Outdoor furniture is so inviting, especially to to spiders and other nesting pests. However, as a homeowner, the last thing you want to do is sit down on a patio chair and find that a spider or mud dauber has made its nest under your buttocks. If you want to avoid an uncomfortably nauseating scenario of newborn arachnids or wasp larvae sticking to you, here is how you can keep these pests away from the patio furniture.
Cleaning and Spraying Weekly
If your outdoor furniture has cloth seat pads, wash these weekly. Use a little chlorine bleach to kill anything that might have wormed its way into the stuffing. Dry the seat pads thoroughly in a dryer and not outside to deter mosquitoes and bugs that love wet nesting material. As for the chairs, tables, porch swings and/or sofas, use a power washer with hot, soapy water. Invert every piece and examine it for spider nests, clumps of mud, wasp wax combs, etc. Power wash or scrape these off. Once the furniture is clean and dry, spray with a commercial bug repellant to keep the bugs away.
Special Cleaning Instructions for Wicker Patio Furniture
Wicker furniture is quite susceptible to spider infestations because of the tightly woven wood fibers. The woven wood of wicker gives spiders many places to hide egg sacs and multiple connection points for web weaving. The other problem with wicker is that it needs to be cleaned gently, with warm soap and water and a toothbrush to get in between the woven wood. For these same reasons, you will have to check and wash your wicker patio furniture more frequently than if you have metal or glass furniture.
Other Tips for Keeping Your Patio Furniture Bug-Free
Insect control around your home and in your yard helps immensely with keeping your patio furniture free of pesky, reproducing insects. Consider using barrier sprays, pellets or powders around the edge of your patio. Commercial pest control services have barrier sprays they use on the exterior of your home that deter and kill pests too. If you have a lawn care specialist look after your yard, ask him or her to sprinkle the yard with pest control products that kill creeping and crawling pests and the larvae of some flying insects before they can nest inside your furniture. Investing in a bug zapper can help eliminate many unwanted flying pests that might find your outdoor furniture enticing.
Share6 February 2015
If you are new to woodworking or are thinking about remodeling your home, you might be trying to learn a little more about professional construction. Unfortunately, not every instruction guide is created for novices. When I started learning home repair basics, I found myself absolutely dumbfounded by some of the complicated advice I received from online tutorials and books from the library. Fortunately, I was able to learn a lot about construction by working with my friend for a few summers, and I want to share that information with you. My website is full of helpful advice on every topic from basement remodeling to electrical repair, so that you can be successful.