Spider Control Products

An adhesive surface placed on the routes spiders walk. They catch and hold what crosses them, which reduces numbers and shows you where activity is concentrated. Spiders travel along edges and skirting rather than across open floor, so placement decides how well they work.

Often not, and it is worth asking before you buy anything. A glass and a piece of card will move most house spiders outside in a few seconds, and released well away from the wall they rarely walk straight back in. That is the first thing our guide to getting rid of spiders yourself suggests, and it is particularly worth doing in autumn, when what you are seeing is usually a wandering male passing through rather than anything living in the room.

Sticky traps for catching what is already indoors without an insecticide, and for finding out where they are coming in. A spray for treating entry points, frames and corners. Proofing - sealing gaps around windows, doors, air bricks and pipework - is what reduces numbers over a season, and traps and sprays both work better alongside it.

Traps contain no insecticide; place them out of reach so the adhesive cannot be touched. For sprays and powders, follow the label: keep children and pets out until treated surfaces are dry, ventilate as directed, and do not treat food preparation surfaces. A pesticide-free option is a reasonable place to start indoors.

Because that is when mature males leave their webs to look for females, which is why you see them crossing floors and sitting in baths in September and October rather than at other times of year. It is a seasonal wander rather than an infestation, and it settles. Proofing before autumn does more than treating during it.

Deal with it rather than leaving it. A single sac can hold up to a few hundred eggs and they usually hatch within two to three weeks. Vacuum the sac up along with the web, then empty the vacuum straight into an outside bin rather than leaving the bag or canister indoors. The places sacs get missed are ceiling corners, behind and under furniture, inside window reveals, and anywhere in a loft, cellar or garage that never gets disturbed.

Very few UK spiders can bite through human skin, and none is medically dangerous in the way people often fear. The false widow attracts the attention and does occasionally bite, usually with no more than local pain and swelling, though anyone with an unusual reaction should see a doctor. For most households this is a nuisance question rather than a risk one.

Sprays act on the spiders they contact, and traps start catching within days. Reducing how many you see across a season is slower and depends more on proofing, and on removing what they are feeding on, than on treatment.

Two different pictures. If you are seeing them crossing floors in autumn, treatment will not change much - they are wandering males and it is seasonal. If they are persistent year-round in one area, they are staying because there is something to eat: spiders follow insect populations, so reducing flies and other insects reduces spiders more reliably than treating the spiders themselves.

Seal gaps around window and door frames, air bricks, vents and where pipes enter walls, and fit brush strips to door bottoms. Clear webs as you find them, since a cleared corner is less appealing than an established one, and cut back planting touching the walls. Read our guide to keeping spiders out of your home for the rest.

Rarely worth it for spiders - for almost every UK household this is a nuisance question rather than a risk one. Consider it if activity is heavy and persistent year-round in a commercial or food setting where it matters, if you cannot find or reach where they are getting in, or if someone has had an unusual reaction to a bite. Look for a qualified pest controller with BPCA membership.