A garage gym is an excellent private facility containing all the workout equipment you can use to stay fit. With one in your house, you won’t have to wait your turn to use any of the gym equipment.
However, a private garage gym comes with some downsides. One of these is unwelcome guests in the form of spiders.
In this article, we will walk you through some practical steps you can follow to keep your garage gym spiders-free permanently.
Sighting spiders dangling around your garage gym can be irritating. If you’ve noticed the activities of these arachnids in your gym, there are well-researched and effective methods to shut your door against them. Some of these include:
- Declutter and rearrange your gym.
- Keep garage lights on and outside lights off.
- Seal up all cracks and openings in your garage gym.
- Use natural spider repellents like mint.
This is only a quick summary. We discussed nine techniques in the article – how they work and tricks to get the best of each.
Below, we will discuss nine traditional and non-conventional ways to keep spiders out of the garage gym. You will learn the science behind how the methods work and the conditions that influence their effectiveness. So, read through carefully and apply the techniques that best suit your situation.
9 Ways To Keep Spiders Out of Garage Gyms
Spiders love to hang around in garages because they can easily find something to eat there. But, this can cause a load of discomfort to you as you carry on fitness activities. So, there is an urgent need to keep your garage gym spider-free.
Below we have compiled nine tested and trusted strategies you can employ.
But before you proceed to check out and apply any of them, note that whether or not a remedy will work for you depends on many factors. These include climate conditions and spider species infesting your garage gym.
So, stealthily go through the nine spider-deterring techniques below and follow the best ones that suit your situation.
1. Keep Your Garage Gym Clean
Spiders’ main attraction is food – if they think there is food in any location, they invade it. Spiders love to eat bugs, and bugs hand around in trash and dirty places.
If your garage gym is dirty, with overflowing trash, you can soon expect to see a spider crawling around. So, clean your garage frequently to discourage bugs and eliminate a spider’s food supply.
Sweep up crumbs and remove all food leftovers. These may seem insignificant, but a crumb is a happy meal for arachnids like spiders.
Take out the gym garbage, stagnant water, and anything that will attract bugs. Cleaning is the first step before applying any other remedy.
Regular cleaning may sometimes fix the problem and save you the bucks you would have spent buying spider repellants. For an extra touch, you can wipe down the gym with bleach or a mix of vinegar and baking soda.
Bugs are less likely to return to disinfected spaces. This will then discourage spiders from making a home in your gym.
2. Declutter and Rearrange Your Garage Gym
For many people, a garage is a quick dump for items they do not need inside the house. They use their gym as a storage facility for gym equipment, old boxes, clothes, toys, or even books.
While this makes some sense, in terms of freeing space in the house, it can create more problems for you. For one, a cluttered garage allows bugs and spiders to hide and feast on storage items.
It is a bad idea to store boxes on the bare garage floor. Certain insect species, like cockroaches and silverfish, love to eat paper and cardboard materials.
Anywhere one or two roaches are gathered, you are bound to see one or more spiders hanging around. Garages have two things spiders love – dark corners and clutter.
You need to declutter the space to discourage these insects from coming around your garage gym. For this, you can buy air-tight plastic storage containers. Then, arrange your garage clutter inside the containers and store them properly.
These plastic containers make it difficult for spiders and insects to find secluded hiding spots. Plus, it is easier to spray insecticide around plastic containers without damaging your belongings.
3. Inspect Your Garage Gym for Cracks and Openings
Spiders and other small pests can fit into tiny holes and openings in the wall. So, after cleaning and organizing your garage, the next step is to inspect windows and doors for gaps.
Use high-grade caulking, adhesive strips, and water-tight sealants to close any openings. Alternatively, you can use bug netting or a fitted screen over areas where sealants won’t work.
Most garage doors have a narrow strip made from foam, rubber, and vinyl that runs along the bottom. This is known as weatherstripping and helps to keep insects, water, and air gaps out.
If you have one installed on your door, inspect the stripping to ensure it still works. Spiders can come in if there are tears or openings in the weather stripping.
Weatherstripping is easy to replace. You can buy a new one cheaply at online marketplaces or the local hardware store.
4. Use Spider Repellents
Another way to drive spiders out of your gym garage is to use natural or chemical repellents. You can make a natural solution from white vinegar and hot water. The process is straightforward – mix the vinegar and hot water in a spray bottle and diffuse in your garage gym.
Another effective remedy involves mixing rubbing alcohol, neem oil, white vinegar, and some essential oils. These include tea trees, lavender, cedar, clove, lemon, and eucalyptus.
Combine all these ingredients in a spray bottle. Then, shake thoroughly and spray in your garage gym. This will kill any lingering bugs in your garage, reducing the chances of spiders coming around.
Alternatively, you can buy chemical pesticides like spider-repellant sprays. Most anti-spider sprays contain peppermint oil, which spiders dislike.
This will cause them to move away from their hiding spots and, consequently, out of your gym. There are other options in powdered form that you can sprinkle around your garage gym and water with a hose.
Once the solution dries, you can re-enter and use your gym as usual. However, this last option involves heavy-duty chemicals that may harm humans and pets.
If you must use it, exercise caution. Ensure your pets and other humans do not come in contact with the chemical.
5. Clear the Bushes Around Your Garage Gym
Spiders always search for food and come around flower beds and bushes to hunt insects and bugs. If you had planted a garden next to your garage, it might be best to let it go.
Spiders can move from the garden into your garage to continue their food hunt.
However, keep a little distance between the bushes and your building if you want to keep your garden. Spiders can’t climb and enter the garage space if the leaves and branches do not touch your garage walls.
6. Keep Garage Lights On and Outside Lights Off
Spiders move towards areas with low lighting so they won’t have to deal with bright lights. That is why you often find them tucked away in closets, basements, and garages.
An unconventional way to discourage them is to leave the gym garage lights on. The chances of spotting a spider in a well-lit room are low.
However, while the lights inside the gym are on, turn off the lights positioned outside. The reason is that outside lights attract insects, especially at dusk.
Remember, we said earlier that spiders would go anywhere they can find food. So, if your outside lights are on, attracting bugs, spiders will come around and may find their way inside.
7. Use Natural Herbs and Plants As Deterrents
Spiders have a strong sense of smell that they use to navigate spaces. They hate herbs with strong scents and will avoid anywhere such herbs are present.
You can drop twigs of mint around your gym or make a spray from the peppermint oil to deter them. Another way to keep spiders away is to plant herbs that they can’t stand around your gym.
Examples of such plants are citrus, eucalyptus, thyme, and rosemary plants. The smell from any of these plants is usually overwhelming for spiders. You can make a small pouch containing these herbs, cut branches off, and drop them in your gym.
While the scent from the herbs can offer sweet relaxation while you work out, it also doubles as a strong spider repellant.
8. Leave a Radio On in Your Gym Garage
This is an unconventional spider deterrent method, but we can guarantee it works. Spiders do not like vibrations because it makes it challenging to hear pests entering their web.
So, turning on the radio may keep them away, with all that noise and music.
9. Use a Vacuum Cleaner To Trap Spiders
A regular vacuum cleaner can do more than keep your gym tidy – it can also help you eliminate unwanted spiders. Cannister vacuums are the best fit for the job because they come with a hose and rotating brush.
However, you can use a handheld vacuum if you do not want heavy lifting. Cover the nozzle with a cloth and vacuum as normal.
Once done, dispose of the vacuum bag in the trash to prevent spiders from returning to it. If your vacuum has no bag, rinse the dust cup after use.
Takeaway
Nobody wants to see a spider dangling from their dumbbell when they go for morning lifts in the garage gym. However, it is not uncommon to see spiders in garages.
But there are well-researched and effective methods to shut the door against these arachnids.
Above, we described some traditional and non-conventional ways to get spiders out of your garage gym. Follow these tips patiently, and you will soon rid your garage gym of its spider infestation problem.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Ultrasonic Pest Repellants Kill Spiders?
The simple answer is no. There is no proof that ultrasonic pest repellants have any effect on spiders. They are only effective against insects like crickets – ants and spiders are often unaffected by them.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) even warned against companies making false claims about these products. So, please save money and stick to the methods mentioned above.
What Is the Most Effective Spider Repellant?
There is no direct answer to this question. Numerous available remedies like the ones we’ve discussed work. However, we recommend cleaning and decluttering your gym garage to make them less attractive to spiders.
This often fixes the problem. But if it persists, you can employ any of the alternative remedies above.
