Preventing Spider Eggs: Everything to Remember

As they say, there’s no place like home, and for many pests like spiders, that home is your property. If a large number of spiders haunt your halls more frequently than usual, this might mean you have an infestation.

So how do you prevent spider eggs? Such small eggs can be challenging to see by the naked eye, but determining the breeding patterns of spiders can help you know where they lay their eggs. The next step: Find and kill their eggs.

Where Do Spiders Lay Their Eggs?

In general, spiders can be seen in dark, damp, and secluded areas. These places make suitable habitats as they can nest here without disturbance. The moisture in these areas also helps increase the rate of maturity for eggs. Indoors, spiders usually make nests in places that aren’t visited often, like the attic, garage, or basement. They’re also known to create nests in corners of high ceilings or whatever area there may be clutter. Outdoors, you may find them in woodpiles, building overhangs, under stones, and organic debris like leaf piles. In short, spider eggs can be found in concealed places anywhere near your home. 

To narrow down your search, you might want to look for a spider web with small sacs of webbing that are cream-colored and round or oblong-shaped. 

The regular female spider's egg sac holds about 100 eggs, but some large spiders can produce a sac that holds up to 2,000 eggs. Aside from nests themselves, spotting little spiderlings crawling around is an obvious sign that there may be a nest nearby. 

The most common house spider species like the cellar spider and wolf spider are typically found indoors, while the garden spider, yellow garden spider, huntsman spider, jumping spider, hunting spider, crab spider, widow spider species, jumping spiders, and mygalomorph spiders are mostly found outdoors in gardens and lawns. The species that live outdoors are generally seen during late summer and fall. Known as a vicious predator always ready to catch its prey, these spiders feed on flying insects, birds, roaches, tarantulas, crickets, grasshoppers, lizards, frogs, and rodents.

When Do Spiders Lay Eggs?

If you have spiders in your house, this indicates that they can adapt to the environment and climate that humans can tolerate. This likely has an effect on the egg-laying times of many species, meaning they probably lay their eggs all year-round. 

What Do Spider Eggs Look Like? 

A typical house spider's egg is round, small, and usually white or cream-colored. These eggs may be covered inside of a silk egg sac made by the mother spider as a means to incubate the breed. It's good to note if the egg sac has any spikes or bumps. The egg sac of a brown widow spider is round with distinctive spikes, while the egg sac of the black widow spider is round and smooth.

Learn More: American House Spider

How Long Does It Take Before Spider Eggs Hatch?

It typically takes between two to three weeks for spider eggs to hatch. This period varies based on species and season. Some spider mothers protect their egg sac until the spiderlings emerge, while others attach the sac to a spider web or a plant or other structure. Moreover, some spider moms take the egg sac wherever they go on their abdomen, while some carry it behind them, attached to their spinnerets. 

What Happens When the Eggs Hatch?

The first thing spiderlings or baby spiders do after emerging from the spider egg sac is to spin a dragline and disperse. These newborn spiders are pale and move furiously fast. Some of them usually come back to the sac, protected by their very protective spider mother, while others are just left on their own. These young spiders then grow and molt into an adult spider and seek the opposite gender to lay more eggs. This means if you don't deal with the spider eggs in our house, you’re urging them to infest. 

Depending on its species, the average lifespan of a spider is about 1 to 2 years. Those that live the shortest are among the spiders that lay their eggs in the fall. They dedicate their lives to prepare a safe place for the next breed.

How to Get Rid of Spider Eggs

Once you’ve located spider eggs or spider egg sacs and webs, you can move forward with treatment.

Suck them with a vacuum cleaner

One of the easiest ways to kill spider eggs and spiderlings is to suck them in with a vacuum. You may want to use a straight mouth since it works better with the webs. Remember to secure the dust bag and throw it out immediately after you've sucked all the spiders in. See to it that no surviving spiderlings can escape the bag. You can also use a duster to remove webbing. By discouraging spiders from building webs, you'll reduce the likelihood of spiders laying egg sacs and repopulating your home with more spiders.

Pour boiling water on them 

Spider eggs, even those protected by webs, can’t withstand boiling water. For minor infestations, just pour hot water on the spider nests.

Swat them 

For non-venomous spiders, you can swat them with a fly swatter and collect their egg sac using a medium-sized plastic bag. Use the said bag and put it in your hand as you slowly grab the spider sac. Cling the sac lightly and carefully to avoid squishing it and forcing the spiderlings out. After that, steadily pull the plastic bag away using your free hand. Release the egg sac and tie the bag securely. Lastly, dispose of it in a bin that's feet away from your property. Be careful, however, if you’re dealing with poisonous spiders like black widow and brown recluse spiders, as swatting them may provoke them to sting. 

Exterminate using essential oils

Essential oils are one of the most proven wasp and insect repellents. You can mix peppermint oil, lemon oil, tea tree oil, cedar oil, olive oil, or orange oil with water and pour them into a bottle. Spray this mixture on an egg sac. The more oils you apply, the more effective the spray will be in killing the eggs.

Spray them with bleach and water  

One of the fastest ways to eliminate pests is bleach. This household compound is so toxic that it kills arachnids and insects in less than five minutes. Sprinkle spider eggs and spiderlings with a mixture of water and bleach. The spiderlings can move quickly, but their soft exoskeletons won't be able to withstand the mixture. Just ensure that you’re wearing protective gear and clothing.

Utilizing all these methods makes spider control more effective. Once you’ve eliminated spiders and their eggs from your home, you have to be certain that they don't reinfest.

Keep the Spiders Away Permanently

Spider eggs can become a huge problem quickly when the eggs hatch and an infestation of spiderlings occurs. If you’ve taken measures to control the crisis and it persists, or you want to keep these invaders away permanently with the help of professionals, Pinnacle Pest Control offers a range of reliable and earth-friendly solutions to match your needs. Contact us today and request a free quote.