Getting rid of spiders?!?

Question

We seem to have a spider epidemic in the bushes outside our flat and it's actually beginning to replulse me! They're huge and have big brown bodies - they look like mini tarantulas!! Does anyone know of a good way to get rid of them??

Answer 1

House spider
Tegenaria gigantea/domestica
This species of spider is found in houses all over the world.



Life span
Several years.



Physical Description
Female house spiders are 9-10mm in size, and males are 6-9mm (not including leg span). They are brown and hairy with long legs. The leg span of this spider can reach up to 60mm. Males have a slimmer abdomen and longer legs.



Distribution
They are common throughout Britain but are more abundant in the south.



Habitat
House spiders are often seen in and around houses and gardens. They are most common in log piles and garden sheds.



Diet
They feed on crawling insects such as beetles, earwigs and cockroaches. House spiders have even been observed feeding on earthworms. House spiders can survive for months without any food or water.



Behaviour
The spider stands on top of a sheet-shaped web, waiting for insects. Sometimes it will build a tube-shaped retreat where it can hunt in safety.



Reproduction
After a male has located a female's web he will stay with her for some weeks. During this time he will mate with her a few times before eventually dying. The female does not kill the male, but after he dies she eats him. In this way, the male can contribute to the health of his offspring even after his death.

Males of the species are often found trapped in baths in houses. They fall in after wandering around searching for a female, and can't get out.



Conservation status
This spider is not protected by law in the UK
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wildfacts/factfiles/348.shtml

Spider Management

You alone can select the methods that will solve your spider problem or your reaction to the problem Fortunately, there will always be spiders. The best solution is to manipulate the environment so the spiders don't live where you do. It is unrealistic to expect that spiders can be totally eliminated. On the other hand, one need not live with abundant spiders. If you can't live with your spiders, some of the following approaches can reduce their numbers:
http://gardening.wsu.edu/library/inse005/inse005.htm

Answer 2

OK I don't sleep w/ spiders but, mother nature has a pretty good idea of whats going on in the world, house spiders don't bite you (or very rarely do, and they are NOT venomous depending on where you live). I hate parasites (blood suckers like mosquito's etc) The friendly little spider waits all night and day quietly in a corner of the ceiling, when I'm asleep, this little soldier is putting the "KYBOSH" on the enemy, he's interested in the mosquito, not me, Insects out number us in this world 7 to 1, I'm for anything (such as spiders and birds) that brings down the insect population. If it was'nt for them, there would be a lot more bugs around, mother nature put them here to keep the insect population from exploding, let the little guy be a good soldier, and do his job, they will be gone as soon as it gets cold. We have wolf spiders here on Long Island, about 1/2 to 1" big, they have hair, very scary looking but, are the biggest scaredy cats in the world, you just get near them and they run and hide quickly.

Answer 3

As some people already said, spiders (arachnids, not insects) are good to catch insects. Spiders are a natural insecticide and are pretty useful, as long as they’re not all over the place, then they become annoying. You can use various pesticides (a little spray every few weeks) and keep the place clean and free of spider webs but if I were you, I would not bother about the ones who stay hidden (in the back of the closet…) or in the corners of the ceiling (great mosquito catcher) and the ones in the yard. The ones hiding in various places in the house do an occasional walk around in the house but I think it’s just for exercise, not to bother you and they do a pretty good job of keeping the insect population down. Each time I see a mosquito trapped in a spider web, I’m glad I did not have to deal with it. Now the ones around the windows just need a good sweep of the broom every week and keep the windows clean because spiders do not like to built their webs on a squeaky clean window that smell like ammonia. I do not like spiders because I have arachnophobia but I have a deal with the ones in my house. I leave them alone and they leave me alone. As long as I don’t see them, I’m fine. If I see one, I catch it under a bowl and carry it outside and I keep the place clean so they don’t like it so much. Edit: I just read Kaosmunki’s answer (the poster after me) and I agree with her about the taking the spiders outside and avoiding killing them (you can sweep them with the broom and then put it outside). People I know killing spiders are the ones getting bitten while they sleep (what a thought!) so it’s more than a silly superstition.

Answer 4

If you look up wolf spider, you might see what you have in your yard. They are ugly, but are basically harmless to humans - they eat bugs.

Bugs, you probably have a lot of them, and to get rid of what they eat, get a "twist" of chewing tobacco, cut it into pieces, boil it in a pot, let it cool, then filter it through some old panty hose to keep the solid particles from coming through,put it in your garden sprayer and spray it on everything that is there, horizontal and vertical. Bugs will hike a thousand miles away and getting rid of the bugs will get rid of the spiders, eventually.

I happen to chew tobacco and while my neighbors are getting eaten up by mosquitoes and gnats, they don't bother me at all.

Answer 5

Most spiders are a good thing because they eat repulsive bugs like cockroaches, flies and mosquitos. It could be they are looking for a warm place for the winter. Hopefully there are no dryer vents or air exchange vents near the bushes where they can crawl inside the building. To be on the safe side in case they are poisonous, call an exterminator to take a look at them.

Answer 6

on how clean is your house the other day they said that spiders and insects hate citronella, so she damp dusted the walls of the house with water and citronella. i know you can get citronella candles to keep insects away so i reckon if you spray the bushes with citronella it could work too.
at least theyre outside garden spiders, my house is being plagued with huge house spiders at the moment as they come in this time of year to keep warm. i have a spider catcher which is pretty damn useless, and am thinking of ordering a bugbuster off ebay, its a vaccum device that sucks them into a tube they cant get out of and only cost a fiver for the basic model and double for the new one with a long tube so you can stay well away from them.

Answer 7

These are Harvest spiders (so called because they appear at harvest time). They can be quite large but they don't bite.

They will be gone in a couple of weeks. As soon as the cold weather starts.

Answer 8

Get a cat, They love to play with spiders! Sounds daft but mine usta keep the spider population down to a minimum.

Answer 9

There's a fruit called a "mock orange" that spiders hate and is supposed to repel them. I've heard of people putting them in the corner of the rooms in their homes and it's supposed to drive them away. Maybe it would work in your bushes. Otherwise since they're not in your house I'd let them be.

Answer 10

Spiders eat creepy crawlers, which would you prefer spiders outside or Daddy long legs inside ??