathering near the house.

The treatment focused on the areas where spiders were already active, along with the spots they were likely using to enter or hide around the property. This included the exterior perimeter, window and door areas, garage entry points, and other sheltered spaces around the home.

We also talked about reducing the conditions that were attracting insects around the property. Shrubs were trimmed back away from the siding, damaged window screens were added to the repair list, and I suggested adjusting the outdoor lighting around the patio during the evenings.

The goal was not simply to remove the spiders that were visible. It was to reduce the insect activity, hiding spots, and entry points that were giving them a reason to stay around the property in the first place.

The Outcome

Within a few days, the homeowner noticed that new webs were no longer appearing in the usual places.

The basement, garage, and window areas stayed much cleaner, and the daily spider sightings dropped off quickly.

About a week later, I came back to check everything again. The treated areas remained clear, there was very little new webbing, and insect activity around the exterior lights had also decreased.

The homeowner mentioned they were no longer checking every corner of the room before walking in. They could use the basement and garage without expecting to find another spider waiting in the corner.

That peace of mind is usually what people appreciate most after a spider job.

DIY Advice

Here are a few things I recommend homeowners do to help prevent spider activity:

1. Vacuum webs as soon as they appear instead of letting them build up.

2. Keep basements, garages, and storage areas organized so corners are easier to inspect and clean.

3. Trim shrubs, plants, and tree branches away from the foundation and exterior walls.

4. Check window screens for small tears and repair them before insects start getting inside.

5. Seal gaps around windows, doors, utility lines, and other exterior openings.

6. Reduce unnecessary outdoor lighting at night, especially near doors and windows.

7. Keep insects under control around the home because spiders usually settle where food is available.

These are simple steps, but staying consistent with them can make a noticeable difference.

Professional Insight

Many homeowners think spiders suddenly appear in late summer, but in reality they have usually been around the property for weeks.

August is simply when they become easier to notice because they are larger and more active.

Most spider problems are actually insect problems first. If insects have easy access to your home, spiders will eventually follow.

When I inspect a spider issue, I spend just as much time looking for the conditions attracting insects as I do looking for spiders themselves.

Once those conditions are corrected, spider activity usually becomes much easier to manage.

Closing

August is a good time for homeowners in the Greater Ottawa area to check basements, garages, storage areas, and the outside of their homes for signs of spider activity.

A few webs may not seem like much, but they often tell you where spiders are becoming established.

If you're noticing more spiders around your home this summer, it is worth dealing with the problem before it continues into the fall.

– Wayne

[https://waynespestexterminationottawa.com/spiders]