Funnelweb Spider Control: How To Get Rid of Funnelweb Spiders

Funnelweb Spiders are a spider species that commonly venture indoors and make themselves at home. If you haven’t gone into your attic or basement for a while and find a load of cobwebs to navigate through, it’s safe to assume that you have a Funnelweb Spider present. The web making of this spider can create a messy appearance in your home and make it look like a haunted house on Halloween.

Funnelweb Spiders are versatile when it comes to the places where they enjoy living. They have been known to spin webs in grass, bushes, wooded areas, gardens, small burrows, corners of buildings, under rocks, and in dark areas inside homes. Their diets consist of small insects which they trap inside their funnel-like web. You can usually tell you have an infestation of Funnelweb spiders from finding webs around your home.

If you have an issue with Funnelweb Spiders invading your home, our DIY Funnelweb Spider treatment guide can help. Our pest control experts have compiled the step-by-step instructions below which are guaranteed to eliminate this spider species quickly if you follow the directions carefully using our top recommended products.

Identification

The first thing you should do in any pest control plan is identify what exactly you are dealing with. Carless identification can lead you to using the wrong treatment methods, costing you time and money. While there are many families of spiders referred to as funnel web spiders, this DIY guide will focus on North American spiders in the Agelenidae family, which includes common grass spiders and the hobo spider. 

• While there are multiple species of Funnelweb Spiders that vary in appearance, in general, they are brown or gray colored, have very hairy legs and body parts, and have markings that are darker in color than the rest of their body. These spiders have 8 eyes that are roughly the same size. 
• Ranging from about 1/5th of an inch to about 3/4ths of an inch in body length.
• The distinguishing trait of Funnelweb Spiders is a tail-like structure on their backside which shoots out web silk used for spinning their webs. They are called Funnelweb Spiders from their webs looking funnel-shaped which they use as both a mechanism to trap insects and to create a hiding space to ambush bugs to eat. For example, grass spiders have elongated thoraxes and long tail-like structures at their rear ends known as spinnerets. House-infesting tunnel weavels have rounder thoraxes with a more patchy pattern.

If you're having trouble with identification, contact us and we will assist you in correctly identifying the pest and offer you our best product recommendations for the target pest. 

Inspection

Inspection is the next phase of any good pest control plan. Once you know what your pests look like, check around your property to confirm the funnelweb spider prescence or find hotspots of activity.

Where To Inspect

Funnelweb Spiders enter homes to look for insects to eat and will hang around dark corners on their funnel shaped web that are rarely frequented and out of sight where the spider waits for its prey. For this reason, take a close look at your garages and sheds. Clutter in basements and attics are also a perfect place for spinning webs. Other spots where webs can occur are on fallen branches, rocks, underneath eaves, within bricks, and on outdoor lighting.

What To Look For

Aside from the spiders themselves, you'll want to look for areas where their funnel shaped cobwebs have been formed as these are areas where they are most active. Also note any entry points spiders or other pests can use to invade your home as this may be indicated with high prescene of pests. Be cautious, as funnel web spiders will bite if disturbed. The bites from North American funnel web spiders are not lethal, but they can still cause a mild, lasting pain.

Treatment

Funnelweb Spiders are not a huge threat compared to other more notorious spiders but they can be annoying with the web-spinning they do. To successfully drive them out of your home, you will need to treat for both the spiders themselves and their food source, insects. Using a Cobb Webb Duster to wipe away and destroy spider webs and spider eggs, a treatment of Supreme IT insecticide and laying out glue traps to capture the pests will do the trick along with exclusion and decluttering practices. 

Prior to chemical application, remember to first read all product labels and follow their application instructions, and stay safe by wearing personal protective equipment. 

Step 1 - Declutter

Reduce the clutter in and around the home. The more junk you have laying around, the more likely a spider will make themselves at home. They like hiding up under a bunch of junk in storage areas and in dense areas where they can hide in or up in attics where they can live undisturbed and secluded.

Tidy up your home, get rid of unnecessary things you are hoarding and especially clean up your storage spaces like closets and the garage and basement/attic.

Step 2 - Knock Down Cobwebs with Cobb Webb Duster Head

If you happen to see any cobwebs during the cleanup, we advise you to knock them down using a duster head such as the Cobb Webb Duster Head. The Cobb Webb Duster head has special small nylon bristles on its head which is perfectly designed to remove Funnelweb Spider cobwebs and any spider eggs they've laid.

If cobwebs are located in hard to reach places, you can attach the threaded end of the Cobb Webb Duster head to an extension pole and get better reach to knock the cobwebs down.

Step 3 - Exclusion

Address any entry points you have found such as cracks, gaps, and holes where spiders and other pest may enter in and around your home. Tight cracks and crevices may be filled with caulk, while larger voids may need to be stuffed with copper mesh. 

You may also need to repair any torn screens of affix brush or repair rubber seal on door and windows. 

Step 4 - Insecticide Treatment

Indoors, we recommend treating all your baseboards, around windows and doorways and any other crack or crevices where you think Funnelweb Spiders might be entering or hiding with Supreme IT Insecticide.

Supreme IT is a professional-grade insecticide concentrate that is labeled to control more than 70 pests, including spiders. Supreme IT is especially effective because it kills and repels insect pests, and has a residual for up to 90 days.

To start, measure the square footage of the area of your home you wish to treat to determine how much Supreme IT you will need. For spot treatments, apply 0.33 to 1 fluid ounce of Supreme IT per 1 gallon of water to cover 1,000 square feet. Using a 1-gallon pump sprayer, fill your sprayer about halfway with water, add the 1 fluid ounce of Supreme IT, and then fill the sprayer the rest of the way to the 1 gallon mark. Screw the lid on tight and shake the sprayer to mix the product well. After a few pumps of the handle, you're ready to spray.

Use a coarse, low-pressure spray to spot treat where pests hide. First, apply the mixed solution indoors as a crack and crevice treatment around entry points like doors and windows. This includes baseoards, around water pipes, behind and underneath appliances, and anywhere else pests may hide. You will also need to treat in attics, basements, and garages. 

Outdoors, apply our solution as a perimeter treatment by spraying alongside your homes outer perimeter by spraying 3 feet up the structure and 3 feet out. When complete, allow the solution to dry which will then create a residual that lasts up to 90 days to treat funnelweb spiders and 70 other types of pests. 

Step 5 - Set Up Glue Traps

After chemical treatment, we suggest you set up glay trays such as Solutions Pro Glue Traps to monitor for further funnelweb spider activity. This will easily trap insects that slipped by your Supreme treatments, further diminishing the spiders' food source.

Simple remove the traps waxy paper seal and lay the trap flat and flush against the wall near where you have seen pest activity, but make sure the the trap is out of reach of children and pets. 

If you, a child, or a pet become stuck on the Solutions Pro Glue Traps then you can use cooking oil to loosen the traps adhesive. 

Prevention

Prevention is essential to keeping funnelweb spider population and activity in check. Refer to the following prevention methods to prevent funnelweb spiders from returning.

• Practice good housekeeping and implement a regular cleaning routine and organize your storage spaces will do wonders in preventing spiders from stepping foot in your home again.
• Address any moisture issues you may have indoors. Pests are attracted to moist rooms, so repair any leaky pipes, air condition issues, drain any standing water, and dry your sinks out every night.
• Rake the lawn regularly to ensure any debris is removed to prevent hiding places for funnelweb spiders. Keep the firewood properly stacked away from your homes foundation to further remove these conditions.
• Continually retreat with Supreme IT as a perimeter treatment around the outside of your home to discourage Funnelweb Spiders or other insects from returning. Supreme IT has a 90 day residual effect, so it is recommend to spray quarterly to keep pests away year-long.

Key Takeaways

What are Funnelweb Spiders

• Funnelweb Spiders are a relatively harmless spider that can be a nuisance in homes because of their tendency to build funnel-shaped webs.

How To Get Rid of Funnelweb Spiders

• Our top recommended ways to treat for Funnelweb Spiders are knocking down cobwebs with a Cobb Webb Duster, a treatment of Supreme IT Insecticide around your home's exterior and indoor cracks and crevices as well as placing down Solutions Pro glue boards to capture them.

Preventing Funnelweb Spider Reinfestation

• To prevent Funnelweb Spiders, keep your home free of clutter and place a perimeter treatment of Supreme IT Insecticide around your home to form a protective barrier.