11 Ways To Keep Spiders Out Of Your Shower And Bathroom

Have you ever walked into your bathroom to get ready for the day only to find an eight-legged friend leaving you feeling buggy and uncomfortable? That’s certainly not how I like to start my day! So how does one keep spiders out of their shower and bathroom? 

Spiders take shelter in showers and bathrooms as they prefer dark and damp environments. You can keep spiders out of your shower and bathroom by closing pipes and openings in the wall, replacing window and door seals, caulking baseboards, cleaning with white vinegar and using spider repellents.

While spiders serve an incredible purpose in the natural world, and even around our home, that doesn’t mean they’re welcome in the bathroom. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the eleven best ways to keep spiders out of your shower and bathroom. 

How Do I Prevent Spiders From Getting Into My Bathroom?

This is a common question asked by many, and for good reason. If you aren’t sure how to identify spiders, then there is not going to be any real desire to see them hanging out in your bathroom. For a lot of people that can be too close for comfort. 

That is where prevention becomes your best friend. If you want efficient pest control, especially with keeping spiders out of your shower and bathroom, then merely put down some repellents and insecticide. 

Seal Around Pipes And Wires Where Spiders Can Squeeze In

This seems like an obvious one, but it can be one people miss. When trying to make sure that your bathroom is secure from spiders, you have to seal off any open places around the wall. 

This means getting up under your sink and using caulk or other methods to close off any gaps that spiders can squeeze through. Even something as simple as steel wool can fill in a gap well enough to keep spiders out. 

Replace Seals Around Windows, Doors, And Exteriors

More often than not, the spiders that we see getting into our homes and making their way into our bathrooms, are coming from outside. They can get in through cracks in the walls, or by merely walking in through the front door. And no, they don’t bother to knock!

With age, the seals around our windows, doors, and exteriors can dry up, crack or become damaged in a myriad of different ways. Replacing the seal can stop the problem before it starts. 

The seal works to keep the outside right where it belongs, on the outside! If you take this measure first, it’s going to limit what you are seeing in your bathroom.

Caulk The Baseboards

This is another one we don’t often think about when it comes to preventing spiders from entering unwanted places. The baseboards of your home can be an easy place for spiders to slip in and out of. 

If you are seeing spiders in your bathroom, especially places like your bathtub or scurrying along the floor, then it might be time to check this area for cracks or damage. Using a bit of caulk to seal these areas up is going to greatly reduce what can get inside where it doesn’t belong. 

Clean Thoroughly

Cleaning is so important when it comes to pest control on any level. Spiders love having dark places to hide and things to nest under. If you stay on top of your cleaning, you are less likely to have to deal with spiders!

Dusting, organizing, and moving things around within your bathroom will disrupt the hiding places that make spiders happy. By keeping yourself on top of how clean you keep the space, you are going to make sure that spiders aren’t happy hanging out. 

Cleaning is such a simple, routine task, but one that many people might overlook when they think about pest control! 

Natural Repellents That Keep Spiders Out

A lot of people have an aversion to chemicals in the home, preferring to use methods that are safer around children and animals. Luckily, when it comes to keeping spiders out of your bathroom, there are plenty of alternative, chemical-free options.

White Vinegar Repels Spders

White Vinegar is a natural repellent for several kinds of pests and it works just as well when it comes to spiders! While it is harmless to humans, spiders are highly sensitive to the acetic acid in white vinegar. I

It’s an easy solution too! Mixing equal parts vinegar and water in a spray bottle, you can use it around your bathroom as a pest repellent. And if you use vinegar as a cleaning agent, you’re getting two jobs done at once! 

Citrus Keeps Spiders Away

As much as spiders hate vinegar, they are just as sensitive to citrus. Just keeping a bowl of citrus fruit around can be enough to chase spiders off, and if you use natural citrus oils as part of your regimen when it comes to pest repellent, you’ll not only have a fresh-smelling bathroom but one that ends up being pretty spider free! 

You can even add to your vinegar spray by soaking orange peels in the vinegar overnight, which you can then turn around and use the same way as the normal white vinegar spray mentioned above. 

Repel Spiders With Peppermint

Mint is one of those plants that is commonly known to shake off pests. You can take peppermint oil and add it to water, spraying it around your home and bathroom, and it will keep spiders away! 

You can even find products on the market that rely heavily on peppermint oil, labeling themselves as natural repellents that do not use any harsh chemicals. If you aren’t into preparing oils yourself to use around your home, you can always look into these options. They are widely available in supermarkets, stores like Lowes and Home Depot, and online. 

Another great trick with mint is using fresh mint in satchels or mint tea, and hiding it in your drawers or cabinets in the bathroom to get rid of spiders that could be hiding in those dark spaces. 

Finally, you can even plant mint outside around your home and that can create a natural barrier around your home. 

You can read more about all the scents that spiders hate here.

Other Natural Ways To Repel Spiders

While it’s not a shock that these three might be at the top of the natural repellent list for a lot of people, it’s good to be aware that there are quite a few options that you can look into. These options are going to help expand what you are capable of doing without worrying about harsh chemicals in your home.

Diatomaceous Earth

This is something that many people wouldn’t think of to keep pets out of their bathroom and shower. This natural element is made from the fossilized remains of a certain type of algae called diatoms, and their shells are made of silica. 

This particular method is great because spiders hate it! The reason is that the Diatomaceous Earth will actually absorb the water from the spiders and ultimately eliminate them.

You can use DE by mixing it in water and spraying it throughout your home and inside cabinets or other dark places where spiders might be hiding!

Cedar Blocks And Cedar Chips

This is another unique way to keep out spiders. Supposedly, our eight-legged friends dislike cedar and placing chips in hidden spaces in your bathroom can help chase them off. 

The upside? You’ll have a nice woody smell that will linger around your bathroom while getting the security of not having to deal with any spider surprises.

Ultrasonic Spider Repellents

Ultrasonic sound creates disturbances that cause spiders and other pests to leave the area. Usually, these are plugged into walls or set down like any other pest trap. 

The pulsing sound is at a pitch we cannot hear, and can help clear your bathroom of those spiders that keep lurking around. The pitch of the plugin is high frequency, around 65,000 Hz, and is supposedly high enough to chase off pests. 

The unfortunate part of this particular method is that there are not nearly as many effective studies as there are with other methods. However, the upside is that there are plenty of five-star reviews for different products online that claim that it does work. It would have to be a ‘try it and see for yourself how it goes’ sort of method. 

The upside to this particular method is that it is rather cost-effective. While many sprays and other types of pest repellent have to be reapplied every few months, the Ultrasonic plugins are can last up to ten years.

To note, I’m not a huge fan of ultrasonic repellents but sometimes they can work.

Use A Spider Repellent Spray

Repellant spray is a method a lot of people turn to when they start seeing spiders in their bathroom and shower. There are so many options on the market that it’s hard to narrow down to which is the best, although they all do pretty much the same thing. 

The spray will kill spiders on contact, and the residual left behind will keep spiders out of the space. This is usually done by lining the baseboards and spraying inside cabinets and corners.

One spray that comes to mind is Miss Muffet’s Revenge, which you can also find on Amazon. It is highly rated and has a low odor that will keep you from scrunching up your nose once you spray it inside your bathroom. 

While sprays are a commonly used method of pest control, including against spiders, it doesn’t hurt to reach out to a local professional if you aren’t certain about what is going to be the best to use indoors. Any pest control expert is going to be able to give you some extra details to aid you in your search for the perfect product to use.

If you’re interested, you can also take a peak at our guide on the best outdoor sprays for spiders.

That’s A Wrap!

While getting spiders out of your home can seem like a never-ending task, especially when they start hiding out in your bathroom and popping up in your tub, there are many ways to take care of the problem. 

How you go about it is going to ultimately depend on you. At the end of the day, however, if you find yourself still unsure of which direction you think would be best for your home like I mentioned earlier, you can always call on an expert. 

From natural remedies to harsher chemicals, you are going to be able to handle the spiders that end up hiding out in your bathroom. It can be startling to see them sitting around inside your shower, but they don’t have to be there and you are capable of pest-proofing your home to make it more comfortable for yourself and those around you. 

References:

Pinkston, K., & Wright, R. (1994). Spiders: brown recluse, black widow, and other common spiders. OSU extension facts (USA)

Scoones, I. (2007). Sustainability. Development in practice, 17(4-5), 589-596

Kard, B. (2017, March 1). Household Pest Control – Oklahoma State University

Gouge, D. (2009). How to Bug Proof Your Home. College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Arizona (Tucson, AZ)