I've got a serious spider situation going on in my basement, and I'm thinking about using a shop vacuum to clean them up along with their webs. But I'm worried: will the vacuum actually kill them, or am I just creating a scenario where the toughest spider survives and might crawl back out later? Also, if anyone has better suggestions for getting rid of these spiders, I'd love to hear them!
3 Answers
I totally recommend a strong vacuum because spiders usually don’t stand a chance once they're sucked in. However, if you want to be extra certain they’re dead, you could spray some bug killer in the vacuum bucket before you vacuum. Just be careful not to spray down the hose while it's on because that's a fire hazard. You'll still want to clean it afterwards, but at least you'll know they won't be coming back!
Using a shop vac should generally be lethal for the spiders, especially if it's a powerful one. I've tried that with smaller vacuums and had a couple of spider survivors that somehow managed to hang on. Just make sure you use a strong model, as the weaker handheld ones might not do the job. It's all about that suction power! Oh, and definitely consider tossing some mothballs in there before vacuuming to ensure they don't make it.
Haha, I can just picture them forming a super spider team inside there. Scary thought!
If you're looking for a natural way, consider using peppermint oil! It doesn’t kill spiders but repels them, which might prevent them from getting into your basement in the first place. You can buy it as a spray or mix it with water and spray it around. If you do decide to vacuum, I’ve heard it works better to attach a dust separator to your shop vac to keep webs from messing up the filter. It makes the cleanup a lot easier afterwards!
Great tip! Just need to make sure I don’t breathe in that vacuum exhaust afterward.