Getting rid of spiders (outside)
I have an outdoor spider issue at my house in New Brighton (SE Calgary) that I need some ideas to help resolve.
For the past year that I've owned this house, the exterior has been infested with spiders from approximately April to October. The problem seems to get worse through the months of June-September.
These spiders range in size with the largest having a body the size of a dime (plus leg span). They have sticky, but not necessarily large webs that they love stringing in doorways, stair wells, and all over my siding, especially at night. They seem to be localized to my siding, stairs railings.
I was just outside letting the dog out and happened to look upwards at the second level of my house, it seems the higher up we go, the larger the spiders get. There was about 5 spiders, large enough that I could see them quite clearly with the naked eye.
The outside of my house is starting to look like a smashed spider battlegrounds. Every time I see one I squish it. They seem to "rear back" when you go to kill them... Almost like they want to attack the object that you're attacking them with. So far, the problem is only with my house, they've left the garage, which I built last summer, mostly alone.
I've tried hosing down the house to wash away the webs but they seem slightly unaffected by water. Any spiders that I kill seem to be replaced within 24 hours by a new spider...
Any ideas? Any pesticides or traps have to be pet friendly as I have a retarded curious beagle.
Thanks for the help!