Have you found a brown widow spider crawling in your house? Then you probably want to know how to get rid of brown widow spider?
You can use vinegar or essential oils to get rid of brown widow spiders. Besides, clean your house with a vacuum cleaner to remove all the spider webs. It also helps to eliminate brown widow spiders. If still brown widows show up, using insecticides is the best solution.
We understand that getting rid of these crawling pests is your top priority now. Keep scrolling to know everything about brown widow spiders and how to repel them.
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What does a brown widow spider look like?
The brown widow spider is one of the five widow spiders in the USA. As its name suggests, a brown widow spider is of a brown or tan color. The species is about one to two inches in size.
Female brown widow spiders have an hourglass-like shape underneath their abdomens. Male brown widows have black and white geometric shapes on top of their abdomen.
Brown widow nests are not common in every area in the US. These spiders are mostly found in southern states, including South Carolina, California, Texas, Florida, etc.
Brown widow vs. Black widow spider
As they look pretty the same, you may confuse black widows with browns. The most identical difference between a brown and black widow is their colors. Both have bulbous abdomens, but as their name says, one species is black, and the other is brown.
Do brown widows live in houses?
Brown widow infestation in houses is rare, but yes, these spiders live in houses. You may also find them outside your home.
Brown widow spiders mostly like to live in dark corners. That’s why most of the time, you may find them in the corner of your kitchen and storage rooms.
Is a brown widow spider dangerous?
As you have noticed spider infestation in your home, you may be worried if a brown widow spider is dangerous.
No, brown widow spiders are not dangerous, and they will try to avoid contact with humans. They prey on other insects. Brown widow spiders are unlikely to bite you but may do it if threatened.
Is the brown widow spider poisonous?
Now you are probably thinking, is brown widow poisonous? No, brown widow spiders are not poisonous like black widows. But the spider bite can cause mild pain; especially for kids, it can be more painful.
Therefore, it’s best to get rid of the brown widow spiders ASAP if you have children at home. If you are worried about spider bites, we have provided some instructions about what you should do if a spider bites you at the end of the article.
How to get rid of brown widow spider: Five effective ways
Now let’s get back to the main topic. You can repel brown widow spiders from your house in several ways. Some of the methods will also help you to kill spiders.
Below are five ways to get rid of the brown widow spider:
[Don’t forget to check the tips to prevent spiders from entering your house in the future, which we will explain later in this article]
- Diluted vinegar
Vinegar contains acetic acids that can kill spiders on contact. First, mix equal amounts of white vinegar and water. Then put the diluted vinegar solution into a spray bottle. Spray directly on the brown widow spider to kill it.
After you spray the vinegar on the brown widow, it may run away. But don’t worry, if you successfully spilled the mixture on its body, the spider will die soon.
The best thing about this solution is that white vinegar is available in most houses. This diluted vinegar solution can kill almost every type of spider. In fact, vinegar is popular for getting rid of many insects and pests in houses.
- Essential oils
Essential oils are strong spider repellent. The strong scents of the oils make brown widow spiders uncomfortable, which will cause them to leave your house.
However, not every essential oil is effective against brown widows. It has been seen that peppermint oil works best against spiders.
You can use peppermint oil in several ways to repel brown widows. First, dip a cotton ball into the oil, and leave it in the places where the spiders roam mostly. The spiders will avoid these locations and leave your house eventually.
You also can make a diluted solution like vinegar. Mix peppermint oil with water and spray it directly on spiders to repel them. Peppermint oils are also commercially sold as insect repellents. You can use them too to get rid of spiders and pests.
[Caution: Peppermint oil can cause allergic reactions. If you have someone in the family who is allergic to peppermint, avoid this method.]
- Vacuum cleaner
Vacuum up brown widow spiders with a cleaner is another effective method to get rid of spiders. Most young brown widows will die easily, but the adult ones may survive even inside the cleaner. That doesn’t matter as you can release them far from your home.
First, clean your whole house with a vacuum cleaner, especially the places where you find spider webs. Unclean houses attract pests, so cleaning will be helpful to keep spiders away.
During and after cleaning, try to find brown widow spiders. Whenever you see one, use the vacuum cleaner to suck up the spider and get rid of it.
- Spider traps
Spiders use webs to prey on insects. Interestingly, you can do the similar with the spider. Using traps is an effective way to catch and kill or remove brown widow spiders from your house.
Although many types of spider traps are available on the market, glue traps work best. Stick the traps where you see spiders crawling. When the spiders move on traps, they will get stuck. Then you can catch the spider and kill it or leave it outside, far from home.
You can use TERRO Spider and Insect traps. It traps and kills brown widow spiders effectively. The user experience of this product is also amazing. This trap is also effective in getting rid of other pests.
Keep in mind that if you notice only one or two spiders in your house, using traps may not be helpful. That’s because the spider is unlikely to crawl in the same places. In that case, you can follow any of the other four methods.
- Insecticides
The most efficient method to get rid of the brown widow spider is to use insecticides. These products are specifically made for killing spiders so that you can rely on them without any worry.
From our experience, using spider killer sprays is the most convenient to use. Harris Spider Killer Odorless Liquid Spray works excellently. It comes in small spray bottles and is best for home use.
However, if you have a huge spider infestation in your house as well as in the yard, garden, or lawn, you can use Ortho Home Defense Insect Killer. It is effective against brown widow spiders, fleas, roaches, ants, roaches, and ticks.
Not to mention, if you have pets at home, you may want to use a pet safe spider repellent.
How to get rid of brown widow spider egg sacs?
If you notice any spider egg sacs in your house, you should take action ASAP to get rid of them. Or else, you will have hundreds of spiders in your house soon.
Although people suggest squashing spider egg sacs with shoes, we do not prefer that. It can often result in splitting some of the baby spiders around the house. But if you can do it safely, it’s a great idea.
The best thing is to vacuum the spider web and sacs, then throw them outside the home. You also can catch the egg sac by hand and throw it away or spray insecticides on it.
How to stop brown widow spiders from entering the home?
You can sit quietly after eliminating brown widow spiders from your home. There’s a probability that they will come again. You can take some necessary steps to ensure that doesn’t happen.
The following are some of the ways to stop brown widow spiders from entering the house:
- Keep your house clean: Spiders are more likely to infest in houses that are dirty. Regularly try to declutter and clean every corner of your home to keep brown widow spiders away.
- Seal cracks and holes: The brown widow spiders can enter your house through small holes or cracks in the door or in walls. Locate and seal all the openings to prevent spider entry.
- Remove piles of leaves around your house: Cleaning only the inside of the house is not enough. You also need to keep yours outside the house free from piles of leaves and garbage.
These were some easy ways to keep spiders and also some other pests away from home.
How to treat a brown widow bite?
Brown widow spider bites are not as dangerous as black widow spider bites. These spiders do not inject venom, so there’s nothing to worry about. But you may feel temporary discomfort due to the bite.
Clean the area with warm soapy water and pat with a dry cloth to treat a brown widow spider bite. Use an anti-itching cream to reduce discomfort such as pain or itching. If you see any sign of infection, see a doctor ASAP.
Final words
We hope the information on how to get rid of brown widow spider was helpful. The methods are simple and easy to follow.
If you have any more queries about repelling spiders or any other pests, let us know in the comment section. We will reply to you with a proper solution ASAP.