WITH September finally here and autumn just around the corner, you might spot spiders in your home more and more.
As the cooler weather creeps in and leaves turn brown, house spiders become more common – but there’s apparently an easy way to keep them at bay.
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If you’ve already started coming across eight-legged creatures in your house this year, you may have heard that things like peppermint oils and conkers are the best deterrents.
But according to an expert, there’s another natural method that’s even easier.
House spiders tend to be found clinging to walls, hiding in corners and brazenly perched in bath tubs.
But lemons could help banish them, as spiders are believed to hate citrus scents.
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Rubbing lemon peel around your windowsills, skirting boards and in corners is said to help to get rid of house spiders, while making a simple spray out of the citrus fruit and water is recommended too.
Alternatively, the Astonish Kitchen Cleaner Zesty Lemon spray has been hailed as a game-changing spider repellent by social media users and costs just £1 at Morrisons.
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It’s commonly said that conkers from horse chestnut trees put spiders off too due to the saponin chemical found inside.
There is actually no scientific evidence to say that saponin is harmful to spiders (or even that they don’t like it) – but lots of people swear by the old wives’ tale.
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Flooring expert James Higgins at Online Carpets explained: “Spiders love moist environments, and so they will likely be heading into any rooms with hot water and appliances, which means you’re more likely to find spiders in kitchens and bathrooms.
“And when does spider season end? Well, luckily, spider mating season only lasts through September and October, so after Halloween you should be free from any creepy crawlies.”
He added: “While it’s been commonly said that placing conkers around your home is the best way to get rid of spiders, sadly, scattering chestnuts around your home seems to just be an old wives’ tale with no scientific backing.”
If house spiders begin to bother you as the weather turns autumnal, remember that they’re pretty much harmless and unlikely to bite you.
They simply flock to human homes ahead of winter to prepare for mating season.
The creepy crawlies appear inside in their hunt for tucked away breeding places like the backs of furniture – as well as for a mate.
Simon Garrett, head of Conservation Learning at Bristol Zoological Society, explained: “Spiders don’t specifically want to enter your home. In fact, they’d rather stay away as there’s less food and it’s too dry and clean.
“It is the need to mate that changes their behaviour.”