Buggy Basement

Hello,
Go to your grocery store in the produce section. Look for something called a hedge ball. Its green bumpy and non edible. Animals wont eat it so no worries there. Put it on a piece of aluminum foil and put it in a corner or on a shelf, get a few and spread them out. Let it rot until almost liquid form. Trust me this works, that is what they are for. As it decays it gives off something the bugs do not like. I have used this for years this time of year and at the cabin it really works. If the store does not have this ask them to get it in.

Do you have a dehumidifier running in your basement? When I see bugs in our basement I turn our dehumidifier on/up and it takes care of the bugs.
-Jo

We have a MAJOR problem with spiders of all sorts because of our homes' location, and the only thing that works is to vacuum them up a couple times a week. You also have to make sure to use an edge peice to go along all the 90 degree angles between the ceiling and walls, and to get along the baseboards. It's amazing how many spiders you will see hiding once you get up close to those areas. They also really like the corners inside your windows, underneath furniture, and corners inside closets. Trust me, if you just keep up with them you will see a huge improvement. Even one room that you neglect (like a mechanical room or basement) can allow the spiders to proliferate your entire house.

We use Pramitol... It works really well. I'm not sure that it is for personal use. My dad is a farm chemical distributor, so we get it from him. But I would definitly try an insecticide spray that you can get from Home Depot or wherever.

I heard that a bleach/water mixture sprayed around the perimiter of your house (inside and outside I guess) will keep spiders and other bugs out.

Spiders like to eat bugs so the more bugs you have the more spiders you have. Also the moisture thing as mentioned before. Make sure your humidity level is around 40% or so because they love moisture. Another thing I had read was that spiders don't like lemon. They taste with their feet so if you use Lemon Pledge or something like that they won't like it. I go to Sam's Club and stock up on Lemon Pledge. I have even sprayed it outside on the kids play stuff and it seems to work. I also sprayed the window ledges and around the foundation of my house. Be careful not to get it on the floor though because it's slippery :o)
Another thing I was told by the Orkin Man was that any trees or bushes that touch your house are giving bugs a road to your house. Spiders love cardboard so we have replaced all boxes with plastic buckets. Also go outside with some caulk and fill around everything that comes into your house. You would be surprised how many things don't get sealed off by the contractors. And some of the stuff melts or rots away and needs to be replaced.
I try to stay away from pesticides because I have a daughter that was born with a genetic disorder called Angelman Syndrome. I have since read that all of these pesticides like Diazanon, which we used on our yard, are causing problems with kids, especially ones whose Mom's were pregnant during the Summer and got exposed. I guess if you had to use something outside around the foundation I might use an indoor spray on the outside of the house. That way it's something safe enough to use indoors but you are using it outside.
Hope this helps,
J.

We have the same problem! What we did to solve it was a bug bomb... you have to cover the furniture with plastic, and if you have toys the kids play with, I would just remove them all together...also, leave the house for about 2 to 3 hours, and I would come home alone (if you can) to air it out it wont smell, but just incase there are some bomb fumes lingering...BUT! it works! you can go anound and see all kinds of spiders and other bugs croaked lying on the floor! we get ours at menards, I believe it is called Fogger.. in a green box, it comes with 3 bombs, and its only like 7 bucks.You should only need one in the basement. It is kind of a hassle, but I highly recomend it for long time use, rather than just raid, or other sprays and things.

We had a terrible problem with ants in a rental we were in a couple years ago. We made sure not to bring any food down there but they were so bad that one day I found a trail of them leading to a tube of toothpaste in the medicine cabinet - it was so disguisting. I used the bombs that you set off in your house - I did the whole house. You have to be out of your house for the day but they worked great for the rest of the summer. I do not remember how they affected the other bugs but I am sure I bought the kind designed for ants. We bought two six packs and they were fairly inexpensive and did the trick. Good Luck!