Spider Season is Approaching

Autumn is approaching and that means so is spider season. From the middle of September to early October, spiders head indoors to mate. How can you prevent an infestation in your home and what should you do if you’re unlucky enough to get one? Read on to find out.

September and October is Mating Season for Spiders

When the Autumn comes, you’ll see spiders around your home much more frequently. Your warm, dry home is the perfect place for them to mate and hibernate for the winter. The ones you’ll see will be mostly male. The females are busy building webs and waiting for a male to come and find them.

Where Do Spiders Hide Out in Your Home?

Spiders love dark, undisturbed places like under furniture, inside of boxes, and in piles of clutter. You’ll also find them making webs on window frames and sills and in your garage or shed.

Are Spiders Harmful to Humans?

One thing you don’t have to worry about during spider season is them harming you. Most spiders can’t or don’t bite people, and only a handful do. The only spider that’s considered dangerous in the UK is the false widow. Most people who are bitten by a false widow have mild symptoms such as an itchy bump at the site of the bite. However, cases of wound infection and more serious allergic reactions have been recorded.

How To Keep Spiders Out of Your House

Keeping spiders out of your house, especially during spider season, is tricky at best. However, there are a few things you can do to minimise the chance of an infestation occurring.

Clear Clutter and Keep Your House Clean

Spiders love hiding out in dusty, cluttered places, so clearing your clutter and keeping your house clean and tidy can help to deter them. Vacuum and dust regularly, getting into all of those nooks and crannies. Forget about storing your stuff in cardboard boxes too, spiders love hiding out in them. Keep your things in plastic lidded boxes instead.

Seal Up Any Gaps and Cracks

Spiders are crafty creatures and during spider season, they’ll enter your home through any little crack in walls and window frames, gaps under doors, and spaces around pipes. Inspect your home and seal up any visible access points.

Keep Your Garden Tidy

Overgrown plants that are close to your house can provide a handy access route for spiders. Piles of leaves or firewood are also common hiding places so make sure you keep your garden tidy. It’s only a short distance from their garden clutter hideout to your home

Forget the DIY Remedies

There are plenty of articles online telling you about DIY remedies to keep spiders away from your home. There’s little or no evidence that things like conkers or essential oils keep spiders at bay. If you have a spider infestation, the only way to deal with it properly is to call in professional pest control.

Got a Spider Infestation in Your Home?

If you have the odd spider in your house, we’d recommend trapping it in a glass and putting it outside. Spiders are a pretty useful part of the ecosystem. However, if you’re seeing an unusual amount of spiders scurrying around your home, call Contego.

We’ll do what DIY treatments wont-we’ll ensure that spiders have been completely eliminated from your home. As well as dealing with the infestation, we’ll give you expert advice on how you can stop them from coming back.

Need help this spider season?

Call Contego.