Moving into a new house comes with all sorts of adjustments. I’ve lived on the coast for the last six years in an apartment that didn’t have any insects or arachnids. It was SUPER rare to ever see one inside. Moving inland to a house with all kinds of nooks and crannies means that I get to see them all the time. Oh boy!
But seriously now, I’m sick and tired of it.
I’ve only been here for three weeks and in that time, I believe I’ve neutralized more insects and spiders than I ever had to deal with during my tenure at my apartment. The biggest concern for me are the ants, which I’ve pretty well taken care of. But now, I’ve discovered a whole host of other creepy crawlies finding their way inside…somehow.
The other day, I left my skylight open (with a screen) and came home to find three wasps in the house. The bathroom and kitchen attract everything from moths and gnats, to earwigs and stinkbugs.
And let’s not forget about the spiders.
Pictured above is the spider currently hiding out in my bathroom. I’ve named him Tesla. Why? I don’t really know. Maybe it’s because he’s ridiculously smarter than all the other spiders I’ve dealt with. He pokes his little head out from a hole in the wall behind the bathtub and any time I try to get at him, he speedily runs back under cover.
As much as it pains me, I’m afraid he’s just got to go. I can’t be in the bathroom showering and have a grass spider lurking nearby waiting to pounce at any second. I realize that my fear of spiders and insects is genuinely immature…I can’t help it though. Spiders might even surpass clowns in terms of things that scare me. The difference is spiders can be taken care of easier than clowns. (As far as I know, there’s no Raid for a clown infestation.)
And so now, the battle has officially begun between me and Tesla the spider. He’s up two points on me. If I could find a way to seal that hole in the wall, that would be totally fine with me. I wouldn’t have to worry about killing him at all. He could just hang back there, chilling in his web, trapping other insects that might venture forth.
I’ve got another three spiders living outside the kitchen window under the eve and they’re whoppers! I don’t think I’ve ever seen spiders that big. It’s as if Aragog from Harry Potter, Shelob from LoTR, and Stephen King’s IT in its spider form all got together at my house to play cards or something. They are vastly approaching “face-hugger” size and I have yet to come up with a solution to rid them from the window. My hose doesn’t reach to that side of the house so I’ll need to formulate a better plan.
For those of you reading this that are spider-lovers (I know there’s a few of you), just know that if there were a way to safely capture and relocate said spiders in a timely manner, I would do it. Time, location, and size are key factors here though. The idea is that they are getting into the house and until I have the proper time to figure out how, I can’t spend hours hunting them down and dueling with them. The match between Tesla and I has gone on long enough. Sooner or later, it’s going to have to end.
If only the cat would help. He’s too distracted with the new couch.
I’ll report back once I’ve found a solution for the spider invasion.
Until then,
KSilva
The Kat At Night 
Unfortunately your house has a basement…spiders will never stop coming in
I know it’s a never-ending battle. There are ways that I can seal up other areas of the house to help combat it though. There are plenty of cracks and holes that they are coming in through that need looking at. And they LOVE hanging outside my kitchen door. I’m trying to discourage them from coming inside through windows and doors in the kitchen and bathroom, mostly.