The invasion is silent. Without warning, they’re everywhere: the kitchen, the living room and looking down at you while you sleep.
Much like the plague of flies over the summer, there’s a good chance your home is now overrun with spiders.
Most spiders are solitary creatures, but it might seem like there’s a community of them hanging out in the corners of your rooms.
On TikTok, British users are sharing skin-crawling clips of tennis ball-sized critters taking a casual stroll.
Pls send help I would like my room like spider free forever pls #foryoupage #fyp #moots? #spider
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But why is that? And are the spiders getting larger, or is your house just shrinking?
Metro spoke with the UK’s resident ‘spider expert’, Adam Hart, a professor of science communication at the University of Gloucestershire, to find out.
Why do spiders go inside your home?
Almost all homes have spiders, so much so that Tegenaria, those big hairy ones always in your bath, are nicknamed house spiders.
But the reason they’re inside is the same reason you are – it’s safe.
With no predators to worry about, your house is an all-you-can-eat buffet, filled with flies, moths and other insects that spiders feast on.
They also love clutter: think cupboards, under the bed, or anywhere you’ve been meaning to tidy since 2020.
Why are there so many right now?
Don’t worry, we’re not in the grips of a ‘national spider population explosion’, Hart says. (At least, we don’t have evidence of it yet.)
But we are in the beginning of ‘spider season’. From September to mid-October, males leave their webs to find females to mate with.
‘It can look as though they’ve suddenly invaded our homes,’ Hart says, ‘but in many cases they’ve actually been living in and around our houses quite unobtrusively for much of the year.
How to keep spiders out of your home
- Keep your house clean
- Don’t let clutter build up in places like cupboards, garages or lofts
- Also keep on top of dampness, like in bathrooms
- Move furniture away from walls when cleaning
- Cut back plants growing against your house, as they both attract insects and help spiders sneak inside.
‘What changes at this time of year is their behaviour. The large house spiders people are seeing running across floors are very often mature males wandering in search of females.
‘They suddenly become much more mobile and conspicuous, so we’re seeing more spiders, but that doesn’t necessarily mean there are actually more of them.’
September is also when the weather becomes rainier and windier, which is pretty dangerous to a creature as tiny as a spider.
The UK has seen several heatwaves in recent months, which may have influenced spiders’ development and activity this year.
‘Anecdotally, I started noticing large house spiders slightly earlier than I normally would,’ Hart adds.
Despite what some TikTok users say, spiders aren’t ‘on steroids’ this year compared to normal, either.
Again, the reason why is simple: these are adult spiders we’re seeing now and their long legs make them look larger than they are.
‘A large male suddenly sprinting across a pale carpet can look considerably more impressive than a spider sitting quietly in a corner!’ adds Hart.
Should we be afraid of spiders?
You’ll be glad to know there are no deadly spiders in the UK and few bite.
Spiders are an important part of the ecosystem, helping control insect populations and themselves being food for animals.
And, after all, from a spider’s perspective, you’re a giant stomping around and squishing them at a moment’s notice with a battleship-sized slipper.
‘Their first response to disturbance is generally to escape or hide, which is why the large house spiders we encounter at this time of year tend to sprint for cover when approached,’ says Hart, describing humans as an ‘enormous threat’ to the arachnids.
‘They’re running away from us, not towards us.’
This is why people with arachnophobia, a fear of spiders, are often reminded that spiders are ‘more afraid of you than you are of them’.
But this line, while reassuring for some, probably won’t cure arachnophobia, Anxiety UK tells Metro.
Phobias are an intense anxiety response that is disproportionate to the actual danger something poses, the mental health charity says.
Arachnophobes may freeze up when they see even a photo of a spider, or half-joke that it’s easier to burn their house down than deal with them.
Well, time to burn the house down over a spider #reasonablecrashout pic.twitter.com/VEFFGtLc1O
— Christian Mansell (@CMansell_Racing) August 13, 2025
‘Where a phobia is affecting someone’s daily life, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), including gradual and supported exposure, can help them build confidence and reduce fear in manageable steps,’ Anxiety UK says.
CBT involves challenging your ‘automatic thoughts’, those assumptions you make you’ve never thought twice about, like that a spider is dangerous.
‘Helpful immediate measures can include stepping away, using slow breathing or grounding techniques, asking someone trusted for practical help and avoiding pressure to confront the fear before they feel ready,’ Anxiety UK adds.
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