‘Easy’ method to keep spiders ‘strongly deterred’ from nesting in your home

Recent research from pest prevention specialists, Pelsis Group found that the search term ‘arachnophobia’ had the highest average monthly searches in the UK compared to any other pest-related phobia. Further evidence for spiders being the most feared is the fact that 21 percent of Britons claim to have a phobia of the eight-legged critters, according to a YouGov poll. With this in mind, Sophie Thorogood, from the technical team at Pelsis Group, has shared her top five tips to keep the eight-legged critters away. 1. Lemon-scented cleaners The expert explained: ‘The eight-legged creatures are strongly deterred by the smell of citrus fruits, so cleaning your furniture, skirting boards and window sills with lemon-scented cleaning products is an easy, natural method of keeping them at bay.’ Britons can also use lemon-scented diffusers around the home or light candles too. ‘Easy’ and ‘natural method’ to keep spiders ‘strongly deterred’ from nesting in your home (Image: Getty) Cleaning the home regularly can stop spiders from ‘nesting’, particularly if you’re removing their webs in the process. Sophie noted: ‘Vacuuming regularly is particularly important here as it will not only eliminate spiders but also the eggs they have laid which will help reduce the numbers drastically.’ Make sure to avoid leaving any food unwrapped or crumbs on the floor too, as this will only entice them. 3. Seal off entry points Spiders enter the home through gaps under doors as well as around windows so making sure these are sealed can help to prevent entry. Looking for a new home, or just fancy a look? Add your postcode below or visit InYourArea This includes fitting excluder strips to the bases of doors if this isn’t already in place. The expert said it’s unlikely every single point of entry will be able to be sealed off, but the major ones will help. 4. Traps and vacuums The expert continued: ‘Traps and vacuums provide an easy and humane way of dealing with spiders where you can simply release them back outside, away from your home and completely unharmed. When different pests are active (Image: EXPRESS) ‘The vacuum in particular is an extremely effective way of dealing with spiders, allowing you to easily collect the critters in almost any space, and the LED light provides the ideal tool to spot them in dark corners.’ 5. Maximise outdoor lighting While spiders are not attracted to light like some other creatures, many of the insects they feed on are, which means they’ll be drawn to the outdoor lighting. Sophie noted: ‘If left on overnight or for a prolonged period of time, this will likely draw a wide range of insects near your home and more often than not, they will make their way inside with spiders quickly following.’