Natural Spider Repellant

I can hardly write this post because of the heebie jeebiez I'm feeling right about now. I've had a couple spider encounters the last couple of days that have left me feeling really freaked out. 

One was during lunch time just a couple days ago while I was trying to keep my baby girl from crawling into the fireplace, a spider suddenly dropped onto my unsuspecting sandwich which was utterly terrifying. What if I hadn't seen it drop and I took an extra crunchy bite? Eeeek!

Yesterday afternoon I spotted an extra leggy mass in the upper corner of the ceiling and realized it was two large daddy long legs gettin' it on right outside our bedroom. Sick. I climbed to smash them with toilet paper and one jumped down onto my arm and then fell on the floor and got away. I sense it lurking. 

And of course this was years ago, but I'm still scarred by the occurrence. I recall hanging out in my bedroom writing moody poetry and listening to Sarah McLachlan as a teenager when I noticed an extra "poky" looking spider hunched in the corner of my window sill. As I ran to grab the vacuum and suck it up, what seemed like HUNDREDS of baby spiders jumped off the mama spider's back and began overtaking my bedroom. Screams. Screams. 

Sooooo, now that I have sufficiently creeped myself out all over again, I wanted to share some natural spider repellent remedies that I have found in my quest to sleep more peacefully at night. I bought some of these products last night to try out ASAP and I'll have to follow up and let you know how things go. 

Apparently spiders have taste buds on their legs, which makes these repellents especially successful should they come tip toeing too close to areas where they are uninvited. 

Aromas/tastes that spiders are said to detest include:

Lemon

Peppermint

Cinnamon

Tea Tree

Citrus Scents

Incidentally, these are often smells that most of us rather enjoy. Pick your poison (although, point being it isn't poison at all and is safe to use around kids and animals alike), squirt 7 drops of either peppermint oil, tea tree oil or lemon and add a few drops of mild dishwashing soap to about a quart of water. Pour into a spray bottle and spray around doorways and windows or wherever you see spider webs indoors. Re-squirt the areas every other day for at least a couple of weeks. You should see a significant drop in spider sightings indoors.

You can also set out lavender plants or pots of mint throughout your kitchen or living area to discourage spiders from moving in. 

Try these methods out with me and hopefully we can keep spiders outside!