Why You're Seeing More Spiders in Late Summer and Fall

There's a web across the porch that wasn't there yesterday. Another spider is sitting near the garage door. Then something large and fast moves across the floor after dark.

By August and September, it can feel like spiders have suddenly shown up everywhere.

They didn't.

Late summer and early fall simply make many of the spiders already living around Hampton Roads homes much easier to notice. Some outdoor species have grown larger. Webs become more obvious. Hunting spiders may wander into garages and homes. And as long as insects remain active around the property, spiders have a reason to stay nearby.

Local, family-owned Getem Services has served Hampton Roads and the Tidewater region since 1922, giving our team decades of experience with the seasonal spider activity homeowners see in late summer and fall.

What Spiders Are You Seeing Around Hampton Roads Homes?

Several kinds of spiders are common around Virginia homes, and they don't all behave the same way.

Common house spiders may live indoors throughout the year, building tangled webs in quiet, protected areas.

Wolf spiders and jumping spiders are active hunters rather than web-builders. They may wander into garages, basements, and living spaces as they move around looking for prey or shelter.

Funnel weavers are more often noticed outdoors, where they build sheet-like webs around lawns, shrubs, porches, and other protected areas near homes.

That difference matters. A spider racing across the garage floor and one sitting in a web near a porch light may both be common sights this time of year, but they are behaving very differently.

Why Spiders Become More Noticeable in Late Summer and Fall

A sudden increase in sightings doesn't necessarily mean there has been a sudden explosion in the spider population.

Many outdoor spiders that were small and easy to overlook earlier in the summer have grown much larger by August and September. Web-building species can also produce larger, more conspicuous webs around porches, shrubs, decks, and other areas homeowners use every day.

Some mature spiders also spend more time moving around during late summer and fall. Hunting spiders may wander farther in search of prey, shelter, or mates, which increases the chances of one slipping through a garage door or another opening around the house.

Put those things together and spiders that were already around the property suddenly become much harder to miss.

Hampton Roads Gives Spiders Plenty to Eat

Spiders go where the food is, and around Hampton Roads homes, there is no shortage of insects during late summer and early fall.

Flies, moths, gnats, beetles, ants, mosquitoes, and other small bugs provide plenty of prey in yards and around the outside of homes. Porch lights can make things even busier by drawing flying insects to doors, windows, garages, and other areas where spiders can hunt or build webs.

Hampton Roads' long warm season and humid coastal conditions also help keep insect activity going well beyond midsummer. That gives spiders a steady food source around homes at the same time many species are becoming larger and easier to notice.

It's also why simply knocking down webs may not solve a recurring spider problem. As long as plenty of insects are hanging around, spiders have a reason to return.

Getem's year-round home pest control helps reduce pest activity around the home, discouraging spiders from sticking around.

Where Spiders Tend to Show Up Around Homes

Spider activity is especially noticeable in places that stay relatively undisturbed and put spiders close to the insects they hunt.

Around Hampton Roads homes, that can include garage corners, window and door frames, porch ceilings, crawl spaces, basements, decks, landscaping near the foundation, sheds, and areas behind stored belongings.

Outdoor lighting can make porches and entryways especially active because insects gather there after dark. Garages and crawl spaces can also provide sheltered areas where both insects and spiders are less likely to be disturbed.

Finding an occasional spider in one of these places is normal. Repeated webs or frequent indoor sightings are more likely to get a homeowner's attention.

How to Make Your Home Less Attractive to Spiders

A few simple changes can make your home less inviting to spiders and the insects they hunt.

Keep vegetation from resting against the house, move firewood and stacked materials away from the foundation, and repair damaged screens, weatherstripping, and door sweeps.

Exterior lighting can matter too. Porch and entry lights attract flying insects, making those areas especially appealing to web-building spiders.

It also helps to address excess moisture around the home and remove obvious webs when they appear.

These steps can reduce some of the conditions that attract spiders, but they won't make a property completely spider-free.

Spider Control Across Hampton Roads

If webs keep returning or spiders are showing up throughout the house, the problem may involve more than the spiders themselves. Insect activity around the structure, sheltered hiding places, and easy entry points can all contribute to recurring sightings.

Getem Services includes spider control as part of our year-round residential pest control. Service includes quarterly treatments, exterior pest control, indoor service when needed, web and nest removal up to one story, and free callbacks for covered pests.

Spider Questions We Get Around Hampton Roads

Are the spiders in Hampton Roads homes dangerous?

Most spiders found around Virginia homes are not considered medically significant.

Virginia does have black widow spiders, so it's smart to avoid handling any spider you cannot confidently identify. Brown recluse spiders are not native to Virginia, although individuals have occasionally been documented as introduced.

You can learn more about which spiders you're likely to run into around Virginia.

Does seeing one spider mean I have an infestation?

Usually, no.

A single spider may simply have wandered indoors. What deserves more attention is repeated activity in the same area, multiple egg sacs, or spiders turning up throughout the house over time.

Those patterns can indicate that conditions around the home are giving spiders places to live or reproduce.

Can spiders come up through drains?

A spider in a sink or bathtub usually does not crawl up through the drain. More often, it entered the room another way and became trapped on the smooth surface. Gaps around plumbing penetrations, vents, windows, doors, and other openings are much more realistic entry points.

Are Joro spiders in Hampton Roads?

Joro spiders have now been documented in Virginia, although current reports suggest they are more noticeable in other parts of the state than in Hampton Roads. Virginia Tech’s Insect ID Lab has reported sightings concentrated more toward western Virginia, with relatively few reports in Northern Virginia.

The University of Georgia's current Joro spider range information confirms isolated populations in Virginia as the species continues to spread beyond its established range farther south.

Contact Getem Services for Effective Spider Control in Hampton Roads

Our local team protects homes throughout Hampton, Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, and communities across Hampton Roads.

If spiders keep turning up around your home, don't just chase the webs. Getem can help address the pest activity that's keeping them around. Request your free quote today!

^{Originally published September 3, 2024. Updated in August 2026 with current information about late-summer and fall spider activity in Hampton Roads.}