Many of us dread hearing the word “spider”, but these eight-legged creepy crawlies are a reality during the summer season, especially for cottage owners. Whether they’re leaving cobwebs in your windows, doors, and siding or making their way into your home, spiders and their webs can be a real nuisance for Muskoka cottage owners. Spiderwebs can make cleaning your house a much more difficult task, making your cottage look like a Halloween horror house all summer long. If you struggle with cobwebs and spiders during the summer season, there are a few things you can do to minimize the problem.

Why do spiders gravitate to windows, doors, and siding?
Spiders are an important part of keeping other bugs away from and out of your home, but can be a nuisance to homeowners, especially if you’re particularly squeamish. Spiders can be found in and around just about every home in the country, meaning that millions of home and cottage owners deal with the problem each and every year. They tend to build webs in your cottage windows, doorways, and siding, making an unsightly mess that needs to be cleaned up on a regular basis.

Spiders gravitate towards windows and doors for the same reasons that other insects do – light. The light emanating from windows and doors in the evening and night attracts a wide range of bugs, which can become a pretty attractive home for hungry spiders looking for an easy and reliable meal. They often make their way onto your siding because it provides them with a safe home where they’ll be able to catch bugs that have made their way onto your property. Spiderwebs on your siding often collect dust and debris, leaving a scary sight that can be a real pain to clear away.

Clearing spiders off your siding
When clearing spiders off siding, it’s important to be careful not to damage your home’s exterior. This can be done by using a broom to clear away any low-lying cobwebs, and then using a garden hose to spray away anything that might be out of your reach. A steady stream of water from a garden hose will work to quickly and effectively remove webs, and doesn’t run the risk of damaging your siding like a pressure washer might. 

If you’re looking for a solution that will keep spiders away from siding, you can spray insecticide around your home once all the cobwebs have been removed, and work to ensure that grass, shrubs, and plants near your foundation and siding are kept trimmed all season long.

Keeping spiders away from your windows and doors
The biggest reason for spiders gravitating towards windows and doors is the light emanating from them. If you enjoy using lights in the evening and at night, the best way to keep spiders away is to simply draw the curtains whenever possible. 

This will cause spiders to search for food elsewhere, keeping your windows and doorways mostly free of our eight-legged foes. If you’re looking for ways to keep spiders away from windows, you can apply a vinegar wash (about ¼ white vinegar, ¾ water) on and around your windows to deter them from building their webs. Remember not to wash off too much of the solution, as this will counteract the entire point of the vinegar wash and remove the deterrent entirely.

How to keep spiders out of your cottage
Sometimes, no matter what you seem to do, spiders will make their way through closed windows and into your cottage. This can be a horrifying revelation for cottage owners, so it’s important to take proactive steps in order to keep them out. The main cause of spiders getting through closed windows is cracks in and around your windows, or windows that are simply showing their age.

Filling in cracks with caulk can keep spiders at bay, but might not do the trick if your windows are getting on in age. In this case, the best solution would be to professionally replace your aging windows to ensure that no cracks or openings in and around your windows exist, and that pests stay outside where they belong. Not only will your pest problem be a thing of the past, but your cottage will be more comfortable year-round.

The showroom at Muskoka Window & Door Centre features many high performance window and door products that will keep pests out of your cottage, and keep your home more comfortable all year long. For more information on the products and services offered by the team at Muskoka Window & Door Centre, get in touch with us today.

This year, like many cottagers, you may be thinking about remaining at your cottage longer than usual, perhaps even spending the winter there. A more rural environment can feel safer than the city during the COVID-19 pandemic.

If that’s the case, you may need to ensure that your cottage is ready to weather the colder temperatures and snow, especially if you’ve never spent anything more than a week there in the winter there before.

Winterization can happen in a matter of degrees, and turning your cottage into a year-round retreat can be a big investment if you go in for full winterization. If you aren’t planning on spending every winter there you may just want to make smaller improvements to ensure you remain warm and comfortable.  

Take the practical steps you can, especially if you aren’t planning to stay at the cottage every winter. If you feel like you might want a winter getaway every year, or you are considering retiring to your cottage, then a larger renovation may be in order. 

Staying warm with the proper insulation

Some older cottages may lack insulation or the right insulation, especially if they’ve never been used in the winter.  Depending on your plans and budget, reinsulating your cottage walls may require tearing down your drywall to the studs and installing proper insulation.  To truly winterize a cottage, you may also need to install a vapour barrier to prevent moisture and mould build-up.

Another place where a cottage can benefit from added insulation is in the crawlspace. Adding spray foam insulation to outside walls here will save heat loss through the floor, keeping your feet warm and toasty and preventing heat loss. If you are currently losing lots of air in the crawl space, insulating and sealing it off properly will also increase the efficiency of your home’s heating system.

The average home loses up to 30% of its heating and cooling energy through air leaks around windows and doors. You will need to ensure all of your windows and window frames are properly sealed and caulked to prevent drafts and heat-loss. You should replace any cracked or missing weather-stripping and re-caulk where needed.

Depending on the type and age of your windows, you may need to consider installing new energy-efficient, double-pane windows. This also applies to your doors and door frames. Installing new year-round alternatives will definitely keep you cozier and save you money in the long run.

Think about your plumbing and heating systems

Plumbing is the one thing that must be winterized if you are planning on using your water at all during the winter. Insulating all of your pipes and plumbing lines and adding heat tape or a heat trace system will keep them from freezing and bursting once the cold weather hits. 

Installation of a heat trace system varies depending on the type of pipes you have and the manufacturer of the system, so it’s a good idea to talk to the supplier to understand the correct process. Alternatively, having your system professionally installed usually offers the security of a warranty which can be reassuring. You may also want to consider having your septic system pumped (especially if it has been a while) to ensure that it can take you through until spring.

Preparing and maintaining your heating system is also a consideration. If you heat with oil or propane, filling your tank now may be more cost-effective since fuel costs tend to be lower during the summer and early fall months. If you heat with a wood stove, ordering enough seasoned wood now will ensure that you’re ready when the temperatures drop. 

Some other factors to consider

It’s a good idea to confirm with your insurance company that you are covered by all-season homeowners insurance and make changes if necessary.

You should also check in with your road or lake association. You may have to pay extra for snow plowing or you may need to find a contractor to take care of it if they don’t cover it.

If you’ve had problems with cell coverage at your cottage, consider getting a cell phone booster to enable working from home. While reduced cell coverage at a cottage can be caused by the increased numbers of cottagers using a cell tower’s signal, this is only part of the story and a cell phone booster will ensure uninterrupted service. You may also need to upgrade your Internet service to a better package if you want to work from home, do home schooling or stream movies.

There are a lot of considerations when thinking about winterizing your cottage but the investment may well be worth it. It will let you take advantage of your seasonal property all year and enjoy those snowy days in front of the fire, safely and warmly.If it’s time to replace your cottage windows or doors Muskoka Window and Door Centre has the experts available to help you keep your cottage warm and comfortable all winter. Contact us today!