A cleaning expert has shared three easy ways to spider-proof your home.
Many people find spiders to be unwelcome guests and it’s not uncommon to find a web hanging from the ceiling or see one of the eight-legged creatures scurrying up a wall. If the sight of a spider in your home is something that frightens you, it would be useful to know how you can keep these creatures out.
Anna Louisa, a cleaning and home content creator, has given three tips to help keep spiders out of your home. She shared these in a video posted on TikTok.
1. Spray around your windows and doors with peppermint oil and water
Her first way to spider-proof your home is by spraying around your windows and doors with peppermint oil and water. Anna suggests adding five to 10 drops of peppermint or tea tree oil to 240ml, or one cup, of water in a spray bottle.
Next, spray this solution around your windows and doors to repel spiders. The cleaning expert claims that spiders “dislike the smell of both of these oils.”
2. Place cinnamon sticks around your home
In her TikTok video, Anna said: “They also dislike the smell of cinnamon so dotting some cinnamon sticks around your home will keep them away too.” She said that she put a cinnamon stick on her bedside table to prevent spiders coming to that part of her home.
Anna added that you can put conkers around your home instead of cinnamon sticks to have the same effect on spiders. However, this is not recommended if you have toddlers or small children.
3. Add orange oil to your mop to repel spiders and other insects
She concluded her clip by suggesting to add orange oil to your mop to help keep spiders out but she claimed this will deter other insects from entering your home too. Anna instructed to add the recommended dose of orange oil to the water for your particular mop with a “squirt of dishwashing liquid.”
She used a Vileda spray mop and added 15 to 20 drops of the oil. The cleaning pro explained that spiders and insects dislike this scent and as it is less strong than peppermint and tea tree oil, it is “perfect for larger surfaces like your floors.”
In the caption of her post, Anna wrote: “3 ways to keep spiders (and other insects) out of our homes! They enter your home for warmth and also to keep out of the sun which is why we can see them all year round! These are tips to help persuade them to go elsewhere – they’re not only easy to do but they also make my home smell amazing!”
Places for People, a property company that offers homes to rent, has shared some advice on how to prevent spiders in the house in a blog on its website. It also suggests using essential oils as it states that spiders are repelled by the smell of peppermint, tea tree and eucalyptus oils.
Another tip it gives, echoing Anna, is to place conkers or citrus peels in corners and window sills as spiders “dislike the smell and will likely move on.” The property company further advises to keep your home clean by vacuuming and dusting regularly to remove webs and spider eggs and limit entry ways for spiders to come in, such as cracks, doors and windows.
