Sticky glue traps are the most effective and widely used option for catching spiders in a basement. They work without chemicals, cost just a few dollars each, and catch ground-dwelling species like wolf spiders, brown recluses, and black widows that naturally travel along walls and floors. Beyond killing individual spiders, they double as a monitoring tool, showing you exactly where spider activity is heaviest so you can target those areas.
How Glue Traps Work
Spider glue traps are flat boards coated with a strong adhesive. When a spider walks across the surface, the glue holds it in place permanently. There’s no bait involved in most designs, and no poison. The trap simply intercepts spiders along their natural travel routes. Some products add a mild scent to attract insects, but the primary mechanism is placement: you’re putting a sticky surface directly in the path spiders already use.
The adhesive in most commercial traps is non-toxic and pesticide-free. If you or a pet accidentally touches one, cooking oil or soap and warm water will dissolve the glue from skin or fur. That said, you’ll want to place them where curious hands and paws can’t easily reach them.
Which Spiders Get Caught
Glue traps are most effective against ground-dwelling, active hunters. Wolf spiders and common house spiders are highly susceptible because they constantly roam along baseboards searching for prey rather than sitting in webs. Brown recluses, which tend to hide in undisturbed clutter and forage at night, are also reliably caught by floor-level traps. Black widows and hobo spiders show up on traps as well.
Web-building spiders like cellar spiders (the long-legged ones dangling from your basement ceiling) are less likely to walk across a floor trap because they spend most of their time suspended in webs. You’ll still catch some, especially juveniles looking for new territory, but glue traps won’t eliminate an established ceiling population.
Alabama Cooperative Extension notes that sticky traps are particularly good at catching male spiders and older juveniles, since those are the ones actively moving through a space looking for mates or new hiding spots.
Where to Place Traps in a Basement
Placement matters more than the brand you buy. Spiders travel along edges and through dark, undisturbed areas, so your traps need to be in those exact spots. The best locations are:
- Along baseboards where walls meet the floor, especially in corners
- Behind furniture, boxes, or stored items that rarely get moved
- Near entry points like basement window wells, gaps around pipes, and where utility lines come through the wall
- Under sinks and behind appliances like water heaters or washing machines
- Near sump pumps or floor drains where moisture attracts insects that spiders feed on
Lay traps flat against the wall so one long edge touches the baseboard. Spiders tend to follow vertical surfaces, so a trap even a few inches away from the wall will catch far fewer. For a typical basement, start with six to twelve traps spread around the perimeter, concentrating extras in darker corners and near any known entry points.
How Often to Check and Replace Them
Check your traps roughly once a week. This does two things: it tells you when a trap is full or losing stickiness, and it reveals your basement’s hot spots. If one corner consistently catches more spiders than others, that’s where they’re entering or hiding, and it’s worth sealing gaps or removing clutter in that area.
Most glue traps stay effective for one to three months depending on dust levels. Basements tend to be dusty, and once a layer of fine grit covers the adhesive, the trap loses its grip. Replace any trap that looks visibly dusty or that has caught enough insects to reduce the open sticky surface. In a particularly dusty unfinished basement, you may need to swap traps monthly.
Pet and Child Safety
Commercial spider glue traps contain no pesticides, making them one of the safer pest control options for homes with kids or animals. The adhesive itself is non-toxic, though it’s extremely sticky and unpleasant to remove from skin, hair, or fur.
To minimize accidental contact, tuck traps behind appliances, inside storage shelving, or along walls behind furniture where pets and toddlers don’t go. Some brands sell enclosed trap designs, essentially a small box with openings on each end, that let spiders walk in but make it harder for a curious dog or cat to step on the glue surface. These enclosed versions work well if you have pets that explore every corner of the basement.
If a pet does step on a trap, don’t pull it off dry. Apply cooking oil generously to the adhesive, let it sit for a minute, and the glue will release without pulling out fur or irritating skin.
Why DIY Repellents Fall Short
You’ll find recommendations for homemade spider deterrents using vinegar, peppermint oil, eucalyptus, or basil diluted in water and sprayed around your basement. These can temporarily discourage spiders from crossing a treated area, but they lose potency within a few days to a week and need constant reapplication. They also don’t kill or capture anything, so they just push spiders to a different corner of the same room.
Glue traps, by contrast, work passively for weeks, remove spiders from the population permanently, and give you concrete data about what species are in your basement and where they’re concentrated. If you want to combine approaches, there’s no harm in using peppermint spray near entry points while running glue traps along baseboards, but the traps will do the heavy lifting.
Getting More Out of Your Traps
Traps work best as part of a broader strategy. Reducing what attracts spiders to your basement in the first place makes the traps more effective, because you’re dealing with fewer spiders overall. Keep storage items in sealed plastic bins rather than cardboard boxes, which provide ideal hiding spots. Reduce clutter along walls, since spiders prefer undisturbed spaces with plenty of cover. Fix any moisture issues around pipes or drains, because standing water and humidity draw the insects that spiders feed on.
Seal gaps around window frames, pipes, and where the foundation meets the sill plate. Even small cracks give spiders a direct path inside. Once you’ve reduced entry points and food sources, your traps become a cleanup tool for the remaining population rather than an endless battle against new arrivals.