Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

An incy wincy problem

Neighbours thought the man, who was trying to rid himself of a spider, was attacking a woman
Neighbours thought the man, who was trying to rid himself of a spider, was attacking a woman

 

It’s that time of year when our homes house unwelcome visitors – of the eight legged variety. Lisa Salmon reveals how to spider-proof your pad

As temperatures drop over the next month or two, keeping doors and windows shut won’t just keep the heat in – it’ll help keep spiders out.

The reasonably mild, wet weather in the UK recently has led to more spiders being spotted, and a garden building hailed as ’the world’s first spider-proof shed’ has even been launched, boasting a host of anti-spider features, including silicone-sealed joints, airtight windows and doors, and an interior lined with spider-repellent paper – as well as a ’No Spiders’ allowed sign, just in case spiders can read.

 

But if you don’t have spider-proofing, the eight-legged tiny terrors will make their way indoors – and often, they’ll head straight for your house. Experts say house spiders, which can grow up to 12cm long, are particularly large and plentiful this year, and their indoor invasion could be joined by Britain’s increasing numbers of false widow spiders, which earned their name because of their resemblance to the much more dangerous black widow spider.

 

While house spiders can bite but have no venom, false widows have been dubbed ’Britain’s most venomous spiders’, as they do indeed carry venom. However, like the rest of our native spiders, they aren’t aggressive. While they can, rarely, leave a bite which can cause pain, redness and swelling, they’re unlikely to if handled with care – or, preferably, not handled at all.

But whether they bite or not, most people don’t want spiders sharing their home.

 

If you do see one in the house, just put a container over it, scoop it up with a postcard and gently put it outside. However, there are plenty of things you can do to prevent the pesky critters invading your living space in the first place.

 

David Cross, head of the Technical Training Academy at Rentokil Pest Control, said: “Male house spiders leave their webs and enter homes in the late summer and autumn months to look for breeding partners. Recent spells of wet weather will have encouraged this behaviour, making it seem like there are more spiders than usual. As spiders are able to squeeze themselves through tiny gaps and holes, it’s impossible to completely proof your house against them, but of course, closing doors and windows will help keep them at bay.”

 

A spider on it's web
A spider on it’s web

 

 

 

TOP TIPS FOR KEEPING SPIDERS AWAY

 

Limit spider food – Clear away any dead flies, or other small crawling insects.

 

Vacuum regularly – Always vacuum high and low, and make sure you target sheltered spots beneath worktops and behind cupboards and sofas.

 

Remove webs – Do this regularly, and remember to check the corners of the ceiling and in corners of picture frames and mirrors.

 

Fill gaps – Make sure you fill the gaps between walls, pipework and under doors where possible.

 

Remove sheltering sites – Spiders will look to tuck themselves away in firewood piles, garden bags and compost heaps, so get rid of them if you can.

 

Limit lighting – Insects are drawn to light, and flies and moths are ideal spider prey, so turn any outside lights off if you can.

 

Put them off the scent – Spiders don’t like the smell of citrus fruits like lemon, plus eucalyptus, tea-tree and peppermint oils. Try rubbing lemon peel around windows and doors, or spray the other scents around them. Another smell they don’t like is vinegar – although you might not like that scent either.

 

Feline foe – A cat will try to catch a spider if it sees it – although owning a moggy won’t stop spiders coming indoors in the first place.

 

 

Cats can keep spiders at bay
Cats can keep spiders at bay

 

Conkers – An old wives tale says spiders don’t like conkers and placing them around the house will keep spiders at bay. While there’s no real evidence to back this up, it won’t hurt to try.