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• Identification (including map) and control of brown recluse spiders
• Identification (including map) and control of hobo spiders

Sticky traps are made of cardboard with a sticky material coating on one surface. They are placed along baseboards, behind furniture where wandering spiders tend to move. Spiders are trapped when they walk into the trap and try to cross the sticky surface. No insecticides or attractants (pheromones) are needed.

Spider traps can be purchased online here or homemade. The simplest homemade trap is a piece of cardboard folded into a triangular tube about four inches long and three inches high (see layout drawing above). Coat the bottom inside surface with Tangle-Trap Insect Trap Coating™.

Tangle-Trap Insect Coating™ is a non-toxic sticky material that is available as a thin aerosol spray, a thicker "brushable" liquid, or as a thick paste. It is widely used in forestry and greenhouse pest management to construct traps and barriers for a variety of insect pests.

Constructing the spider trap

Spider traps are very simple to make. Cut a piece of cardboard (cereal box works great) about 4"x9". Draw lines at 3" intervals along the long side (see drawing above right). Paint the middle section with Tangle-Trap sticky coating. Use the "brushable" type formula of Tangle-Trap. If the cardboard is too absorbent, coat it with a water-based polyurethane before the Tangle-Trap. Fold the sides up and tape along the top seam making a triangular "tube". You're done!

Be sure to use the "brushable" type of Tangle-Trap (available here) because the aerosol spray is a bit too thin and the paste type is too heavy. The cost of brushable Tangle-Trap is about $25 per 8oz which is enough for a lot of spider traps. Fortunately the same sticky coating material can also be used for other homemade insect traps for pests like fruit flies, ants, and cockroaches. If you need only a few traps it is cheaper to purchase them ready-made.

Once made you can place your traps with the long side against baseboards, behind furniture and inside cabinets because spiders usually travel near the base of walls. Use several traps per room. When they encounter the trap opening spiders will wander inside and get caught in the sticky material. You can dispose of used or dirty traps in household trash.

Venomous Spiders in North America Only a very few spiders are really dangerous. This article discusses three species that occur in North America.