It stands to reason that most bug sprays are interchangeable. While some sprays are relatively mild, like citronella or peppermint repellents, others, like hornet spray, are extremely intense due to the nature of the pest it is designed to slay.
When it comes to using wasp sprays, if you miss or the insecticide spray doesn’t kill the pests on contact, you may not get a second chance before the wasps sting you.
Key Points:
- Hornet spray has powerful chemicals that are capable of killing spiders.
- Using hornet spray inside can be dangerous and is not recommended.
- Alternative solutions to removing spiders, such as humane techniques, should be considered before resorting to insecticides.
Although we mostly think about bugs as insects, spiders, and other arachnids are common household pests, and plenty of active ingredients have been added to bug sprays to kill a range of creepy crawlies. Using Raid hornet spray to blast a dangerous brown recluse or black widow before the spider bites should therefore be possible.
Read on to learn if hornet killer spray will get rid of spiders too.
Will Raid and Other Wasp Sprays Stop Spiders?
The jet spray from Raid and other hornet sprays can reach areas where it would be impossible to get a common insect spray. This is helpful in killing large nests of spiders in roof eaves or under crawl spaces. While the chemicals will not shut down the spider’s internal organs as they would to a wasp, but the common pesticide chemicals in the spray are enough to kill spiders on contact.
How to Use Raid as a Spider Killer?
To use Raid effectively, you should step outside before spraying. Wasp and hornet killer is a powerful jet spray, and using it inside is not advisable. Not only will it make a huge mess, but the chemical fumes are extremely dangerous to pets, especially in an aquatic habitat. Only use the spray outside as directed only target spiders instead of wasps.
It is important to get a clear visualization of the spider or spiders you will be hitting with the insecticide sprays. It only makes sense to use a spray of this strength when dealing with a large population of spiders or a spider’s nest, so make sure you are able to directly hit the spiders and not just where they crawl.
The anatomy of a spider’s long legs allows it to lift its vital organs off the ground and makes residual contact with chemicals unlikely. It may be necessary to bust open the nest with a pressure washer and then hit it with the spray when the long-legged creatures are exposed.
Once the spiders have been killed, you will want to dispose of the poisoned spider corpses to avoid pets or wildlife ingesting them. Animals that eat the chemical-covered eight-legged creatures can become seriously ill or even die. Always clean the application site with water and keep pets and children out of the area until all traces of the insecticide are gone.
Due to the amount of effort and preparation involved, it makes sense to choose one of these other spider solutions instead.
Alternative Spider Solutions
Killing spiders, in general, is not the best idea as they are, in almost every case, helpful house guests and not annoying intruders. Spiders, by their nature, stay in the shadows and attract disease-carrying insects like mosquitos, flies, and even smaller pests we may be unaware of.
Once a spider has lured these pests into their killing zone, it will quickly dispatch them; no more corpses on windowsills or that annoying fly that keeps landing on your nose while you are trying to catch a quick nap.
Fortunately, there are more methods of safely removing a spider than there are to annihilate them, so try the humane techniques below before running to grab the wasp spray or any other pesticide product you have on hand.
| Method | Process | Results |
| Hornet and Wasp Spray | Shoot for direct contact with pesticide and cover the spider thoroughly | Coating spiders with wasp spray cuts off the oxygen supply, and the lack of oxygen leads to suffocation |
| Spider Spray | Use common spider sprays with active ingredients designed to eliminate spiders | The chemical contents are designed to produce systemic death in spiders, unlike insecticidal chemicals, which just create a low-oxygen atmosphere spiders cannot survive |
| Catch and Release | Using a cup and paper, get the spider to crawl over the paper and trap it with the cup and remove outside | Spiders perform an important role in the ecosystem and can be useful if put outside |
| Vacuum | With a screen or stockings over a vacuum hose, you can safely pick up spiders and relocate them or suck them into a clean trash bag and let them outside | The spider is unharmed, and you are able to keep your distance, resulting in a safer relocation for everyone |
| Wipe with Cloth | You can gently swipe a spider up in a cloth and shake it outside | You can catch the spider pest by surprise and get them out of the home quickly, even through an open window. |
| Lead Out | Open a window and door and encourage the spider by moving something like a broom slowly behind them | The spider should run out of the opening, which you can then close to prevent more bugs from entering your abode |
| Squash | If it is a venomous spider, you can smash it with something that gives you a safe space to work | The spider should be dead or incapacitated and easy to remove |
| Leave Alone | If a spider is not causing any problems and simply eating bugs and preventing a larger pest population of flies and mosquitoes, you can leave it alone | Your spider roommate will kill bugs that annoy you in exchange for the shelter your home provides |
What’s in Wasp Spray?
Pyrethroids, imiprothrin, and cypermethrin are common ingredients in roach sprays and hornet killers. In fact, most multi-insect killers use these same powerful against pests chemicals with the specific formulations changing based on the intended target. Other chemicals are added to make the chemical expel in the correct form to be the most effective against the pests it is intended for.
Insect spray designed to kill ants, and cockroaches will have a thick foam base that reduces evaporation and provides a residual effect that can kill pests for hours after the initial application. The levels of deadly chemicals can be reduced to allow for a slower death with bug sprays designed for crawling insects.
Chemicals designed for flying insects often include a powerful knockdown effect as well as a wider area of attack than jet sprays. It is good for intimidating pests like mosquitos and flies that are hard to hit when they flip around. These may also have a residual effect that can kill these pests when they stop on surfaces.
Sprays for outdoor applications like wasp and hornet spray as a chemical formulation that is aggressive and will stop 100% of the targeted pests with the initial spray. Any hornet killer spray that doesn’t kill every wasp would never be used again as they will sting and bite until they die when provoked.
Each of these different bottles of spray has the same basic insecticides mixed in ways that kill the target pests fast.
Ways to Keep Spiders from Entering the Home
If you have spiders in your home and don’t want them there, then you should move them outside so they can keep doing their work of keeping insect populations under control. In some situations, we may find venomous spiders on our property, and chemicals or pest control services will be needed to call.
But if you want to avoid having to deal with these arachnids at all, follow these tips to keep spiders out of your home.
Seal Gaps and Repair Cracks
Any gap or crack is a way for spiders or other pests to enter your home. Often spiders will follow insects and other bugs into your home as they like the idea of a steady food source that they can exploit at their will. If you seal gaps around windows and outdoor fixtures as well as repair any tears in screens or cracks in the home, then you can greatly reduce the number of pests in your home.
Use Natural Repellents
Some chemicals are not harmful to spiders but tend to keep them away. Solid scents that repel arachnids are citrus and peppermint. Applying a mixture of essential oils and water to thresholds and areas pests enter the home can discourage spiders from setting up webs indoors in the first place.
Encourage Predator Populations
As the saying goes, “There’s always a bigger fish.” If you encourage bird population, predatory bugs, and even bats, you can naturally keep the population of spiders in check and make overcrowding of spiders outdoors one less factor that drives these pests indoors. If you take these steps, you will not need to use hornet spray to kill spiders.
