Twenty tips to deter spiders from your home

Six most common ways to deter spiders in your home are:

1. Regular dusting and cleaning
2. Removing food, taking bins out
3. Vinegar spray
4. Garlic
5. Baking powder
6. Citrus peels
   
   

why are spiders coming into your home?

Spiders will keep appearing in your home for various reasons:

• Seeking shelter and warmth – spiders will come indoors after hiding for most of their time. A favourite spot is behind household furniture,^[2] although they are more likely to have been in your home all year^[3]
• The mating season – you tend to see house spiders in late summer and early autumn because the males scuttle out to seek a female
• Attracted by food – sources such as recycling bins attract insects and spiders
• Returning to an existing nesting area – spiders may have already created webs, or the females laid eggs in your home
• A cluttered environment – a home with lots of bits and bobs offers dark nooks and crannies where spiders like to hide^[2]
• Not regularly removing webs – dusting should discourage them
• Easy entry points – spiders can wander into your home through cracks and crevices.

simple solutions to keep spiders out of your home

1. Keep your home clean and clutter-free

Tidying up and creating a more minimal environment will deter spiders from finding a hidey hole.

• Regularly clean and vacuum 

  Vacuuming and dusting dead flies, moths and other small insects, existing webs and spider eggs in corners and cracks, dust from surfaces, and food debris under sofa cushions will deter spiders.

• Get rid of clutter - spiders can hide in it

  An uncluttered home is a no-no for spiders because it gives them nowhere to hide.

• Ensure food is not left out

  Creepy crawlies like ants are attracted to crumbs and food left in kitchens, the lounge and teenagers’ bedrooms, and our eight-legged beasties love preying on bugs. So, get everyone to put food away if you want to keep spiders at bay.

• Take your bins out regularly

  Regularly taking out your waste and recycling bins will prevent spiders, flies and other insects from setting up home in your home.

2. seal any cracks or gaps

Spiders will enter your home through tiny cracks or gaps in walls, pipework, vents, doors, door frames and windows. Seal these entry points to prevent spiders from getting in. You can use silicone, caulk or weatherstrips ^[4]

3. use natural repellents

The following natural spider repellents will help you create a spider-free home: [5]

1. Mix white wine vinegar

   50:50 with water and apply it from a spray bottle to the places spiders love, like corners and crevices. Avoid varnished furniture, which vinegar can damage.

2. Essential oils

   (Peppermint, eucalyptus, tea tree oil, cloves, lavender, citronella) – spiders dislike these oils, (mosquitos and mice do too). Once a week, clean your home thoroughly, then apply 20 drops of oil with water in a spray to corners where you’ve seen them. Oil diffusers can also be effective deterrents.

3. Cedar-wood balls

   Moths have as strong a dislike of cedar as do spiders, so using it kills two birds with one stone. You can buy cedar-wood hangars for clothes or place balls in spidery nooks and crannies like the back of wardrobes.

4. Citrus peel

   Rubbing orange, lemon or lime peel on windowsills, skirting boards and bookshelves will help keep the critters out.

5. Cinnamon

   Spiders dislike cinnamon, whether it’s ground or in sticks. As ground spice can be messy, try laying cinnamon sticks around typical arachnid habitats like doors, skirting boards and window frames (be aware that cinnamon may stain white paintwork).

6. Baking soda

   Sodium bicarbonate is an everyday ingredient that spiders hate. Use a tiny amount sprinkled on carpets, as large quantities are toxic to cats and dogs^[6] . The American College of Veterinary Pharmacists says toxicosis occurs when dogs ingest 2-4 tablespoons for every kg of weight. More than 0.3 to 3 tablespoons is toxic for cats in the 0.45kg to 11.4kg weight range.

7. Conkers
   

   Unfortunately, the Woodland Trust says there’s no scientific evidence that conkers (horse chestnuts) repel spiders, although they may be a moth repellent.

8. Garlic
   

   it’s not just vampires that hate garlic. Spiders do, too. This may not work for everyone, as no one wants their home to smell too garlicky. Put several whole or crushed cloves into a water spray and use it sparingly in corners where you’ve seen spiders.

4. use a specific spider repellent

You can buy all kinds of spider-repellent spray, including those with natural spider deterrents that cause less harm. We suggest avoiding spider-repellent sprays that can kill spiders and choose those that form a barrier against them instead.

5. turn off outdoor lights

Spiders are drawn to light because it attracts insects, so switching off outdoor lights can keep your home relatively spider-free^[7] (you’ll never get rid of them all).

6. keep windows shut at night

Spiders are mainly nocturnal and more likely to enter your home at night. Keep windows closed when you’re asleep. The idea that spiders crawl into our mouths while we sleep is a myth.[8]

7. keep your garden well-maintained & tidy

Spiders love an untidy garden as much as a cluttered house; for the same reason, they love dark places to hide. Keeping your garden well-maintained and tidy will deter them.

Grow repelling plants for your garden

Planting the following plants will help to repel spiders in your garden:

• Mint plant
• Eucalyptus tree
• Lavender

Another idea is to discourage flies, spiders’ food source, by planting fly-repellent plants like basil, bay laurel and catnip. Venus flytraps also make an efficient indoor trap. ^[9]

8. get a pet

Cats often like to pounce on a spider, although they may give up if they stop moving. Dogs are also a deterrent.

9. light canDLES OR A WOOD BURNER

Spiders don’t like strong smells, so a citronella candle or wood burner are ideal repellents.

10. INSTALL INSECT SCREENS

Installing insect screens on windows and openings like chimneys will prevent the spiders’ prey from entering your home. The hunter will typically go elsewhere when there’s no food source.

11. REMOVE SPIDERS AS SOON AS YOU SEE THEM

Removes spiders with the cup-and-card technique or buy a humane spider catcher, such as a long-handled grab tool or a vacuum tube that sucks them up without touching them.

12. CALL A PROFESSIONAL

If you have a spider infestation, contact a pest control specialist.

Find out about Ageas Home Insurance

FAQs

Do natural spider repellents work?

Natural spider repellents work if you clean the area beforehand and use the spray consistently.

When is spider season in the UK?

Late summer/early autumn is spider season in the UK – usually from late August until October/November.

People think they’re coming in to shelter from the cold and wet, but spiders are in our houses all year round – you see more of them in the autumn because the males seek females^[2]to mate with.

What is the best home remedy to get rid of spiders?

Essential oils are one of the best remedies for ridding your home of spiders.

How do you know if you have a spider infestation? 

The signs of a spider infestation include:

• Seeing spiders frequently
• Large webs or many webs
• Spotting spider eggs or egg sacs
• Seeing spiderlings
• Excess insects
• Spider droppings (small grey-black dots left in corners)

Sources

[1] britishspiders.org

[2] britishspiders.org

[3] bbc.co.uk

[4] palehorsepestcontrol.uk