AIBU to feel under siege by spiders this year??

Can you get your house professionally sprayed, so not just a diy can around the doors and windows? We are in Aus so a bit different as some are poisonous but it certainly makes me feel happier to not have to deal with spiders (or cockroaches).

Yes! I’ve noticed it too this year. I have no problem at all with spiders, if I lived alone they’d be welcome to share my home, but one of my kids is creeped out by them so I do remove them for her.

Anyway, this year they are the big brown ones, as you’ve described. They are startlingly huge. They still don’t bother me and I’ll still pick them up and take them outside but I do note the difference this year and so glad someone else has mentioned it too.

No tips though, as I don’t kill them or deter them. But sympathy as if you’re like my daughter, I know how horrible it is to share your space with them.

I use Deathlac, spraying doors and windows, it has worked for the last 2 years

I'm central scotland and touch wood have been unaffected so far although that may be due to having 2 young cats that hunt anything from hair bobbles to moles (dead mole on my doorstep yesterday) I have no issue with most spiders, I have held a tarantula, but for some reason have a deep rooted terror of the giant housespider. Its seeing that dark shadow coasting across your dimly lit room going 30mph that just gives me the absolute willies 😭 its the way their legs sit and their boxing gloves that apparently they use to impregnate lady spiders?! They're getting bigger too aren't they? Year on year I feel they grow another few mm

Put conkers in the corners of every room. I know it sounds strange but really works at keeping spiders out!

Yep! I was watching tv in bed last night- had been tucked up for at least 45 mins when I felt a tickle on my leg Flicked the duvet off to find a huge, hairy, brown one. Why? Why? Why? And what had it been doing under there for FORTY MINUTES before it made itself known. Debating a move to Antarctica.

Weird, I'm in Scotland also and a new build. They were awful the second year I was in, tailed off gradually since, but still get quite a few. I wondered if our house/other new houses had displaced them or something? I use peppermint spray which has arguably helped a bit. But they are huge and I can't peacefully cohabit, so I put them out. But I walk right down the road before releasing them 😂 I'm slowly getting used to them. I wonder if having the windows open as it's still so mild is making it worse?

They are giant house spiders, they live in your home year round but pop out to mate. I had an infestation in one home, I remember waking to find 2 on my bed and 3 on my curtains and just thinking "enough is enough". I used Raid crawling insect spray. Suspect it's highly toxic and not recommended but I sprayed it into our woodwork, nooks and crannies and then went away for a day or two for it to settle. They never came back. I think if you have a big active population, you notice it at this time of year because they go on the hunt for a mate - but actually if they find a mate, that's worse because they will then have children who live in your home and need a mate next year. They are, obviously, harmless and I can cope with one or two, but there is no point putting them outside because they're house spiders and they live in homes, they cant survive outdoors unless they find a house or shed - so ideally you do not want them to find that mate because they won't move out!!

Get a cat, ours love a tasty spider! They really are excellent at getting rid of them naturally without sprays and other repellents.

I am terrified of spiders and @justsayingthat s post made me shudder. Having said that, I hate flies more and they are far more unhygienic jumping about on dog turds outside and then your food. So I let the spiders survive and thrive here. They know that and are respectful by and large, so we get on OK as long as they keep their heads down.

As an alternative, could you get some help with your arachnophobia? It seems to be one that no one looks for help with, but equally loads of posters seem to find it very debilitating- and it is debilitating if it’s making you uncomfortable in your home.

Spiders aren’t going anywhere and they are harmless in the UK, so shouldn’t really be a situation where you feel under siege every autumn.

Being able to just calmly put a spider outside or just leave it alone would be such a relief for you!