How To Get Rid Of Brown Recluse Spiders | Do-It-Yourself Pest Control

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Brown Recluse Spider Control Steps

1. Eliminate Favorable Conditions

Get rid of Brown Recluse spiders by first eliminating their hiding areas' favorable conditions. We listed these in the ‘Inspect’ section above.

2. Inspect and Clean

It is important to inspect, clean, and exclude as much as possible before using residual insecticides to eliminate brown recluses.

Inspect for signs of a brown recluse spider infestation and either vacuum them or spray them with a contact aerosol like CB 80 Aerosol.

3. Apply Insecticide Sprays and Dust to Get Rid of Brown Recluses

Because this species of spider is so dangerous, we do not recommend trying to kill brown recluse spiders naturally. To kill brown recluses, we suggest using a residual insecticide as a perimeter spray such as Onslaught Fastcap, Suspend Poly Zone, Demand CS, Avesta CS, and Cyper WSP.

This will remove as many insects as possible that would enter your home and serve as food sources for these spiders. You can also spray this inside on baseboards, in corners, under furniture, and in other areas where they are living.

Just spraying these residual insecticides is not enough to get rid of brown recluses, however. It needs to be accompanied by inspection, cleaning, and dusting to thoroughly kill brown recluse spiders.

We have a kit with Demand CS and PT 2llL in one kit called the Residential Spider Kit. Use the Demand CS outside (it may be sprayed inside as well), and the PT211L with its crack and crevice tip is used to spray into hiding places where the liquid can not reach.

Use dust like Cimexa Dust or D-Fense Dust. Use Cimexa Dust or D-Fense Dust in all of their hiding places discussed below, such as wall voids, light switch plates, and behind baseboards.

This insecticide dust will stay in place for six months to a year. Several handheld dusters can be used with insecticide dust.

5. Kill Brown Recluse Spiders Outside

Besides spraying the perimeter, dust in voids, openings, and cracks and crevices found on the building's exterior.

Dust any cracks and crevices with Cimexa Dust or D-Fense Dust before sealing the openings. These dusts and sprays will repel brown recluse spiders and kill them if they come in direct contact.

Read further spider control procedures outlined at: Get Rid Of Spiders

6. Monitoring with Spider Traps

For sticky traps, the Trapper LTD Insect Glue Boards will catch spiders and monitor the population. Another excellent brand of sticky traps is The Monterey Spider Trap. It will help you kill brown recluses and serve as a monitoring tool.

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How to Identify a Brown Recluse Spider

Before you learn how to get rid of Brown Recluse spiders, you'll need to learn how to identify them.

Brown Recluse Spider - Regions

With appearances similar to wolf spiders, Brown Recluse spiders can be found in the southern, western, and midwestern United States, especially Arkansas, Kansas, Illinois, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Missouri.

Brown recluse spiders are very adaptable and may be active in temperatures ranging from 45 to 110 degrees F.

Brown Recluse spiders are also known as, fiddleback spiders, violin spiders, and recluse spiders.

Brown Recluse Biology

To get rid of brown recluse spiders in your home, it's helpful to understand more about these creatures.

The female lays eggs in off-white silken cases from May through August. They can lay 300 eggs in their lifetime. Spiderlings emerge in 24-36 days, leaving the egg sacs with slow development (10-12 months), and are influenced by weather conditions and food availability.

Brown Recluses reach maturity in 10-12 months. These spiders can survive as long as two years without available food or water.

• Brown recluse spider adults are soft-bodied, yellowish-tan to dark brown, and uniform-colored spiders.

• 6 eyes; most spiders have 8 eyes

• Oval shaped abdomen

• The adult body varies from 1/3 to 1/2 inch in length. With the legs, it can be an overall size of 1-inch diameter or greater(Body not more than 1/2").

• No spines on legs with long thin legs that are uniformly colored.

• If the body is a different color than the legs or the legs have different colors, it is not a Brown Recluse spider. If there is more than one color on the abdomen, it is not a Brown Recluse

• Brown Recluse spiders have only fine hairs; if they have thick spines on their legs, they are not recluses.

• The brown recluse spider has a distinctive dark brown violin-shaped mark, with the neck of the violin pointing towards the abdomen.

• The tail end has no markings.

• They are sometimes mistaken for wolf spiders, but differ because of their distinctive violin-shaped mark.

Inspection and Exclusion of Brown Recluse Spiders

To successfully get rid of brown recluse spiders and prevent them from returning, you need to know where to look. Below we have listed our top tips for inspecting your home and garden for signs of a brown recluse infestation:

• Make sure to wear long sleeves and gloves during the inspection.

• Always wear long sleeves, shirts, and gloves when you inspect for Brown Recluse Spiders. Since they stay in recessed and hidden areas, use a flashlight.

• They may be found in cluttered basements or closets. Brown recluse spiders live in dark recesses, inhabiting stored clothing, old shoes, toys, books, boxes, furniture, stored linens, undisturbed towels, sheds, etc.

• They can take shelter under furniture, appliances, carpets, behind baseboards and door facings, or in corners and crevices.

• Look for cobwebs, particularly around clutter, under insulation, and inside wall voids. Their webs are irregular and loose and only used during the day for holding eggs. Their webs are hidden and used for retreats.

• It is made of silk spun in a recessed or hidden area, such as behind a mirror or wall void. They do not have their webs in open areas. The Brown Recluse is a hunting type of spider and not a web-hanging spider.

• They don't use webs for hunting and capturing food. These spiders wander at night and hunt for their prey. Their diet consists of other insects such as cockroaches and small insects. Many times, if you see a web hung on a ceiling, along walls, around shrubs, etc., they belong to another type of spider.

How to Prevent Brown Recluse Spider Infestations

1. Eliminate outside locations for brown recluse spiders

Brown recluses may be found in storage houses or buildings where items are stored. You will likely find them in sheltered corners among the debris, woodpiles, piles of rocks, logs, debris, leaves, and under loose bark or stones.

2. Inspect and clean inside locations for brown recluse spiders

Inside the home, brown recluses are usually found indoors, in bathrooms, bedrooms, closets, garages, basements, and cellars.

Brown Recluse spiders may be found in forced hot air heating, air conditioning, and often above-ceiling ductwork. They can be found harboring in or around the ductwork or registers.

3. Seal Cracks and Crevices

As much as possible, seal openings, cracks, and crevices in and around your home to prevent brown recluse spiders.

Look for cracks and crevices in window sills, cables, wires, around pipes, and door thresholds. Remove the entry points and you will have a much higher chance of getting to repel spiders for good.