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SPIDERS INDOORS

(104 Posts)
Sparklefizz Tue 18-Aug-20 08:28:35

I have a spider phobia which is getting worse, and for the last 2 years I have used a spray to repel them and treat the corners of every room.

However, it's very strong-smelling, probably very toxic not only to prevent spiders but also toxic to me. Last year it gave me an asthma attack, and as I have struggled to control my asthma during lockdown due to stress, I don't want to risk using it again.

So ..... has anyone found something that really works to stop spiders coming in the house as we are fast approaching the "spider season" and I don't need to have yet another thing to stress about.

quizqueen Tue 18-Aug-20 10:38:45

You need to work to get over this irrational fear. Spiders must live in far more daily fear of being squashed by the giants who inhabit the same space as them!

Tilly11 Tue 18-Aug-20 10:35:11

Hi, I really admire those arachnophobes who deal with the problem by coping with their fear. Having to deal with this is hard I know. I have been in several workshops where the whole thing has been disrupted by one small beastie. Why let one thing rule your life and others.

HannahLoisLuke Tue 18-Aug-20 10:32:44

Spiders don't bother me. Good job as whilst gardening I felt something inside my sleeve and out dropped a very large spider.
Peppermint seems to deter mice. I had mice in my shed and they chewed a hole in a garden chair. I gave the shed a good clean and then put peppermint oil on cotton wool pads and tucked it into the chairs before folding them up. No sign if mice since and the shed smells pleasantly of peppermint.

Oldwoman70 Tue 18-Aug-20 10:24:18

I hate spiders - I got one of the electronic spider repellents and watched as a spider happily crawled across it! These days I don't see many spiders, but every morning I am clearing away webs (I think they all come out at night and have a party!)

Callistemon Tue 18-Aug-20 10:21:20

Yes, as others have said, peppermint oil is supposed to deter them but you need to keep reapplying frequently.
Unfortunately I think they come in through a vent in the conservatory roof here and it's difficult to reach.

I catch them in a spider catcher and put them outside but they seem to make their way back in again, trekking right across the garden with determination.

Aepgirl Tue 18-Aug-20 10:10:20

I’ve never been bothered by spiders - just pick them up and throw them outside, but last night when I was climbing the stairs to go to bed, there was the hugest one I have ever seen. This did make me a bit queasy. Anyway I was able to grab a towel, gather up the spider and throw it out of the window - now I’m on the lookout.

Craftycat Tue 18-Aug-20 10:09:22

Seriously consider seeing someone to cure this phobia. I was absolutely petrified of spiders from a child.
I went to a yoga retreat for a weekend about 10 years ago & after dinner the teacher who is also a neuro linguistic practioner offered to demonstrate a phobia curing technique. A woman who was terrified of wasps following a childhood incident agreed to be the victim. It was fascinating-just a talking therapy. I asked get the following morning if she felt it had worked & she said it was amazing how confident she felt about dealing with wasps.
Never gave it another thought until a week or so later there was a huge spider in the bath & without thinking I picked it up & put it on the window cill. Never been at all bothered since. I did contact the therapist & she said it often happens that you only need to hear the talk to be cured.
Absolutely amazing.

polnan Tue 18-Aug-20 10:05:35

Sparklefiz... my cat also... always catching insects.. I dread her getting a spider, mind you, I think she may leave the large ones alone,, and they are the ones that freak me out..

I use conkers, all the year round on the windowsill, I like to think they keep them out.. don`t want them in!!
looking at the peppermint spray on Amazon now, as husband died a few months back, and he used to deal with them.

Bamm Tue 18-Aug-20 09:51:34

I have a spider repellant peppermint spray, also conkers... I spray around windows and skirting. I am not sure how well it works, sometimes I forget to spray. I hate the way they run and everything about them.

Nortsat Tue 18-Aug-20 09:48:56

This reminded me of an occasion when I couldn’t sleep and got up for a cup of herbal tea. I was sitting in the living room, drinking my tea at about 3.00am and a saw a very large spider walking across the floor.

I don’t mind small spiders but cannot cope with the really big ones. I thought it would be ridiculous to wake my partner, who was asleep in bed. So I watched this huge spider advancing across the floor. Then I realised it was right in the path of our sleeping cat MC. ‘Phew’ I thought, she’ll wake up, see it and chase it away.

So I watched it crawl towards her ... she slept on solidly ... and the spider crawled right on top of her. It crawled virtually the full length of her body and right over her head and face ... and she simply snoozed on ....

Eventually it crawled under the book case and I had to go back to bed, as dozing on the sofa was now right off the agenda ... ? ?

grandtanteJE65 Tue 18-Aug-20 09:44:58

I think conkers only work while they are still fresh. Unfortunately, the spiders here come indoors a month before the conkers fall off the trees,

Sparklefizz Tue 18-Aug-20 09:44:42

Pearlsaminger I read online at the weekend of a car crash when a spider appeared in the car and the driver smashed into a lamp post.

Well done to your daughter for overcoming her fear. I have tried a self hypnosis CD but it didn't work.

Sparklefizz Tue 18-Aug-20 09:43:00

Dorsetcupcake I don't know where my spider phobia came from either as my Mum didn't mind them at all, but she was terrified of mice and when we lived in a country cottage I can remember her screaming when they came inside. I don't like the look of spiders or the way they scuttle. I am not too keen on seeing crabs moving in a similar fashion.

My cat just pokes at one with a paw and then it will race off under the bookcase and I will sit in terror waiting for it to reappear. Or my other cat would catch one and eat it and there would be legs hanging out of his mouth .... I shudder just to type that! shock

I will order some peppermint oil and stock up on cotton wool. Thanks everyone.

Pearlsaminger Tue 18-Aug-20 09:40:52

My daughter used an app called Chill
Pill to help her over her fear of spiders. Think she paid something like £2.99 for the one on spiders. She said she can’t block up every hole to stop them coming in so she was going to learn to deal with them.

Think it’s worked - driving along yesterday she calmly said ‘Can you pull over Mum’ asked her why and she said ‘there’s a Milly
(she renamed them Mildreds - less scary) In the car.’

I stopped, she dealt with it, I calmed down and on we went on our way.

Previously, we would both have been screaming and panicking. Think I better start using it myself hmm

Tweedle24 Tue 18-Aug-20 09:38:20

My sister is an arachnophobe and tells me that none of the suggested remedies work. Have you tried hypnotherapy? I understand there are excellent results from that.

Ffion63 Tue 18-Aug-20 09:37:23

Betterware do something called ‘Spiderstop’ which I’m sure is chemical free. Amazon sell it too. I use it to help ease my phobia.

Dorsetcupcake61 Tue 18-Aug-20 09:31:32

Reading comments I'm glad I invested in peppermint oil so off to get my cotton wool.! I did forget to add that neither of my parents had slightest fear of spiders,in fact always saying how good they were as are flies! My mother however was terrified of thunderstorms and would hide in cupboard under stairs. Thunderstorms dont bother me in slightest! Odd isnt it?

lemongrove Tue 18-Aug-20 09:30:05

Spiders have sensitive little noses.....so anything strong smelling repulses them.Conkers or chestnut oil on something will work, ditto peppermint oil.When we redecorate a room they hate it and we don’t see one for ages.

FlexibleFriend Tue 18-Aug-20 09:25:43

Peppermint oil on cotton wool balls dotted around the room work well.

midgey Tue 18-Aug-20 09:24:05

Confers haven’t worked in DDs home, she had a whopper in her sitting room next to the cooker!

tanith Tue 18-Aug-20 09:10:41

Conkers work for me

timetogo2016 Tue 18-Aug-20 09:04:17

Peppermint oil is brilliant.
Put drops by doors/windows and skirtings.
Conkers too,but i believe you have toput a hole in them.

Calendargirl Tue 18-Aug-20 09:03:26

I see my next door neighbour’s cleaner dusting and cobwebbing like mad.

I imagine the spiders gathering together and saying “Ok chaps, time to de-camp next door. We’ll be safe there for the foreseeable”.

My DH feels I am not too fond of the cobweb brush. Luckily spiders don’t bother me at all, I just pick them up and deposit them outdoors.

??

Dorsetcupcake61 Tue 18-Aug-20 09:01:47

I totally sympathise, I'm the same! I heard somewhere that putting a conker in the corner of each room helps. A tip that might help is peppermint oil. My daughter sells BodyShop cosmetics and apparently they do a spray which deters the horrid things. You could google it or perhaps make your own? I think in the past I have seen electronic devices that also repel them.
I think probably the best deterrent I have is my cats,since we had cats I havent seen any of the large ones!
Over the years I am slightly better. When we moved into this house it was a new build and my ex husband and I would see them run across lounge floor. ?. The house is built on healthland so I think everything has settled now. My neighbour did find a monster on his drive,not hairy,but we couldnt identify so we wonder if a bird dropped it as we do have docks nearby. He did dispose of it.
I have improved over the years. After I divorced there was only me to deal with them and I didnt want to pass my fear into daughters. I can cope with small to medium ones! I remember one night a medium one disappeared behind a bookcase in my bedroom and I thought to myself I could either move the whole bookcase (and still probably not get to it) or just ignore it! I did the latter!
Certainly some newspapers seem to delight in sharing articles pre season. Always over dramatic so avoid!

Sparklefizz Tue 18-Aug-20 08:59:58

GrannyGravy Yes, conkers do seem to work but unfortunately most years the spiders come indoors before the conkers fall off the trees!!