Natural Spider Repellents – 8 Ways to Get Rid of Spiders

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While spiders have many admirable qualities, not everyone likes to have them as house guest. Although the kneejerk reaction when seeing a spider might be to grab a can of Raid, there are several other alternatives to get rid of spiders naturally without exposing yourself to harmful toxins. Please note, eradication of all spiders from a home is difficult and unnecessary. Simple capture and removal of spiders is recommended whenever possible. If you can’t relocate a spider to its natural habitat, try one of these 5 Natural Spider Repellents listed below.

How dangerous are conventional pesticides? Insecticides and Pesticides have serious health and environmental risk associated with them and should be avoided at all cost.

USA: Based on extrapolation of hospital surveys, an estimated 20,000 people receive emergency care annually for actual or suspected pesticide poisoning, and approximately 10% are admitted to the hospital. Each year, 20-40 people die of acute pesticide poisoning in the United States. Still unknown, however, is the number of affected workers in the United States who never see a doctor and who therefore go undiagnosed and unreported.

To read more on the danger of pesticides and insecticides, visit the McDaniel College Pesticides Risk page.

Natural Spider Repellents #1 – Herbs

Herbs have been used for centuries for repelling insects and are still just as effective today as they were all those years ago. Essential oils in these plants act as nature’s bug repellent and insects tend to avoid them.

Spider Repelling Herbs and Essential Oils include:

• Eucalyptus
• Citronella
• Lavender
• Peppermint
• Tea Tree
• Cinnamon
• Citrus
• Cedar

One drop of any of these essential oils will kill a spider. Please note: Do not get essential oils on skin, clothes or wood and keep out of reach of children.

DIY Spider Repellent Spray

Ingredients

• 5-10 Drops of any of the above essential oils or a combination of the oils
• ¼ tsp Dish Soap
• 12oz of Distilled Water

Directions

Mix all the ingredients in a glass spray bottle and spray effected areas weekly until you no longer notice spider activity.

Mountain Rose Herbs Stocks a variety of organic herbs and essential oils at reasonable prices

Natural Spider Repellents #2 – Plant a Garden

Plant spider-repelling herbs around the perimeter of your home to deter them from taking up residency.

Spider repelling herbs for your garden include:

• lavender
• lemon balm
• lemon verbena
• lemon grass
• eucalyptus
• mint

Cedar mulch also helps deter spiders. You can also shake cinnamon around the exterior of your house. Cinnamon works great for ants too!

Natural Spider Repellents #3 – Diatomaceous Earth (DE)

Sprinkle diatomaceous earth along the areas where you see bugs or spiders crawling. Make sure that the DE is distributed evenly, like a thin layer of dust.

Remember, DE won’t stop bugs in their tracks, it will slowly dehydrate and kill bugs after coating them. The idea is to get bugs to move through DE in order to get exposed. House spiders are prime targets for DE. They are in a dry environment and can be dehydrated by DE quickly.

If you live in a trailer or on a crawlspace, spread DE underneath your home. You can also add mint essential oil to cotton balls and place under your house.

Natural Spider Repellents #4 – Nuts

Place chestnuts around the outside of your home, under furniture or on windowsills. Horse chestnuts (Aesculus hippocastanum) or walnuts can also be used.

From Can you conker terrifying giant spiders with humble horse chestnut under the sofa?:

…scientists are divided over whether the saponin compound found in conkers is an effective spider repellent, with some describing it as ‘an old wives’ tale’.

Spider expert Jack Fenwick said: ‘The jury is out on whether it works but my cousin, who is very scared of spiders, tried conkers in her home and said it worked very well.’

Some experts say saponin gives the seeds a bitter taste and a smell that could act as a natural repellent.

Natural Spider Repellents #5 – Sticky Traps

According to experts, glue traps are the single best way to get rid of your spider population and other insects. You can place them anywhere and they are non-toxic. You can easily buy traps at any hardware store but you can get the family involved and make them yourselves.

For instructions on how to make your own sticky traps go to Making You Own Glue Traps or buy sticky traps online.

Natural Spider Repellents #6 – Tobacco Spray for the Yard

To make a natural spray repellent to use in your garden and in your yard:

• Boil 1 gallon (4 l) of water.
• Add 1 package of pipe or chewing tobacco to the water and let the tobacco soak until the water cools to room temperature.
• Strain this mixture into a clean container.
• Put 1 cup of the tobacco juice and 1/2 cup of mint into a hose-end sprayer.

Attach the hose sprayer to your garden hose and spray problem areas of your yard. This mixture will also repel mosquitoes and other pests. Be selective in your spraying! This mix will also kill all the many beneficial insects in your garden, like lady bugs and beetles. Spiders are beneficial in the garden as well – eating lots of mosquitoes and plant pests.

Natural Spider Repellents #7 – Spider Repelling Air Freshener

Citronella repels more than just mosquitoes – it also repels spiders! Add a couple of drops of citronella essential oil to your candles or air filters. Spiders hate the smell of citronella and will avoid areas with this oil. Using lemon dust cleaner helps too.

Natural Spider Repellents #8 – Saltwater

Salt is a natural type of spider poison, so it makes an effective pest control. Dissolve an ounce of salt (1/8 cup) in a gallon of warm water, and pour the saline mixture into a spray bottle. Spray the salty solution directly onto a spider to kill it. Salt water is also effective at killing spider nests.

5 No Muss, No Fuss Tips to Reduce the Number of Spiders in Your Home

#1 Leave the Lights Off

Lights attract mosquitoes and other flying insects, spiders feed on these insects. Reduce a spider’s food source, reduce spiders. See Natural Mosquito Repellents That Work for more information on how to get rid of mosquitoes.

#2 Remove Their Home

Remove stacked flowerpots, wood piles, bricks, firewood, and other debris that may serve as homes to spiders. Store these items away from your home and at the farthest part of your property

#3 Protect and Seal

Caulk or seal cracks or gaps around the foundation, doors, and ground level windows that spiders might enter through.

#4 Clean House

Regular housecleaning, vacuuming webs or spider sacks, and make sure you get around windows and baseboards.

#5 Recycle and Declutter

Don’t let your recycling accumulate otherwise you’ll be opening up a spider hotel with a neon vacancy sign. Remove newspaper stacks, cardboard, boxes or other clutter on a weekly basis.

More on Spiders

According to statistics 30.5 % of the US population has a fear of spiders. That is over 97 million people that have a fear of our eight-legged insect controlling friends, and these 97 million people are possibly using some sort of toxic chemicals all around their homes (inside and out) to get rid of spiders.

I’m not trying to make light of those with Arachnophobia or any phobia for that matter, the fear is real and can be seriously debilitating. (Spiders are closely related to mites, ticks, and scorpions and are collectively known as arachnids. ) However, I would like to make some compelling arguments in hopes to persuade those to not use harsh or toxic chemicals and opt for a more natural approach.

If you would like to learn more about overcoming your fear of spiders, read Overcoming the Fear of spiders in Two Minutes.

5 Reasons to Like Spiders

#1 Spiders Provide Insect Control

Spiders feast on Mosquitoes and other bothersome insects. More spiders= less mosquitoes. I’m more concerned about reducing the mosquito population than the spider population, The mosquitoes bite me more!

#2 No Spiders = Less Food for Humans

“If spiders disappeared, we would face famine,” says Platnick, who studies arachnids at New York’s American Museum of Natural History. Although the magnitude of the insect apocalypse that would occur without spiders is not clear, the importance of spiders to agriculture certainly is. Predation and chemical control are the only ways to limit herbivorous pests, because there’s so much food available to them in our amber waves of grain. Read more at The Case for Spider Conservation.

#3 Spiders are a Food Source for Many Other Species

Spiders serve as a tasty meal to several other species including other Spiders, Wasps, Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians and even Humans, yes Humans. Haven’t you ever watch Survivor?

#4 Spiders Produce Valuable Resources

Spider silk has a higher strength-to-density ratio than steel. Think bullet proof vest, airplane products, medical supplies and more. When we lose a spider species we may lose a cure to a disease or an ingredient for a life-saving material.

#5 Spiders are Survivors

Spiders have been around for 300 million years, anything that lives that long deserves respect.

How do you manage spiders in the home?

I’d love to read your spider control tips and spider stories. Please leave a comment below.

You may also find useful:

• Spider Bites – 6 Natural Treatments + Tips to Avoid Getting Bit
• How to Get Rid of Mice in Your Home and Garage
• How to Get Rid of Ants Naturally

This is a guest post by Amber Bradshaw of The Coastal Homestead. Amber is a environmentalist, homesteader, garden and outdoor enthusiast. She is a wife, mother of three. Amber owns a contracting business with her husband, was President of the local Herb Society for the last three years, a 4-H Leader, Blogger and runs a CSA. Amber strives to get back into nature with a more sustainable and self-reliant lifestyle that fits a busy schedule and a tight budget. She lives on the east coast with her family on a little over 1/4 acre and encourages others to do big things with small spaces.

When not out in the garden you can find her sharing her latest homestead tips at The Coastal Homestead, on Facebook, on Pinterest or Instagram.

Posts may contain affiliate links, which allow me to earn a commission to support the site at no extra cost to you. Thank you!

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