How to get rid of spiders in your home

If you feel genuine distress or panic when a spider suddenly darts out from behind the sofa, you’re not alone. While spiders are generally harmless, spotting one in the home can cause significant anxiety for many individuals.

Spiders help to control pests like flies, so it’s not good for us or nature to harm them. That’s why we’ve put together a list of safe ways to repel or remove spiders from your home, helping to ease the worries of those who are afraid of them.

Fear of spiders (arachnophobia)

Fear of spiders (known as arachnophobia) is a type of anxiety that affects 16% of men and 26% of women in the UK, according to a YouGov survey.²

Why spiders enter our homes

Spiders can enter your home in various ways – through gaps in the walls, windows, and doors, or by being brought in on items like firewood. You will probably notice large house spiders from September to October, as the males look for a mate.

Other reasons your home might attract spiders:

• Food sources – the insects that spiders like to eat can be found around food in the home. Think of fruit flies attracted by leftovers on a plate or aphids on a pot plant.
• Webs – male spiders will ‘ping’ the silk of a female spider’s web, which vibrates to tell her he’s there and ready to mate.³ Regularly removing webs can help deter returns.
• Messiness – spiders love nooks and crannies, so keeping your home uncluttered can help get rid of them.

Most of the time, you won’t notice a spider in your house, but some may have been living there all year.

Signs of spider infestation in the home

If you have a spider infestation, you are likely to see:

• More spiders than usual
• Multiple webs or large ones
• Spiderlings (baby spiders)
• Spider eggs and sacs
• Many insects
• Tiny spider droppings in corners

Depending on the scale of your spider infestation, you may need the help of a pest control expert.

How to stop spiders from entering your home

You will never be able to get rid of every spider in your home, but there are two things you can do to reduce them. The first step is to prevent them from gaining access in the first place, and the second is to make your home as unattractive to them as possible.

Follow our spider deterrent tips:

1. Mind the gaps: Use caulk or expanding foam to seal any noticeable cracks, gaps or crevices where spiders get in. Typically, these will be around the following:

• Walls
• Pipes
• Door frames
• Window frames
• Screens
• Foundations

Fitting draught excluders to doors and adding mesh screens to airbricks and vents will also reduce any gaps that spiders can enter.

2. Repel invaders: Remove any food waste that could attract them. Move recycled food containers to an outside bin or use an anti-aphid spray on pot plants.

Spiders do not like the following natural repellents:

• White wine vinegar – half mixed with water and sprayed into the corners that spiders like
• Essential oils – combine peppermint and lavender with oil and water in a spray or use an oil diffuser. Grow them in a window box or your garden, so you have them to hand
• Garlic spray – a bit smelly, but you can use a few cloves in water and spray it into corners
• Cedar balls – hang them in wardrobes and every nook and cranny
• Cinnamon sticks – lay them beside gaps like skirting boards and windowsills (but not directly on wood as cinnamon stains)
• Smoke – light a candle or turn on a wood burner to deter them

3. Keep a tidy home – spiders like holes and corners they can hide in, so keeping your home clean and clutter-free will keep them at bay and give them nowhere to go.

• Polish surfaces to get rid of dust
• Clean away dead insects that might attract them
• Remove current webs
• Vacuum food crumbs from under sofa cushions
• De-clutter as much as possible
• Leave no food out anywhere
• Regularly remove waste

Remember also to tidy and maintain the garden. Spiders love a cluttered shed where they can easily hide. Take care to knock every piece of wood from an outside pile to loosen any hiding spider before bringing it inside for a wood burner. 

4. Turn night warden – as spiders are attracted to light and tend to come into homes at night, switch off outdoor lights and close any windows while you sleep.
   
   
5. Remove spiders’ prey – prevent flies and moths from getting into your home by installing insect screens. Alternatively, consider placing a Venus flytrap plant near your recycling box to attract and remove the fruit flies that spiders eat.

How to remove spiders from your home humanely

Spiders often get a bad press and are scary to many people, but it’s important to remember that they are not dangerous, at least in the UK. Only 12 of the 650 species in the UK bite, and then it’s usually just a nip and often unverified.⁴

We need spiders for a healthy and balanced ecosystem, which benefits all species on earth. So, do all you can to avoid killing a spider, including controlling a pet that wants to pounce on them!

Instead, ask someone who isn’t scared to use a cup and card to remove it safely. You can also buy light vacuum tubes and spider-catching grabbers from the internet or high-street retailers that help you catch them without getting too close.

Natural spider repellents, regular cleaning, and sealing crevices and gaps are the best ways to deter them from entering your home.

Sources

1 https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2019/08/conkers-spiders-and-facts/#:~:text=Unfortunately%2C%20there's%20no%20conclusive%20proof,and%20die%20within%20one%20day.

2  https://yougov.co.uk/society/articles/45297-what-do-britons-say-they-have-phobia

3 https://britishspiders.org.uk/sites/default/files/2020-08/Bug_Club_0813.pdf

4 https://www.sciencefocus.com/nature/how-many-uk-spiders-are-actually-dangerous