The best way to get rid of spiders this autumn
Crisp autumnal walks, treetops shot with crimson and gold, cosy evenings spent indoors with a good book, the rediscovery of the comfiest knits in your wardrobe – there are may wonderful things about this time of year.
However, if you're among the fifth (21%) of Brits who describe themselves as arachnophobes, according to polling by YouGov, the more frequent sighting of eight-legged visitors to your home certainly won't be something to celebrate as the seasons change.
To help keep unwanted arachnid houseguests at bay, we asked two spider experts why it is that you seem to see so many more spiders indoors at this time of year and how we can make our homes less inviting to these leggy creatures. You might be surprised by what they had to say...
Why do we see so many spiders indoors in autumn?
Contrary to popular belief, spiders don’t invite themselves into our homes in the autumn in search of a warm place to spend the winter. This might make disturbing reading for spider-haters, but the chances are our eight-legged friends are in residence year-round.
"The truth is that there are spiders living in our houses all the time," explains Lawrence Bee, spider expert and member of the British Arachnological Society. "We just might not see them often as they tend to stay out of the way in darker corners and under floorboards."
The reason they have a higher profile around the house come September is that this is when spiders become more active as they search for a mate.
Dave Clark, Head Keeper of Invertebrates at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), which runs London Zoo, adds: "Males, in particular, are wandering about looking for females to mate with – especially male house spiders, which are the ones with the very long legs. These males won't live through the winter so need to try and find as many females to mate with before they die."
Do conkers keep spiders away?
It's lovely to imagine that reviving the childhood pursuit of collecting conkers at this time of year could be all that's needed to keep spiders out of your home. However, contrary to popular belief, conkers are unlikely to ward off spiders.
"There is no scientific evidence whatsoever that putting out conkers will deter spiders," says Lawrence Bee. "In fact, back in 2010, the Royal Society of Chemistry awarded a prize to a group of schoolchildren who managed to disprove the old wives’ tale that conkers contain a substance that spiders dislike."
Similarly, there is no scientific proof to support the idea that essential oils such as peppermint, tea tree or lavender will keep spiders away, no matter how nice they make your house smell.
What can I do to keep spiders out of my home?
Don't fear: there are things you can do to make your home less attractive to Incy Wincy and his pals. As well as staying on top of web removal when you dust, pest control company Rentokil suggests paying special attention to sheltered, dark places such as underneath kitchen units, the backs of cupboards and under or behind large furniture. If a spider can’t construct a decent web, it won’t be able to catch prey as effectively and may move on to try its luck elsewhere.
GHI Tip: Investing in a good cobweb brush with a telescopic handle means you’ll have no trouble tackling cobwebs in hard to reach spots.
Rethinking outdoor storage can also help. Keep garden waste bags, firewood piles and any other clutter away from your house to reduce the number of spider-friendly havens just outside your windows and doors. Be aware that if you do have a log burner or an open fire in the house, it’s highly likely you’ll bring spiders inside when replenishing your wood basket.
What's the best way to catch a spider?
If you do cross paths with a spider in your home, ZSL’s Dave Clark recommends using the ‘cup and card’ tactic to trap the spider and release it outside rather than harming it.
"Our eight-legged friends are incredibly valuable ecologically in keeping the number of pest insects like flies down, and therefore helping control human diseases," he explains. If getting close enough to a spider to trap it fills you with fear, check out the Friendly Spider Programme run by ZSL, which claims to have an 86% success rate in turning spider-squashers into arachnid appreciators.
For those who are truly terrified of spiders, this next bit of advice is unlikely to appeal, but allowing a few spiders to live in your home can provide quite a good pest control service. Spiders will feast on other, arguably less-desirable pests such as clothes moths, mosquitos, silverfish and flies, which means that they may pull their weight as house guests after all.
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