I returned from vacation recently to find the olive tree in my backyard covered in cobwebs, as if it had been mummified over the course of several years. In fact, I’d only been gone a few weeks. But the spiders had been busy. I did a little investigation, and there IS an increase in spiders in Southern California, apparently due to a large volume of bugs. If you know why there is a bug increase, let me know, because that was as far as my research got me.

In my family, we don’t kill spiders, even in the house. They eat insects for one, and two, my grandmother always said they were good luck. So she would knock down their webs but not kill the spiders, who generally crept off to find more hospitable digs.

For larger spiders in the house, I relocate them with a clear jar or glass and a stiff piece of paper. Just put the glass over them. It’s pretty easy to do before they even know what’s coming. Seal the open end of the glass against the wall. Wiggle it a bit until the spider walks towards the bottom of the glass. Then slide your index card/ magaine reorder form/ envelope etc. (anything thin but sturdy) under the rim. Tip the glass up with the “lid” on top and carry your eight-legged friend outside. If your spider wants to climb up the side of the glass ( he probably won’t, give it a (very gentle) shake to keep him at the bottom until you can get him outside. And voila, your spider is no longer in the house and you have good karma coming to you as well.

As for the spiders outside, several of them have built magnificent webs. A few of them are against the window, so I could watch the architects at work. They really do look like they are weaving between all their tidy spokes, using their back legs as they circle around. At first, I thought that with their brown and black stripes they were brown widows, but in fact it appears that they are common orb-weavers or garden spiders. These gentle spiders are shy and they have only mild venom, similar to a be sting, and are very beneficial to have in the yard to catch insects.

Still, there were so many that I was walking into webs daily if I went outside, and I can’t have a mummified tree. So how to keep the spider population at bay and still reap the benefits of their presence? I followed these simple steps:

The gardeners came and did a thourough leaf-blowing, which also eradicated a lot of the webs and the older cobwebs in the trees.
I mixed a few drops of peppermint oil in a 12 oz spray bottle with water. Peppermint naturally repels insects and spiders, and is also a deterant to mice! It’s great because it is all-nautral, inexpensive and harmless to children and pets. I spray this all around the frames of the windows and doors outside and anywhere else I want to be sure they avoid, like near the patio table and chairs.
Every morning, I go outside and use a broom or rake to knock down any webs that are in open areas were they might be a hazard and be walked into. I leave the webs that are out of the way, and hope those guys will work hard to catch some bugs.

Orb weavers generally build a new web every day or so, so even if you don’t want a permanent out-door guest, not to worry, they will be vacating soon.

And that’s it! Enjoy the magical nature of your fascinating arachnid guests and 8 years of happy karma to you!

Spider Chronicles