A person said their garage has turned into a daily battleground, with brown recluse spiders "about as big as a half dollar" showing up so often that killing several in a single visit has become routine. 

To make matters worse, local bug guys reportedly told them they "can't really guarantee results." 

In a Reddit post, the person described a persistent garage infestation that had gotten so bad that spotting — and crushing — five to seven brown recluse spiders in about an hour had become normal. The person also said they had already tried diatomaceous earth, a common low-toxicity pest treatment, "with no luck." 

The top comment echoed what the original poster had heard and offered a better alternative. "72tc glue boards is what I would use, there aren't pesticides that are going to guarantee results when used properly," they wrote. "Fold them up and they look like nice little pockets for spider homes, so they go inside to look and get stuck and die." 

Glue boards were the most popular solution, along with chemical pesticides. But without guaranteed results, it's worth considering whether the risk of exposure to chemical toxins is worth it.

With other insects, a garage infestation like this would be a nuisance, but with brown recluses, things could quickly become dangerous. While brown recluses aren't aggressive, they are one of two deadly spiders in North America, along with the black window.

They tend to live in nooks and crannies, spaces where you may reach without being able to see inside, leading to bites and hospitalization.  As such, the fact that they are present in large numbers in the OP's garage is worrying.

Dealing with an infestation can also get expensive fast. If homeowners start cycling through sprays, powders, traps, and repeated service calls — especially when pest-control companies are unwilling to promise success — the bills can pile up with no real relief. 

There's also a broader reason situations like this happen.

Bugs don't usually "invade" empty wilderness; they tend to thrive where human development creates ideal shelter. Garages offer darkness, clutter, moisture, and protection from predators, which makes them appealing places to hide. In that sense, infestations are often tied at least partly to the environments people create and maintain around their homes. 

You can make your home less attractive to pests by sealing cracks around garage doors and foundations, replacing worn weatherstripping, reducing moisture, clearing out cardboard and clutter, and storing items in secure bins. Outdoor lights near garage entrances can also attract certain insects, so cutting down on nighttime light pollution may help. 

However, there were a handful of comments from people who apparently aren't big fans of spiders and jokingly suggested more extreme method of removal. "Flamethrower," one person wrote. Another added, "Burn it all down." 

While burning everything down would be excessive, the OP suggested that starting from scratch wasn't off the table, writing, "I have also considered tearing the garage down and building a new one as I kind of want a bigger garage anyway." 

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