Spiders invade UK homes early as experts detail 'chalk method' to keep them out

17 August 2023 , 01:04

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Spiders invade UK homes early as experts detail 'chalk method' to keep them out

After a warm but very wet summer, it's already the time of year when giant spiders are starting to reappear in people's homes - and worried Brits are trying to keep them out.

Spiders usually start to come indoors in September, and sightings on floors, along skirting boards and up walls become alarmingly regular for those who are afraid of the eight legged beasts. If you encounter a spider on the move, it's almost certainly a male, because the male spiders move around while females stay in one place, reports Yorkshire Live.

It's this movement - when male spiders go on the hunt for a female mate - that brings spiders to most people's attention because they leave their sheltered hiding places such as inside walls, cellars and dark cupboards, and head for some no-strings fun with a fellow arachnid.

After an unusually wet August, people across the country are already seeing spiders in increasing numbers inside their homes. Millions of people in the UK are afraid of spiders, though, and frantically look for a way to keep them out. Giant house spiders can bite, but it's unlikely that they would ever get near enough to you to do so because they don't like humans and will do everything they can to get away from you.

You should avoid killing spiders, though. They are extremely beneficial to a house, trapping and clearing away flies, ants and other pests from taking over your house. Apart from old school methods like using a glass and a piece of paper, you can use a 'spider grabber'. These extendable arms have light brushes which grab and contain a spider at arm's length. You can then just pop it safely out of the window and it won't come to any harm.

Jeremy Kyle's daughter Ava taken to hospital after spider bite

Spiders typically start to come indoors in September (Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Five ways to keep spiders out:

1. Lavender, mint and eucalyptus as well as citronella: Spiders don't like strong smells like those from lavender, and many have it growing in their garden. Simply cut some off and sprinkle it in key spider points like windowsills, near doors and dark skirting boards.
2. Mint: you can simply buy fresh mint from a supermarket for as little as 65p and sprinkle it along windowsills and in dark corners of skirting boards, where spiders are likely to lurk.
3. Lemon/Citronella: You can buy sprays made from these ingredients for about £5 to £7
4. . Removing webs: If you remove a web frequently, spiders will realise that it's a bad place to spin a web and they will eventually move on and live somewhere else.
5. Chalk: spiders taste with their feet, and they don't like the taste of chalk. Drawing a line of chalk around your bed, along window frames and near doorways will create a no-spider zone which they will not want to cross.

Alex Evans