We hate spiders. They creep us out and having children around, they are not our first choice for a housemate. They are, however, an important part of a healthy ecosystem. One of the issues of living on a smaller block is that our garden is connected to our house, which means it very easy for the spiders to move into our living spaces. In Australia, we have over 3000 species of spiders. While the majority of them harmless, we do have also some of the most deadly spiders in the world which we don’t want to play with or sleep. Our solution is to treat our home and living spaces for spiders and allow them to live in our garden.
We found a homemade organic and pet-friendly spray for killing and deterring spiders a couple of years ago and have been using it ever since. The spray consists of 4 ingredients which are cleaning vinegar, lemon-scented soap, coconut oil and water.
To make a one litre batch of the spray, combine 250ml of cleaning vinegar, 2 tablespoon of lemon-scented dish soap, 2 tablespoons of melted coconut oil, 750ml of water and mix thoroughly. To use, spray around windows, doors, fences, play equipment or any places there are spiders that you don’t want them. This also can be sprayed directly onto spiders to kill them. Once you finished spraying remember to wash your spray bottle out, as vinegar can destroy your seals on your sprayer. If using white vinegar double the amount of vinegar.
After spraying you can help prevent the return of the spiders with a couple of simple steps by removing remaining cobwebs with a stiff bristle brush and keeping your home free of clutter and debris. Identify their usual hiding places and make sure you attend to them regularly. We hope that this helps you to find a good balance and enjoy your eight-legged friends where they belong – in the garden!
