Scheduling professional control treatments for pests like spiders at least once a year is an effective way to keep your home free of nuisances. But, you should be prepared to take care of the occasional spider infestation between professional treatments to ensure optimal protection for your home year-round. Here are four natural ways to keep spiders away between pest control service calls from your technician:

Invest in Some Chickens

Believe it or not, investing some time and money into caring for a few backyard chickens can help rid spiders from your property so they don't bother you indoors. In fact, because chickens enjoy dining on all kinds of insects, you can count on your flock to not only control the spiders, but to also minimize your unwanted mosquito, wasp, and ant population. You can keep your chickens in a coop to keep them safe, but they'll need to spend time free ranging around your yard to keep the spiders and other pests under control.

If your yard doesn't have a fence to keep the chickens on your property while free ranging, you can use stakes and mesh or chicken wire to close the property in without facing any large expanses. Aim for letting your chickens roam free in the yard for at least an hour a day – the longer the better. But they should only free range when you're at home, so you can keep an eye on them and ensure their safety from neighborhood animals.

Decorate With New Plants

Add some extra depth to your home and effectively repel spiders by decorating inside with a few new plants. Putting a couple pots of dwarf citrus trees near windows in your living and family rooms will allow you to brighten the spaces up, keep spiders from wanting to spend time nearby, and take advantage of natural air freshener. Pennyroyal plants can be grown on windowsills throughout your home to create a fresh minty smell and make sure that spiders stay away. And peppermint can be grown in small pots then left on tables around the house to naturally repel those unwanted spiders.

Create Essential Oil Concoctions

Another great way to keep unwanted spiders out of your home and off your property is to create essential oil concoctions that will make your space smell good while repelling spiders of all types at the same time. Create an essential oil spray to douse your counters and cupboards with, and put essential oils in small tubs to leave out around the house in places you don't want spiders to get near. You can also use your custom essential oil solutions around the windows and under the gutters on the exterior of your home. Buy a couple of reusable spray bottles and a selection of repelling essential oils such as:

• Cinnamon
• Rose
• Lavender
• Eucalyptus
• Lemon
• Citronella

Put about a cup of water in your spray bottle then add several drops of one or more of your favorite essential oils. Close the lid, shake the bottle vigorously, then get to spraying! Alternatively, you can mix 5-10 drops of essential oil with a couple tablespoons of water to place in small dishes both inside and outside your home.

Make Use of Diatomaceous Earth

Made from fossilized microscoping organisms, Diatamaceous earth is considered safe by the FDA for both internal and external use as long as it's labeled food grade. You can ingest the substance to promote normal blood lipids, support optimal heart health, and cleanse your body of harmful organisms and toxic metals. And while taking care of your own health, you can use diatamaceous earth to get rid of pesky spiders. Just sprinkle the substance on the grass and near plants outside, as well as in cupboards and other areas in your home where spiders tend to congregate.

For more information, contact local professionals like Godfather's Exterminating, Inc.