Despite the poor reputation of spiders, they are actually incredibly useful little creatures. If there are spiders around, typically there are not a lot of other pesky insects around as the spiders feed on them. However, most people don’t want spiders just hanging around their home – outside – or – inside.
There are plenty of products on the markets that will help you eliminate spiders around your home, however, many of those products are made up of toxic and harmful chemicals.
Below are some ideas on how to get rid of spiders without the store-bought chemical based repellents!
Ladybugs
Sounds strange, but spiders and ladybugs don’t typically dwell in the same areas. This is because ladybugs and spiders eat the same insects. If you have a garden in your backyard, consider introducing lady bugs to it! This forces spiders to go elsewhere as there is a lack of food. Ladybugs are also good for your garden. They eat crop-damaging aphids, mealybugs, and other destructive pests.
Peppermint Oil
The smell of peppermint oil is incredible strong and spiders are not a fan! There are a few easy ways to distribute peppermint oil around the house in order to remove spiders. Fill a spray bottle with water and add a few drops of peppermint oil, shake and spray around the house. Another easy way is to simply soak cotton balls in peppermint oil and then place them in effected areas.
DIY All-Natural Repellant Spray
This non toxic recipe for spider repellent is awesome and brought to you by tipsbulletin.com.
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 1 cup pepper
- 1 teaspoon liquid dish soap
Shake everything together in a spray bottle and use on the problem areas in your home – mud room, bathroom, basement, windows, etc. You can also use this spray around the perimeter of your home and on the outside of windowsills.
Cedar Mulch
Cedar mulch is a great spider repellent as spiders can’t stand the smell. Use cedar mulch around your yard and home to keep spiders away, or if you don’t want to spread mulch, you can always use cedar oil in the same way you would use peppermint oil!
Citrus Peels
Much like peppermint oil and cedar, spiders strongly dislike the smell of citrus.
Dilute a few drops of orange, tangerine, or lemon (or a mix of all three) into a spray bottle and use around the house. You can also save your citrus peels! Save your discarded orange, lemon, and other citrus fruit peels and then rub the outside over window seals, doorways, baseboards, etc.