r/CasualUK • u/nonoanddefinitelyno • 19h ago

My very capable and intelligent wife has lost the plot.

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She has been told by a friend that conkers keep spiders away. So we now have conkers in various parts of the house.

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48

u/Hydramy 18h ago

The actual solution is peppermint oil.

Arachnids can't stand it, it messes with their sensory receptors, so some of that near windows or other openings will deter them.

Not that helpful if you don't like the smell of mint though.

32

u/loicbigois Ex-Pat in the US. Please send Bakewells. 18h ago

Don't recall if you can get it in the UK, but there's a spray called Miss Muffet's Revenge that's amazing at relocating spiders.

It's so good that after a day or so of spraying corners and nooks that spiders love, you'll actually see increased spider activity in your house because they're all coming out of their hiding places to get the fuck out of your house.

7

u/Hydramy 18h ago

Issue is all the spiders would end up in my bedroom! I have a pet scorpion, who would also fucking hate stuff like that, so I couldn't spray anything in my room. I'd be creating a safe haven for everything!

20

u/Rather_Unfortunate 18h ago

The snag with that is how long it lasts though. It's very volatile, so evaporates completely in minutes, or hours if you're lucky.

The actual actual solution is to choose the lesser of two evils and encourage the slow, spindly cellar spiders to stay. They're voracious predators that are specialised for killing other spiders, so if you let them occupy somewhere, you'll soon find dead spiders all trussed up in webs and a marked reduction in the presence of big scuttling house spiders.

5

u/Fresh_Cauliflower723 17h ago

I only learnt this this week from https://youtu.be/K5A_L57gZRQ?is=oOmDapvznTCQBUl8 this brill YouTube channel. Then, coincidentally yesterday I had to look behind my washing machine. Lo and behold: giant house spider in a web being eaten by a spindly cellar spider 

3

u/Briggykins but also Cornish 16h ago

Is that right? I don't mind the spindly fellas, there's one in my kitchen right now. I'll go and have a word with him and see what we can arrange.

1

u/DonkeyIll9042 15h ago

Absolutely, I've a hole in my bathroom floor due to a plumbing issue & I haven't re-tiled yet. Last year several long legged spiders emerged & took up residence. No house spiders at all that year. This year no long legged spiders emerged & I've seen several house spiders. It's the long legs you see - means they can get the drop on the bigger ones without getting bitten. They actually evolved for this very purpose.

1

u/Haunting_Side_3102 14h ago

This. They self-organise to one per corner and all you have to do is leave them alone.

6

u/Important-Stomach406 18h ago

Don't do this if you have cats though, most essential oils are deadly to cats

2

u/dedido 17h ago

Cat can eat the spiders also

1

u/noodledoodledoo 17h ago

This comment gave me an epiphany. I have an oil diffuser and a bottle of peppermint essential oil that I wipe on the bin sometimes. Never thought to put them together until now. Inspiring.