As summer swiftly comes to an end and cooler weather approaches, spiders start looking for warm, quiet places to nest and your home is the perfect hotspot. Without the right precautions, these eight-legged pests could “lay hundreds of eggs” in hidden corners of your house without you knowing.
Fortunately, a home hacks influencer on TikTok revealed one simple DIY spray that can help keep them far away. Carolina McCauley took to the popular social media site and shared: “Why isn’t anyone talking about this? It’s the easiest way I’ve found to keep spiders from the house.”
She went on to say: “Spiders lay hundreds of eggs in hidden spots. Peppermint oil keeps them away. This little spray has changed my life.”
How to make it
Carolina revealed: “It is just water with 20 to 30 drops of peppermint essential oil. I spray it around door frames, windows, corners, and anywhere spiders love to hide.
“They hate the smell and actually stay away. Bonus point: your house ends up smelling fresh and amazing. Just a heads up: do not use it if you have pets around, especially cats or small animals. Peppermint oil is not safe for them.”
An expert at Happy Homemaker also agreed with this method but added a little change. They stated that you just need a spray bottle to mix about 10-15 drops of peppermint or a citrus essential oil into two cups of water. For a little extra power, add a few drops of dishwashing soap.
Other methods
According to Pest UK, spiders hate strong smells such as lemons, limes, oranges, eucalyptus oil, and tea tree oil. Vinegar is another strong scent that helps repel spiders, but some people aren’t too keen on the vinegar smell lingering around their homes.
The expertsalso recommend closing your windows and curtains: “Just like moths, spiders are drawn to light, so turn outside lights off when you’re not using them and keep doors and windows closed or blinds shut when the lights are on inside.”
They added: “Most spiders are nocturnal, so keep windows and doors closed while you sleep to prevent them from getting into your home at night.”
Once it hits Autumn, homeowners could even try an old wives’ tale method and leave conkers at their windows. “While there’s no evidence to back this up, a row of conkers on the windowsill still makes a festive autumn decoration,” said Pest UK.