social

Spider Repellent Recipes

June 1, 2006
Spider on web with dew drops on it.Q: I am looking for a spider deterrent for my patio area. I have pets and so do not want to use chemicals or toxic products. I do not want to kill the spiders, I would prefer a homemade solution that I could spray or apply around the "people" areas of my garden.
Advertisement

Any ideas?

Hardiness Zone: 5b

Danamango From Montreal, Canada

A: Danamango,

If you get rid of the insects they eat, you will eventually get rid of the spiders. I have seen the following home remedies for repelling spiders. I've never tried any of these myself, but they certainly sound interesting. If you (or anyone on this site) try one of these methods, let me know if it works!

  • Chestnuts: place them around patio doors and around the perimeter of the balcony or deck to repel spiders.

  • Strong Essential Oils: (Canola, cedarwood, citronella, garlic, lavender, cinnamon, peppermint, tea tree oil, etc.) Combine 5 drops of any of these oils to 1 quart of water and a bit of dish detergent. Spray around desired areas.

  • Chewing Tobacco: Add 1 package of chewing tobacco to 1 gallon of boiling water and let cool. Strain and save liquid. Add 1 cup of the liquid to a 1/2 cup of lemon scented dish detergent. Pour into a spray bottle and treat the desired area. (Recipe by Jerry Baker, America's Master Gardener).
    Advertisement

  • Lemons: Spiders taste with their feet and are repelled by lemon oil, and even lemon-scented pledge. (This advice is supposed to be straight from the folks at Arachnophobia-the movie).

  • Osage Orange (Horse Apples): Quarter them and place them around the perimeter of affected areas.

Ellen

Answers

By Linda Valentine (Guest Post)
May 8, 20060 found this helpful

Try making a spray mixture of dishwashing deterrgent and water. I don't know about spiders but no insect likes the taste of soap. I use this in the garden and it works just fine.

 
By KAREN N. (Guest Post)
April 26, 20080 found this helpful

I tried dried lavender (about 3 Tbsp.) mixed with vinegar. (About 2 cups.) Let it sit for a couple of days. I poured it around my porch and let it drip down to the ground. Never saw a single spider for 2 years in or out of the house.

Advertisement

The 2nd time id di not work. Don't know why. Got the idea from some guy who writes books on natural gardening.

 
By carol Lesiuk (Guest Post)
June 30, 20080 found this helpful

Chestnuts do not work. I even tried something you plug in to an electrical outlet, it didn't work. I am going to try the lemon thing. Thanks. We have brickwork on our deck, they love it.

 
By Carol Lesiuk (Guest Post)
July 3, 20080 found this helpful

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you The lemon pledge worked ..... amazing. Thanks again. I also bought lemon oil, so am going to try that with water and a little detergent, as it will go further. I used two cans of lemon pledge around my sun deck. worked like a charm. Just not sure how often I have to do it, but I guess the spiders will let me know.

 
August 16, 20080 found this helpful

Also, Eucalyptus will keep spiders away.

 
By Shawn F (Guest Post)
September 8, 20080 found this helpful

I've yet to try the chestnuts but friends that swear by it say the important thing of it is that there fresh picked chestnuts and only work for the season.

 
By Scaredy (Guest Post)
January 9, 20090 found this helpful

I have a major, major case of arachnophobia and just moved into a ground floor apartment (not the smartest idea, I know). I placed several chestnuts at my doors, windows, in closets, and nooks and crannies. I also sprinkled red pepper flakes at doors and windows as I heard this can be a good deterrent.

Advertisement

Very unfortunately for me, neither of these things worked! There was a big one in my place just a few days after moving in so I am going to try the lemon pledge and lemon oil route. I also want to try and avoid poisons as I have respiratory problems.

 
By Daniel (Guest Post)
March 1, 20090 found this helpful

I'm trying to keep spiders out of my shed. I've tried vinegar, lemon curd, pepper and conkers all of them don't work.

 
Answer this Question

10 More Questions

Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.

August 20, 2010

Is there a plant, oil, lotion, etc. that will keep me from getting bitten by spiders?

By liddycoat from Wenatchee, WA

Answers

August 20, 20100 found this helpful

One thing is don't drink things like pop or things very sweet, it makes your blood sweet which is what they want. This will also help with mosquitoes too.

Advertisement

If you don't drink things that are sweet and sugary, your blood will be bitter and they won't want it.

 
August 20, 20100 found this helpful

Are you sure that you are getting bitten by spiders? are they abscesses/boils instead? It is more common for people to have repeat abscesses/boils than repeat spider bites.

 
August 21, 20100 found this helpful

Yes I'm sure that we are definitely being bitten by spiders. And no I don't like sweets really, occasional fresh fruit is about as sweet as i can handle most of the time.

Advertisement

But thank you for answering me. Any other suggestions?

 
August 24, 20100 found this helpful

If the spider problem is in your home, you should see about fixing that before you do anything to discourage them from biting you. Being prone to spider bites would severely creep me out and I'd be looking to get rid of them before anything else.

 

Gold Post Medal for All Time! 846 Posts
August 24, 20100 found this helpful

A spider bite or two is normal once in awhile but if you're getting more than that then you need to stay away from areas where spiders hang out and populate or, as Spanish Girl mentions, if they are in your home you need to rid the inside of your home of the spiders. There really isn't anything that is going to stop them from biting you other than staying away from them.

 
Answer this Question

June 15, 2013

Can someone give me some ideas to help me keep spiders out of my home?

By Geraldine from Milford, CT

Answers

June 17, 20130 found this helpful

Try to go through your place & seal up any tiny cracks that may allow any critters to get in through. Also don't leave doors open buy for a second.

 
June 17, 20130 found this helpful

Spiders don't like peppermint. Put peppermint oil on cotton balls and set them out where the spiders come in or where you see them.

 
June 20, 20130 found this helpful

Spiders hate lavender. Spray areas using a mix of lavender oil and water (1:5 or to your strength; I love lavender so mine is pretty potent). I've also used commercial sprays with lavender that have done the job. Great for your linen closet too!

Of course sprigs of lavender around would work too.

 
February 9, 20150 found this helpful

Peppermint oil works. I also sprinkle peppermint essential oil on my tiles while mopping.

 
Answer this Question

December 28, 2014

I have spider mite sacs all over the ceiling of my front porch. Not even spraying them with a hose works to get rid of them.

By Billie

Answers


Bronze Answer Medal for All Time! 220 Answers
December 28, 20140 found this helpful

Are you certain these sacs are from spider mites? Please see this description:

"Spider mites are not true insects, but are classed as a type of arachnid, relatives of spiders, ticks, and scorpions. Adults are reddish brown or pale in color, oval-shaped, and very small (1/50 inch long) about the size of the period at the end of this sentence. Immature stages resemble the adults except only smaller.

Mites live in colonies, mostly on the underside of leaves, and feed by piercing leaf tissue and sucking up the plant fluids. Feeding marks show up as light dots on the leaves. As feeding continues, the leaves turn yellow, and may dry up and drop off."

Spider mites are a common problem in gardens and agriculture and do not live in sacs on buildings as they need plants to survive. You have several options:
1. Take a sample of the sac and insect to your local county insect control department for identification and suggestions how you can resolve your problem.
2. You can purchase natural or awful bug spray to try to kill the insects. Once the insects are dead, you can remove the sacs from your front porch. However, if you decide to remove the sacs on your own, be sure every insect is dead. If you do not know what insect made the sacs, you may risk bites from some very bad spiders-brown recluse, black widow, etc.
3. Your best and safest option is to have a pest removal service remove the sacs. They will identify the insect and be able to safely remove it. This will protect you and others from possible bites.

 

Silver Feedback Medal for All Time! 337 Feedbacks
January 3, 20150 found this helpful

Well, we don't have any dangerous spiders here, and if there are egg sacs or webs, I just sweep them down with a broom. If you felt they were dangerous, you could burn them or bag them up and toss them in the garbage. Most spiders are actually beneficial, as they eat a lot of insects. The spider mites I am familiar with sometimes infest house plants, and they are not beneficial, but they are very tiny and gotten rid of with an insecticide soap or something similar.

 
Answer this Question

October 9, 2015

I see peppermint oil keeps mice away. I have been told it also stops spiders if put round windows and door ledges. Anyone heard of this and do you mix it with water and at what ratio?


Answers


Bronze Answer Medal for All Time! 220 Answers
October 9, 20150 found this helpful

My husband, an entomologist who keeps various spiders in his home office, doubts the idea that spiders can be repelled with peppermint oil. However, there are many sites that support this idea so a very easy online search for "how to make spider repellent peppermint oil" produced many replies. You can try a search yourself or this great site to start:

everydayroots.com/how-to-get-rid-of-spiders

 
Answer this Question

October 2, 2013

Closeup of spider.I manage an apartment complex in a rainy area and there are a lot of spiders (especially pumpkin spiders). I'm having to knock down webs daily. I am trying to find a repellent that will not harm children, adults, cats, or plants that can still be effective when wet and can be used to cover large areas. Spider and web in shrub.

 

By Malinda

Answers

March 13, 20140 found this helpful

Hedge apples if you can find them spiders hate them place them around the affected area sure they grow in most of the Midwest.

 
Answer this Question

August 29, 2010

What is a natural spider repellent?

By Budd from Fox Lake, IL

Answers

August 30, 20100 found this helpful

Try this...
add 1/2 oz. coconut oil to one quart of white vinegar

Coconut oil may be found in the grocery store in the baking section or in the snack section next to the popcorn oil. Health food stores will also carry it. It is solid at cool temperatures so you may need to warm it to a liquid form. Pour into a spray bottle and shake well to mix, then spray away. Be careful around delicate linens or furniture, it may stain. Best use is for outdoors, basements, garages etc.

 
Answer this Question

Archives

ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.

October 5, 2008
Click to read more ideas from older posts on ThriftyFun.
 
Read More...

August 29, 2010

What is a natural deterrent to spiders in the home?

 
Read More...

July 19, 2010

I am looking for spider repellent suggestions.

 
Read More...

October 8, 2009

Is there a natural, safe repellent that I could put on the house so that the spiders won't get established?

 
Read More...
Categories
Home and Garden Pest Control SpidersAugust 26, 2011
Pages
More
🍀
St. Patrick's Ideas!
💘
Valentine's Ideas!
🎂
Birthday Ideas!
Facebook
Pinterest
YouTube
Instagram
Categories
Better LivingBudget & FinanceBusiness and LegalComputersConsumer AdviceCoronavirusCraftsEducationEntertainmentFood and RecipesHealth & BeautyHolidays and PartiesHome and GardenMake Your OwnOrganizingParentingPetsPhotosTravel and RecreationWeddings
Published by ThriftyFun.
Desktop Page | View Mobile
Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Contact Us
Generated 2024-01-19 18:00:49 in 19 secs. ⛅️️
© 1997-2024 by Cumuli, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
https://www.thriftyfun.com/tf279075.tip.html