Outdoor spiders are hard at work, devouring home and garden pests such as ants, flies, mosquitoes, aphids, and thrips. It’s estimated they kill 400 to 800 million metric tons of prey worldwide annually. “They’re generalist feeders,” says Angela Chuang, a postdoctoral research associate at the Citrus Research and Education Center at the University of Florida. “If they can capture it and it’s small enough for them to handle safely, they’ll eat it.”

Unlike mosquitoes and flies that can carry diseases, most spiders rarely transmit communicable diseases to humans. They’re generally shy and would rather hide out than interact with us. But with 3,400 species in North America, sooner or later one will end up in your home. “If there’s a point of entry, they may wander inside,” says Elmer Gray, entomologist and researcher at the University of Georgia. “When you find them indoors, they’re likely looking for a meal or a mate.”

Besides the occasional random spider that scuttles indoors, some spiders can live in out-of-the-way spots in your home, such as along ceilings or in basements and behind clutter. “The most important thing to remember is that spiders will live indoors if there’s a source of food,” says Chuang. If the food— ants, termites, cockroaches or whatever—are eliminated, spiders will find somewhere else to live.

Read on to learn how to keep spiders away, including the best natural ways to keep spiders out of your house:

Common types of spiders you may find indoors include:

·  Cellar spiders, which have long spindly legs and hang out in the corners of ceilings, garages, sheds, basements, and attics

·  Common house spiders, which are found in nooks and crannies inside the house, usually within a foot from the ground

·  Southern house spiders, which are large-bodied with uniform brown coloration; they like to hide in crevices in crumbling brick and wooden slats and build webbing around the holes of their retreats.

·  Hunting spiders, which accidentally end up indoors because they’re searching for food or a mate; they don’t live long because they dehydrate quickly inside our dry homes and don’t have prey to hunt.

Spiders have venom to subdue prey, but the majority have fangs that are too tiny to puncture human skin. In North America, few types of spiders have bites that cause concern, says Chuang. This includes brown and black widows and brown recluse.

Black widows and brown widows are usually found in wood piles, garages, around mailboxes, and in areas of the home that aren’t commonly cleaned. They’re found widely throughout the South.

Brown recluse spiders are found mostly in the South and Southwest and are often confused with other brown spiders. They like to hang out under woodpiles, leaf litter, and crawl spaces. Indoors, they hide in cluttered areas, boxes, or basements.

Most of these spiders only bite if they're accidentally grabbed or disturbed when they’re hiding under something in our yards or homes, says Gray. However, the bites can cause pain, skin sores, and muscle cramps; if you think you were bitten, try to save the spider for identification, and contact your doctor if you have concerns.

Here’s how to reduce the chances that spiders will come inside your home:

·  Remove firewood, bricks, boards, tarps, or vegetation up against the house, which shelters insects that provide food for spiders, says Gray. Make sure to wear gloves and long pants and sleeves when doing cleanups.

·  to reduce easy access to the home, says Gray.

·  if they’re gathering outdoors near outside lights or on grills or patio furniture.

·  stored in the shed or garage before putting them on, says Gray.

·  by sealing up entry points. Check for holes in screens and gaps in weather stripping around doors and windows. Replace worn door sweeps, and the brushy piece on the bottom of exterior doors, says Gray.

·  “Cleaning and vacuuming goes a long way to minimizing spider populations,” says Gray.

·  in spare rooms, basements, and attics. Spiders love to hide out in quiet, seldom-used spaces.

·  or store items, such as holiday decorations, in plastic-lidded containers.

·  When buying used furniture or large items in boxes that may have been stored in a garage or warehouse, says Chuang.

Research is minimal, but no commercial or DIY repellants have been found yet to keep spiders away. That includes many different kinds of essential oils. One study showed lemon oil, a favorite Internet myth, had no effect, says Chuang.

If you find a spider indoors, get a deep-bottomed container and guide the spider into it, sliding a piece of cardboard on top. “Most of them have a dropping instinct, so if you gently touch them from above, they are likely to ball up and drop straight into your container,” says Chuang.

Release them some distance from the building. “If you simply heave them out of your doorway, there’s a chance they will run for the closest shaded structure, which will bring them straight back into your home,” says Chuang.

If you’re not feeling generous, vacuum them up, says Gray. Or just smash them with a flyswatter and clean up with a tissue. If it’s a widow or recluse type, be careful when disposing of the vacuum bag.

First spotted in Georgia in 2013, these colorful two to three-inch wide yellow and black spiders look scary, but they’re timid and tend to run away from people. Native to Japan and Asia, the spiders have slowly spread across parts of the Southeast including South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Researchers are investigating whether this species may negatively impact native spiders, says Chuang. In the meantime, if you find one of their giant webs, which can span more than 10 feet, remove it with a rake or broom if it’s in an area such as a walkway or porch. You may need to squash the spider, too, because they’re likely to rebuild in the same spot. But if they’re in an out-of-way area, it’s fine to leave them be.