PEST CONTROL

Spider Control in Toronto, Oakville & the GTA

House spiders, wolf spiders and black widows in Ontario homes

Spider control in Toronto, Oakville and the GTA works best when it deals with why the spiders are there. Spiders follow the insects they eat, so we find that food source, treat the gaps and dark corners where spiders get in and live, and clear out webs and egg sacs. Most spiders in Ontario homes are harmless to people.

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AT A GLANCE

Spiders at a Glance

Common house spider

Size: 3 to 10 mm body (females)
Colour: Yellowish, tan, brown or grey, with darker mottling
Body: Two body parts, eight legs, most with eight eyes
How to tell: Messy, three-dimensional cobweb, not a round orb
Active: Noticed most in the fall
Where found: Basements, window frames, behind doors, garages
Bites or stings: Bite not medically significant; at worst like a bee sting

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Signs You Have a Spider Problem

If you’ve noticed any of these, call and a licensed technician will tell you what it points to.

Call (905) 739-7888

Webs collecting in basement corners, window frames, behind doors and in garages
Egg sacs, small balls or teardrops of silk, tucked into corners or webs
More spiders indoors in the fall
Large, fast spiders running across basement or garage floors at night
Plenty of other insects around the house, which spiders feed on

IDENTIFICATION

How to Identify Spiders

Spiders have two body parts and eight legs, and most have eight eyes. Every spider makes silk, but not every spider spins a web: wolf spiders, jumping spiders and sac spiders hunt instead. House spiders and sac spiders are about 1 cm long or less, while wolf spiders reach 3 cm and fishing spiders 7.5 cm across with their legs. The name daddy long-legs covers two different animals, and only one of them is a spider.

Black widow: shiny black with a red hourglass underneath. In the northern black widow, the one in Ontario, the hourglass is broken in the middle.
Wolf spider or fishing spider? They look alike, but fishing spiders are bigger, have a different eye pattern and usually live near water.
Cellar spider or harvestman? Cellar spiders are true spiders with long legs and webs. Harvestmen have one body part, no silk and no venom.
Brown recluse: not found in Canada. See the questions below.

TYPES

Spiders in Ontario: The Ones You'll Find at Home

Common house spider
Parasteatoda tepidariorum
Small, 3 to 10 mm, drab yellowish, tan, brown or grey with darker mottling. Builds messy, three-dimensional cobwebs and hangs teardrop-shaped egg sacs in them.
Where found: Basements, between window panes and walls, behind doors and on garage doors.
Cellar spiders
Pholcidae
A tiny grey, tan or whitish body on extremely long, thin legs. Shakes rapidly in its web when disturbed, and females carry their eggs in their jaws.
Where found: Corners of cellars and cool, damp basements.
Often called daddy long-legs.
Wolf spiders
Lycosidae
Big, fast hunters up to 3 cm long, grey to dark brown with darker stripes. No web. Females carry the egg sac on their spinnerets, then the young on their backs.
Where found: Lawns, gardens and leaf litter. In the fall they look for warm places and are more likely to come indoors.
Fishing spiders
Dolomedes spp.
Look like large wolf spiders, up to 7.5 cm across with legs, often mottled brown and black, like the dark fishing spider with its W-shaped marks. Females carry the egg sac under the head.
Where found: Docks, rocks along the shore and cottages near water; the dark fishing spider also lives in drier woods.
Jumping spiders
Salticidae
Compact and often fuzzy, like the black bold jumper with white, orange or red spots. Two large front-facing eyes. Jumps on its prey and spins no web.
Where found: House siding, fence posts and tree trunks.
Northern yellow sac spider
Cheiracanthium mildei
Small, 5 to 10 mm, with a pale yellow to greenish abdomen, a darker front and long front legs. Spins no web, just a small silk tube to hide in.
Where found: High on walls where they meet the ceiling, in any room.
Recorded in University of Guelph school surveys in Toronto and Mississauga.
Northern black widow
Latrodectus variolus
Shiny black female about 13 mm long, with a red hourglass under the abdomen that is broken in the middle, and sometimes red marks on top.
Where found: Rock piles, stone walls, woodpiles, sheds and garages, in isolated parts of southern Ontario.
Rare. Black widows are the only spiders in Canada with a medically significant bite.

Centipedes, earwigs and silverfish have their own pages: house centipede control, earwig control and silverfish control. We treat millipedes too.

OUR APPROACH

How We Treat Spiders

Step 1
Find What They're Eating
Spiders gather where their prey is, so a lot of spiders often points to a lot of insects. We identify the insects feeding them, because cutting off that food does more than clearing webs over and over.
Step 2
Treat Entry Points and Hiding Spots
Treatment targets the places spiders get in and live: foundation gaps, window and door frames, basements, crawl spaces, garages, and the sheltered outside corners where webs keep getting re-spun.
Step 3
Clear Webs and Egg Sacs
Webs and egg sacs are removed rather than left in place. An egg sac left in a corner is next season's spiders, and a clean start makes it easy to see whether new webs are really new.
Step 4
Point Out Gaps and Lights
We point out the gaps to caulk or weather strip, torn screens, missing door sweeps and bright outdoor lights near doors. Each one lets in or draws in the insects spiders follow, so fixing them cuts both.

BITES AND STINGS

Spider Bites: Are There Poisonous Spiders in Ontario?

Almost all spiders have venom, but in Canada only black widows are medically significant. Ontario's is the northern black widow, which lives in isolated pockets of southern Ontario and is rare. Spider bites are rare and usually happen when a spider is disturbed by accident, for example trapped against bare skin inside a glove or boot. Bites from wolf spiders and jumping spiders aren't known to cause serious problems, and a common house spider bite is at worst like a bee sting. Mystery bites blamed on spiders are more likely from ticks, mites, mosquitoes, bed bugs or fleas, which feed on blood. Spiders don't.

Black widow bite: Health Canada says stay calm, put an ice pack on it and get medical attention right away from your doctor, a hospital or a poison centre. Serious complications are very rare.
For any bite that gets worse, call Health811 or your doctor, and call 911 if someone has trouble breathing.

RISKS AND DAMAGE

Do Spiders Cause Damage?

Spiders don't eat food, wood or fabric, and they don't damage the house. The trouble is the webbing and egg sacs that build up in basements, window frames and garages, and what a lot of spiders tells you: there are plenty of insects around for them to eat. Plenty of people simply don't want them in the house, which is a fair reason to treat.

In most Ontario homes spiders are a nuisance, not a danger. It's worth calling when webs and egg sacs keep coming back in the same spots, spiders show up in numbers, or you find a black widow around the house.

CAUSES

Why You Have Spiders

Spiders go where there is food and shelter. They hunt insects, so a house with flies, earwigs or other bugs around it tends to draw spiders too. They settle in quiet, undisturbed places, and in the fall many are looking for mates and laying eggs, which is when people notice them most.

What Draws Them In

Other insects in and around the house
Outdoor lights that draw insects to doors and windows
Clutter and stored boxes in basements, garages and closets
Cool, damp basements and crawl spaces
Woodpiles, rock piles and stone walls near the house (black widows)

How They Get In

Gaps around window and door frames
Torn or loose window screens
Doors without sweeps, including the door from the garage
Cracks and crevices in the foundation

HABITS

Life Cycle and Habits

Habitat

Indoors, spiders live in corners of rooms, closets, boxes, dark crevices, basements and garages. Cellar spiders build in the corners of cool, damp basements, and house spiders between windows and walls and behind doors. Outside, wolf spiders live on the ground in lawns, gardens and woodland, fishing spiders around cottages and shorelines, and black widows in rock piles, stone walls and woodpiles.

Diet

Spiders eat insects, including mosquitoes, flies and aphids, and a few left in a basement will catch earwigs too. Fishing spiders even take small minnows. None of them eat human food.

Life Cycle

Every spider makes silk, and females use it to wrap their eggs in an egg sac. What happens next depends on the spider: house spiders hang teardrop-shaped sacs in the web, cellar spiders carry their eggs in their jaws, fishing spiders carry the sac under the head, and wolf spiders carry it on their spinnerets, then carry the hatched young on their backs for up to two weeks or more. That is why clearing egg sacs matters as much as clearing webs.

Seasonal Behaviour in Ontario

Spiders are noticed most in the fall, when many are near the end of their life, looking for mates and laying eggs, and wolf spiders look for warm places indoors. Female wolf spiders carrying young on their backs are a summer sight. Through the warm months, outdoor lights that pull in insects also pull spiders to doors and windows.

PREVENTION

How to Keep Spiders Out of the House

Caulk or weather strip gaps around windows and doors.
Repair torn screens and fit door sweeps on outside doors.
Vacuum baseboards, corners, webs and egg sacs often.
Switch outdoor lights near doors to yellow bulbs, which draw fewer insects.
Cut down clutter in basements, garages and closets.
Reduce dampness in basements and crawl spaces.
Shake out gloves and boots stored in sheds or garages before putting them on.
Wear gloves when moving firewood or rocks outside.
Deal with the insects the spiders are feeding on.

How to Get Rid of Spiders: DIY or a Professional?

A few spiders are normal and even useful: Health Canada notes that a few left in the basement help catch earwigs and other insects, and it doesn't recommend trying to wipe spiders out with chemicals. A vacuum removes spiders, webs and egg sacs, and sealing gaps, fixing screens and switching to yellow outdoor bulbs keeps new ones down. Bug bombs are seldom effective. If you buy a spray, check for a PCP registration number on the label and follow the label.

Webs back in the same spots soon after you clear them
Egg sacs turning up again and again
Lots of other insects as well, which points to a second pest problem
A black widow in a garage, shed or woodpile near the house

WHY CHOOSE US

Why Ontario Homeowners Choose Sting Out

No Binding Contracts

Cancel anytime, with no lock-in and no pressure. If you keep us on, it should be because the work is getting results.

Integrated Pest Management

Inspection first, then targeted treatment with registered products used as the label directs. Your technician will advise on any precautions.

Ontario-Licensed Exterminators

Treatments are applied by technicians licensed under Ontario pesticide rules.

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Reviews

What GTA customers say

★★★★★Google review

Sting Out Pest Control helped me get rid of a pretty bad crawling insect problem in my office. They were friendly, easy to deal with, and explained everything clearly from the start. Instead of just spraying and leaving, they came up with a treatment plan that used different methods to get the problem under control. Over time, the infestation was completely gone. I now have them come by once a month for maintenance, and if anything small comes up, they take care of it right away before it becomes a bigger issue. It's been a great experience, and I have peace of mind knowing my office is protected. I would definitely recommend Sting Out Pest Control to anyone needing a reliable pest control company.

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COMMON QUESTIONS

Spider Control: Questions We Get

Are there brown recluse spiders in Ontario?

No. Brown recluse spiders don't occur in Canada. As of 2017, only four recluse spiders had ever been recorded here, all stowaways from far away and none of them a brown recluse, and reports of brown recluse bites in Canada are generally considered urban legends. A big brown spider in an Ontario basement is much more likely to be one of the common house visitors Health Canada lists, such as a wolf spider or a house spider.

Are wolf spiders dangerous?

No. Wolf spiders are big, fast and hairy, which is alarming, but their bites aren't known to cause serious medical problems. They don't build webs; they hunt on the ground at night, and they are more likely to come indoors in the fall, looking for warm places. Seeing several indoors points to gaps at ground level worth sealing.

What should I do if I find a black widow?

Leave it where it is and don't pick it up. Black widows are timid and only bite to defend themselves, and they hide in dark spots such as crawl spaces, garages, rock piles and woodpiles. Wear gloves when you move stones or firewood, and shake out gloves and boots that have been stored in those spots. We can remove the spider with its web and egg sacs and treat the place it was living. If someone is bitten, put an ice pack on the bite and get medical help right away from a doctor, a hospital or a poison centre.

Why do I have so many spiders in my basement?

Basements give spiders what they want: quiet, undisturbed corners, damp air and a steady supply of insects. Cellar spiders in particular build in the corners of cool, damp basements. Cutting clutter, drying the space out and dealing with the insects they feed on brings the numbers down faster than clearing webs.

Why do spiders keep coming back after I clear the webs?

Clearing webs doesn't touch what's drawing them in. If the insects they feed on are still there, new spiders keep arriving. Webs back in the same spots, rising numbers or egg sacs all point to an established population worth treating at the source.

What is the big spider by the water at the cottage?

Most likely a fishing spider. They look like big wolf spiders, can reach 7.5 cm across with their legs, and live around docks, rocks along the shore and cottages, where they hunt insects and even small minnows. They are common in Ontario and are not among the spiders that pose a danger to people.

Will spraying get rid of spiders for good?

No, and wiping them all out isn't the goal. Health Canada doesn't recommend trying to remove spiders completely with chemicals, because they control other pests, and bug bombs are seldom effective. Treatment works when it's aimed at the places spiders get in and live, together with the insects feeding them and the gaps that let both in.

Sources

Last updated October 20, 2026

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Spider Control Across Toronto, Oakville & the GTA

We treat spiders in homes and businesses throughout Toronto and Southern Ontario.

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