Not many people are a fan of spiders; in fact, they just hate this eight-legged company. If you also worry about the presence of spiders in your home, you can try many different ways. Spiders are something most people are not crazy about and they certainly do not want them in their home. This is especially true if you live in an area with more dangerous spiders, such as the black widow spider or brown recluse spider. Both of these spiders are quite common in the United States and their bites can cause very painful and uncomfortable symptoms. Keep reading to learn how you can use peppermint oil to get rid of spiders.
Does Peppermint Oil Really Get Rid of Spiders?
It is true that peppermint oil helps get rid of spider because it has some repellant chemical that keeps spiders away. But the oil is volatile, so you need to use more of it after regular intervals to make it work. The only issue is to understand the fact that the strength of the oil begins to deteriorate in 12 hours or so, it means you need to apply it constantly.
How to Use
There are a number of ways to use peppermint oil to kill spiders, but the best way is to add some oil to bottle and mix water in it to prepare your homemade insect repellant.
- Just take a spray bottle, add 10-15 drops of peppermint oil to it and fill it up with water. Take a whiff to ensure that water smells minty – add a few more drops if required.
- Now, spray it in the cracks and gaps to keep spiders from entering your home.
- You can also add a couple of drops of peppermint oil to cotton buds and place them in the areas that spiders use to enter your home.
Are There Any Risks?
Just like other home remedies used to get rid of spiders, there are no specific instructions for using peppermint oil. Spiders may still enter your home if the strength of peppermint water that you have prepared is on the lighter side. It is therefore important to keep experimenting with how much oil to use in water. At the same time, keep pets and children away from the oil to avoid any harmful effects.
Other Useful Tips to Keep Spiders Out of Your House
While peppermint oil is an effective remedy, you can try some other ways to keep spiders out. For instance:
1. Eliminate Clutter from Your House
Like mice and cockroaches, spiders love clutter. You need to keep stacks of storage boxes in an organized manner, avoid piles of old magazines and newspapers, and clean under-bed storage to keep spiders out.
2. Clean Your Room Regularly
Along with checking all spider-attracting areas, you need to use the vacuum cleaner to keep your rooms clean. Be sure to vacuum beneath chairs, sofas, and nightstands. Clean ceilings, corners, and light fixtures using an extended dusting pole. Always clean your bookshelves regularly and clean air ducts to avoid giving any space to those eight-legged creeps.
3. Keep Them from Entering Your House
Start by inspecting the foundations and walls of your house and fix any problem areas. Never keep firewood close to the foundation of your house and ensure that trees do not touch the exterior walls. Mowing grass regularly will also help. Similarly, you need to close your chimney flue if not in use, use cloth grocery bags and wash them regularly, and do not forget to wash your bananas and other produce because they may have spider eggs on them.
4. More Remedies
In addition to using peppermint oil, spiders can be kept away from your home by some natural remedies for good effects. For instance:
Use white vinegar. It works amazingly well as a spider repellent and is in fact a natural way to get rid of spiders. Just fill up a spray bottle with water and add some white vinegar to it. Mix well and spray it in the cracks, corners, and crevices, or in areas where you may have seen spiders. Be sure to spray regularly to keep spiders away.- Try chestnuts. You can make use of chestnuts to get rid of spiders for good. Simply place a few chestnuts along your baseboards of the house and on the windowsills to keep spiders out. The good thing is that chestnuts do not rot that easily, so you do not have to replace them daily.
- Use peels of citrus fruits. Spiders are not a great fan of citrus fruits, and you can take advantage of that weakness. Simply place the peels in areas where you may have spotted spiders. Also, rub the peels on the bookshelves and the windowsills for better effects.
- Use tobacco. Even spiders do not like the smell of tobacco. It keeps them from entering your property. You just need to take some small pieces of tobacco and spread them in areas where you have troubles with spiders. It is also possible to soak tobacco in water and put this mixture into a spray bottle for use.
- Try baking soda for good effects. You can keep spiders away from your home by sprinkling baking soda in the areas where you suspect the presence of spiders. Be sure to sprinkle it on the doorframes, all the corners of the house, windowpanes, and other spider prone areas.