How to Kill Spiders Naturally with Diatomaceous Earth

by Felicia Williams

No More Spiders It is possible to kill spiders, ants and other yucky bugs the natural way. All you need to do is buy a bag of diatomaceous earth. That's pronounced - dahy-uh-tuh-mey-shuh s earth. It's a mouthful, but it's a great all-natural, non-chemical item to have around the house for killing all types of bugs.

For those of you who are pool owners and use diatomaceous earth filters, you've got one up on knowing how to say it, but the type of diatomaceous (DE) in your pool is different than the one used to kill spiders and ants. DE for your pool is laden with chemicals and not safe to sprinkle around the house. The DE for killing spiders is 'food grade' DE.

DE is a naturally occurring substance. It is made from water plant fossils (these algae-like plants are called diatoms). The fossils are ground into a powdery consistency.

A Couple of Diatomaceous Earth Warnings

Diatomaceous earth is naturally occurring and not harmful unless you breathe it in. One of the characteristics of the powdery substance is that it sticks to anything moist like the lining of your lungs and mucous cavity. Therefore, when using it, make sure to wear a protective mask to cover your nose and mouth to prevent inhaling it. Ants

Additionally, avoid getting it in your eyes because it is extremely irritating. Imagine having ground fossils in your eyes. Yes, pretty scratchy. Aside from those two words of caution, it is not harmful. Whether you know it or not, you have probably eaten diatomaceous earth, indirectly ore even directly. Some farmers use it in their crops or in their animal feed to get rid of bugs.

How to Kill Spiders with Diatomaceous Earth

Sprinkle it around the outside of your house and/or inside where spiders, ants and other bugs seem to frequent to kill them naturally.

Here's how the natural bug killer works. Spiders or any type of bug with an external skeletal structure are affected if DE touches them. DE's properties serve to disintegrate the bug's skeletal structure. It sounds gross, but this is what happens. A bug walks through the diatomaceous earth and it's skeletal structure breaks down and poof. . .it dies.

Not to sound flippant because the thought of it evokes a bit of sympathy for the spiders, but ponder for a moment a bugs death via toxic bug spray and/or chemicals. Just think about how much damage bug spray causes. The bug either drowns by the sheer volume of bug spray (if you use bug spray the way my daughter does), or it is poisoned to death by the chemicals. Keep in mind that the chemicals do not immediately dissipate after the bug dies. The smell and chemicals linger around for a while which cannot be very healthy for the humans and pets who also inhale the toxic residue.

Diatomaceous earth can be found in the garden section of your home improvement store. The bag as shown in the picture here contains 4 pounds and costs $7.97 at the local Home Depot.

Be advised, however, that DE does not repel bugs. It only kills them nontoxically.

In addition to killing pests, it does wonders for the human body.

About the Author: Felicia Williams is a wife, mother and grandmother who likes to write about a host of topics.

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Last Modified: 24 March 2020