What has eight legs and scares the crap out of most people?
Spiders.
Spiders choose to live in dark areas filled with lots of stuff – like your garage.
I actually don’t mind spiders, usually. Typically, I find wolf spiders or jumping spiders that eat other insects that would otherwise bug me (pun intended).
But here in Florida, we’re home to four species of widow spiders: Two different species of black widows, red widows, and brown widows.
After I saw the first black widow in my house, I was done. That’s where I draw the line.
But even if you don’t live where Black Widows call home, everywhere in North America has venomous spiders that we need to watch out for.
So how do you keep spiders out of your garage without resorting to burning your house down?
Here’s how to keep spiders out of your garage:
- Take away their hiding spots
- Clean out their webs and nests
- Eliminate their food supply
- Block their way in
- Use a spider repellent
I’ll go into each of these steps in more detail below, and it should take less than an hour to get rid of spiders and keep them out of your garage for good!
In a hurry?
If you don’t have much time, use the links below to quickly find the Best Spider Repellents and Killers.
-Best Spider Repellent: Miss Muffet’s Revenge
-Best Spider Killer: Raid House & Garden Insect Spray
-Best Way to Clean Out Spider Webs: Terro Cobweb Eliminator Spray
-Best Spider Fogger: Raid Max Deep Reach Fogger
How to Keep Spiders Out of Your Garage
The concepts behind keeping spiders out of your garage are simple, but you’ll still need to change a few things.
Once you’ve gotten rid of any live spiders you’ve found, follow these simple steps to ensure no unwanted guests move into your garage.
1. Take away their hiding spots
There are two things most garages have in common: clutter and dark corners.
In other words, a perfect home for spiders.
My garage used to be home to dozens of cardboard moving boxes where I was storing…well…junk.
So I threw out what I could and relocated the rest to plastic tubs that you can find at Target, Wal-Mart, or your local office supply store.
One of the other nasty places that spiders and other bugs hid was inside our golf club bags (which shows how often we used them).
If you want more info, here’s my simple method of decluttering my garage that won’t waste your entire day.
2. Clean out cobwebs and nests
Once your garage is clean enough to see everything, it’s time for the vacuum.
I do this at least once a year while cleaning and lubricating my garage door. In between, I quickly look at the trouble areas once a week while doing yard work. If I find any new cobwebs, I’ll usually blow them out with a leaf blower.
Not only will you need to suck up any cobwebs that you find, but this is also an excellent time to “clean” any live spiders that you find. Spiders have fragile exoskeletons that can’t withstand the pressure of a vacuum cleaner.
Be sure to look in the corners of the walls, underneath any furniture, behind garage workbenches, and on the garage door hardware.
3. Eliminate their food sources
If you’re focusing on how to keep spiders out of your garage, think about the other bugs first.
Spiders eat other bugs, so they make their homes where they have food. Eliminate a spider’s food supply, and it will quickly find another home (or die).
You just cleaned out the clutter in your garage, so now you have to keep it that way. Make sure food or leftovers aren’t lying around. It may seem like a tiny crumb to you, but it’s a feast for the insects that attract spiders.
After that, you will have to get aggressive with your other garage pests. That means using a fogger or bug bomb to eliminate your insect population.
If harsh chemicals aren’t your thing, there are natural alternatives, but they will usually take longer to see results.
4. Block spider’s way into your garage
Spiders can fit into tiny openings like cracks in your foundation or doors and windows that aren’t adequately sealed.
In my case, it was a slightly larger opening (ahem) that I had to fix.
Not only was this letting bugs and spiders in my garage, but it was sucking all of the cooler air out into the hot Florida sun.
Patch up any cracks in your walls, and make sure there’s a water-tight sealant on your walls. If you have larger cracks in your concrete floor, those can also provide entry points for spiders and other pests. Then use a fitted screen or another type of bug netting over any openings you can’t seal up.
5. Use a spider repellent
Earlier, we eliminated the spider’s food supply. Now it’s time to deal with the spiders themselves.
In the next section, I list some of the best spider repellents and killers I’ve used. You’ll find a good solution, no matter the size of your spider problem.
Whether you want to go with a high-powered commercial solution or take the natural route and make your own organic concoction, there are several different spider repellents to choose from.
Boric acid is a common insecticide that kills bugs when they ingest it. It’s absorbed poorly through the skin, but it can be harmful to pets (and humans) if they try to eat it.
The Terro Spider Killer is an aerosol that can kill spiders directly or be sprayed in cracks and crevices and used as a deterrent.
If you want to go the natural route, grab a spray bottle with vinegar, ordinary dish soap, peppermint oil, or other essential oils.
Spray the mixtures around the edges of the walls, corners, and where you found spiders or insects when you cleaned out your garage earlier.
Best Spider Repellents & Killers
Best Spider Repellent: Miss Muffet’s Revenge
I want to be clear about one thing right from the start: Miss Muffet’s Revenge does double duty. It kills and repels garage spiders, but it excels in keeping them away, so I put it in this category.
Our development was a brand-new construction. Shortly after we moved into our house, we started to see black widow spiders that were displaced.
I love spiders, but I draw the line at black widows.
After attempting a few products that didn’t work, I stumbled on Miss Muffet’s Revenge. After one application, the only spiders I found were dead ones.
The best part was that I never needed to spray again. Because I got rid of the black widow spiders that moved in, they couldn’t lay eggs, which also stopped future infestations.
My one complaint is that Miss Muffet’s Revenge only comes in a 64-ounce bottle, which is great if you have a large area to protect. One bottle will keep spiders away from your home and garage for up to 12 months.
But if you only have a small spider problem, you don’t need that big of a bottle.
That said, I can’t recommend Miss Muffet’s Revenge enough. If you want to protect your entire home, there’s nothing better.
