The orange veil of autumn is descending, bringing with it picturesque sunsets, cosy firesides and crunchy leaves. However, we mustn’t forget what is lurking under the bed of fallen foliage.
While autumn is undoubtedly the most beautiful of seasons, it does have its inevitable drawbacks — namely, spiders. Finding the creepy-crawlies in your shower, bedroom or back of your wardrobe is bound to be an unwelcome surprise.
Thankfully, there are a few measures you can take to prevent them from coming into your home.
- Keep clean
While spiders provide their own cleaning service by eating flies and other insects, this doesn’t mean that we want to find an abundance of them in our homes. One way to minimise the amount of them is to keep your home clean and tidy. Regularly hoovering and dusting will reduce the number of cobwebs in your home.
Declutter your living spaces regularly. The less corners the spiders can hide in, the less surprises you will get.
- Guard the outside
Keep your windows closed and check for any cracks. If there are cracks, they should be repaired to prevent spiders crawling through them.
Keep the perimeter of your home clear of fallen leaves and vegetation. Spiders and other bugs will likely be rife in any piles of leaves or grass cuttings, so it is best to keep them far away from the outside of your home.
- Keep other bugs out
Spiders feed on flies and other insects, so keeping them out of your home will make it a less attractive place for spiders to set up shop. You can prevent other bugs from coming in by turning off the lights, keeping surfaces clean and emptying your bins regularly.
- Ladybugs
One bug that is handy to have around is the ladybug. While you don’t want to have them in your home, it might be a good idea to have them in your garden, as ladybugs eat the same type of insects that attract spiders.
- Get a pet
If you have been looking for a reason to get a pet, this could help tip the scales. Pets can be good guards against many home intruders, spiders being no exception. Cats are particularly effective at chasing spiders around the home. However, it is important to ensure that they are not poisonous as they could be dangerous to your pet.
As well as these practical measures, there are many home remedies (although they are not scientifically proven) that you can try to keep spiders out of your home:
- Essential oils
There are many reports of essential oils being a good deterrent for spiders. Peppermint, lavender, rose and cinnamon have all been noted to have spider-repelling qualities. Simply mix a few drops with water in a spray bottle and spray it around your house, particularly in corners and around windows and doors.
- Vinegar
Vinegar is said to have the same deterring qualities as the essential oils. It can be distributed in the same way.
- Eucalyptus
Spiders are said to be repelled by the scent of eucalyptus trees. Planting one in your garden may prove effective in preventing spiders from coming into your home.
- Lemon
Lemon is another scent that is reported to send spiders running back to where they came from. You can use lemon scented cleaning products or make homemade cleaners with lemon to fight a potential spider infestation.
- Cedar
Having cedar wood in the home is another effective home remedy. You can buy cedar wood products or cedar oil to repel spiders from your home.