Spiders. They’re creepy, always come out at the most unexpected times, and can be absolutely huge. There is no way you’re getting close enough to catch it in a glass.
If you’re a parent with kids running around, you might be nervous about venomous spiders that could pose a threat to your kid’s health.
That’s where spider traps come in! These products have a sticky, non-toxic inside that lures spiders and other insects in. They cling to the sticky residue, and after a while, the spider is no longer your problem.
We understand the importance of keeping your home free of spiders, both for the safety of the household and for your sanity. We have found the best spider traps on the market to make your house feel a lot safer (and a lot less scary).
- S&T INC. Insect Traps
- Trapper Max Glue Insect Traps
- Catchmaster Brown Recluse Spider Trap
- Alazco Glue Traps
- REScue! Spider Traps
Our Best Spiders Traps Reviews
Our Top Pick: S&T INC. Insect Traps
This product is ideal for people who are just starting to venture into the world of spider traps. You need to order something fast to catch those creepy crawlies that seem to disappear before you can get the vacuum out.
These traps come in a pack of 30 and are useful for all areas of a house – including bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens, lounge areas, garages, and yard sheds. They can be folded into position easily and then left on the floor (or wherever you think the spiders may be lurking) for the eight-legged creatures to walk unsuspectingly into your trap.
Whilst these are fairly obvious-looking traps, there’s always a risk of a child accidentally touching the sticky insides. To protect humans from harm, the sticky residue is non-toxic and pesticide-free. Sure, it’s not technically safe for the spiders, but it won’t pose a threat to anyone else who touches it.
These traps can be used for spiders (regular household or venomous) as well as other insects like crickets, cockroaches, ants, silverfish, and more. If you place the traps up on a shelf, they can also catch flying bugs. Keep an eye on the trap regularly to see when it’s full, and then throw it out and replace it.
Pros
- Non-toxic – Safe to be around kids and humans
- Used anywhere – Traps can be set anywhere, including garages, under furniture, and stuck on air vents
- Easy to use – Easy to assemble and throw away when full
Cons
- Not pet safe – Don’t let pets get too close as the sticky residue might pull on their fur
Best for Price: Trapper Max Glue Insect Traps
Spider traps aren’t expensive, but these are the most affordable traps on our list. The Trapper Max traps are designed to lure creepy crawlies in with their distinctive peanut butter scented glue residue – yes, spiders like peanut butter, too.
These traps can be folded into a rectangular box shape, but people have found the traps to be more effective when they are lying flat on a surface. This means they can be left underneath furniture and cabinets, stuck to walls and air vents, or lying on top of the fridge. If you’re worried about kids or pets touching the sticky board, the glue surface is non-toxic.
As we said, the glue surface has a peanut butter scent that lures in spiders and other bugs including crickets, ants, cockroaches, flies, and more. Be careful to avoid touching this glue surface, as your scent will then stick to the glue which might deter the bugs and pests away. And before you ask, yes, spiders can smell as well as taste, so they really will linger towards the peanut butter scent.
These traps are almost 8” in length, which means they are also suitable for catching small rodents.
Pros
- Affordable – Don’t break the bank to get rid of pests
- Adjustable – Most effective in its flattened, horizontal shape
- Scented – Peanut butter scented glue boards attracts spiders, insects, and rodents
Cons
- Don’t touch glue – Although non-toxic, touching the glue boards will stick your scent to the board which will deter the pests
Best for Catching Brown Recluse Spiders: Catchmaster Brown Recluse Spider Trap
Brown Recluse spiders are an unfortunate common spider in American homes. They’re not too large or too hairy, and can look like a regular house spider. However, they do pack a venomous bite that requires medical attention. It’s not a spider you want lurking around your house and biting your kids or pets.
Luckily, these Catchmaster traps are designed specifically for catching Brown Recluse spiders. This product offers 30 traps with 10 separate glue board sheets that can be cut to each trap. They can be adjusted in a box shape or left flattened on a surface, which means they can be placed anywhere – even stuck on an air vent.
These traps come with a window feature that allows you to peek into the box without having to come into close contact with the spiders. It also means you don’t have to get too close to the sticky glue, which is non-toxic but unpleasant to touch.
This product has been trialed and tested by Kansas University Researchers who understand the importance of getting Brown Recluse spiders out of your home. The traps can also be used for catching insects and small snakes as the glue boards are scented.
The whole point of these traps is to monitor the direction from which the spiders and bugs are coming from. If you place multiple traps in a room, you will notice a pattern of where the spiders are arriving from, which will help you to find the source of the problem.
You can then seal the cracks and holes accordingly to prevent more eight-legged friends from coming into your home. This is incredibly helpful as Brown Recluse spiders don’t have webs, so you won’t actually know where they reside.
Pros
- Ideal for Brown Recluses – Will prevent Brown Recluse spiders from breeding and biting
- Useful monitor – Helps you understand the direction from where the insects are coming from
- Catches pests – Catches spiders of all sizes, as well as insects and small snakes
Cons
- Not for rodents – Won’t catch rodents as well as small insects and spiders due to short box design
Best for Pests: Alazco Glue Traps
It’s not just spiders that need to be caught in a house. There are scorpions, cockroaches, silverfish, flies, crickets, snakes, mice, moths, and more. Not all of them are poisonous, but all of them are unwelcome guests in a house – and none of them pay rent.
The Alazco glue traps are designed to lure any household pest into their stick glue boards. These glue boards are non-toxic which is safe to touch and is ideal for use in places where pesticides just won’t do the trick.
These traps can be adjusted in any position, whether you find the box shape or flattened shape more effective is up to you. The flattened position means these traps can be stuck to walls and air vents, which is useful for catching flying insects like moths and flies.
The flattened shape might help to lure unsuspecting rodents like mice, as they might avoid box-shaped items if you have tried to use traps before. Although, bear in mind that you will have to handle them when they get stuck, as the glue alone won’t finish the job for you.
Pros
- Suitable for all pests – Useful for catching spiders, small rodents, scorpions, small snakes, and insects
- Adjustable – Can be used in a box shape or flattened
- Non-toxic – Very sticky glue is non-toxic for human safety
Cons
- Very sticky – Don’t drop the traps on the sticky side and try not to touch them, as they are very sticky
Most Discreet: REScue! Spider Traps
Regular white spider traps can look unappealing in your home. You might have guests that come over, who will notice the traps and instantly be cautious of spiders and bugs that are lingering around. Sure, spider traps aren’t about the aesthetic, but you don’t always want to see white traps that obviously stand out.
These spider traps have a coppery brown color finish that helps the traps blend into any household. This discreet plastic shell is ideal for hiding the traps in areas without any other human noticing them, whether it’s underneath a couch or next to tools in the garage.
This product comes with three traps that are all double-sided, which means there’s no escape for spiders and other bugs. This means that you can simply flip the trap around when the bottom half of the trap is filled with dead spiders, so they last twice as long as regular traps.
These traps don’t require any assembly as they are ready to use as soon as they have left their packaging. However, this does mean they cannot be flattened and stuck to air vents or walls.
Pros
- Discreet design – Cooper brown color blends into any household discreetly
- Double-sided – Catches double the amount of spiders compared to other traps
- No assembly – Ready to use immediately with no assembly
Cons
- No adjustability – Cannot be flattened and stuck to walls or air vents
Buyer’s Guide
What to look for in a spider trap
When looking for a spider trap, there are only a few things you need to consider. Spider traps can be considered either humane or inhumane depending on your stance.
The glue boards might be non-toxic, but the reality is that they prevent the spiders from catching their food, so they essentially starve to death. If you’re desperate, however, this might seem a more humane option to spider foggers.
- Non-toxic – The glue board must be non-toxic. It might seem odd to find a trap that won’t poison spiders and kill them faster, however, the non-toxic glue board feature is for the safety of humans. Adults, children, and even pets can accidentally touch the glue boards, which is why they are non-toxic to prevent an unnecessary hospital trip. Just keep in mind that these glue boards are very sticky and you should wash your hands once you touch them!
- Where you want the traps – You need to consider where you want to leave the traps. Traps are designed to help you monitor where spiders are coming from, so you can put them anywhere in a room to see the direction they have arrived. Some traps are adjustable and can be placed in their box format or completely flattened, which provides a larger surface area of the glue which can be stuck on walls and air vents.
- To kill or not to kill – As we said, spiders won’t die immediately when they get stuck to these traps. Likewise, insects and rodents won’t die immediately, either. This means that you then have a choice to either free the inhabitants of the traps or leave them there. Whatever you decide, remember that some spiders like to feed off dead bugs. Whilst this will lure more spiders to the trap, this might also increase the possibility of more spiders in your home if you don’t keep an eye on the traps.
How to catch spiders
There are a bunch of humane and inhumane ways to catch spiders. Sure, spiders are pretty creepy and can be venomous, but they are actually very useful household pests. Without spiders, the world would have an excessive amount of flies.
Animal lovers may feel bad when it comes to catching spiders in sticky traps, but luckily there are other ways to catch them. This includes:
- Glass and paper – The age-old technique of placing a glass over the spider and sliding paper underneath the glass to carry the spider outside is probably the most humane way of catching and freeing spiders.
- Vacuum – When the spiders are too large and too fast, you can always suck them up with a vacuum cleaner. Just make sure to empty the vacuum immediately after catching it, as they might crawl back up the nozzle when you’re cleaning the floor the next day.
- Pesticides – Pesticides and foggers are probably the most inhumane way to trap and kill spiders, but it does mean you don’t have to go near them when they are alive.
How to prevent spiders
Spider traps will help you to monitor where the spiders are coming from. Sure, you can look for the tell-tale signs of spiders from webs and baby spiders, but some spiders like the Brown Recluse don’t make webs.
Once you get an idea of where the spiders might be coming from depending on the direction of where they all face in the traps, you can investigate. You should seal cracks and holes in the walls, around wiring, and around pipes. Spiders also love quiet and dark areas, so make sure to dust frequently to get rid of their webs.
Spiders to worry about
Most household spiders aren’t anything to worry about. American house spiders and Wolf spiders are common but non-harmful to humans, but there are a few spiders you should worry about – especially if you have kids. These include:
- Brown Recluse spiders
- Black Widow spiders
- Hobo spiders (will bite but not venomous)
- Mouse spiders
- Yellow Sac spiders
It’s important to understand what these spiders look like, so you know which ones to avoid. Fortunately, most spiders aren’t aggressive unless they are threatened.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do spider traps attract spiders?
Yes! Spider traps are often scented with a peanut butter scent that will lure spiders and insects into the glue trap, which will keep them stuck until they die.
Spiders are predators that feed off dead bugs and insects, so other spiders will then attract to the dead bugs inside the trap.
What is the best way to get rid of spiders?
Spider traps are the best way to get rid of spiders if you don’t want to get close to them, but there are other ways to get rid of the creepy crawlies.
The glass and paper technique is the least harmful way to get spiders out of your house, but this won’t stop them from coming back. Sucking them up in a vacuum is good for fast and large spiders, but they could always crawl back up the nozzle.
The best way to get rid of spiders is to monitor their movements. You should seal all cracks and holes in walls and near pipes and wiring, as they love small and dark areas. You should also dust frequently to break webs.
Where is the best place to put spider traps?
Spiders love small, dark, and quiet areas. You should place traps underneath furniture, inside cupboards, behind furniture that has wiring for technology, in garages, in the corners of rooms, and on air vents.
They aren’t likely to walk into a trap that is placed in the open, as spiders don’t generally want to walk in open areas.
