help! my house is overrun with a million cellar spiders - how do I get rid of the buggers!

[retryy]

First came across these spiders last year in my home. They looked all skinny and didn't bother me the odd one here and there.
Roll on this year and they're taking over my house! I've killed 25 already in 10 days! Is there a way of getting rid of them! They're everywhere!

I think both are correct. I think crane flies/daddy long legs have a longer body and harvestmen/cellar spiders/daddy long legs have a round or slightly oval one?

these are not real spiders
That's true. They are related to scorpions I think. Sorry OP and others - that might not help!

If you want no spiders then you need to declutter and Hoover your house, they like to be undisturbed so the cleaner your house the less you will see them.

Cellar spiders are spiders - not flies, not harvest men, not closely related to scorpions. They are spiders that eat other spiders. That's all.

We had this. And in the 7 years we lived in that house we NEVER saw a big bodied scary spider. We initially tried to get rid of them but they just came back again a day later. We tried to hoover them up every single time. It didn't work. In the end we just had to get used to them and unless one gets near me, I'm no longer scared of them.

If you want to keep them out of your cupboards then put a couple of dehumidifier tubs in there. Cellar spiders or Pholcidae prefer damper homes.

In our new house we have none at all and we have had too damn many thick bodied spiders. Some so big you would have thought you were watching a mouse run across the living room. These guys are so big they have tattoos and flick knives!

I find myself missing cellar spiders sitting in their guard positions in the corners, unmoving, watching....

I had a search and pp is right - cellar spiders/daddy long legs are indeed spiders. Crane flies, also known as daddy long legs, are different and are flies.

And it is harvestmen, also known as daddy long legs, that are related to scorpions.

They are all great for the eco-system though and we shouldn't kill them. Relocate them if you must.

I accept them because they get the big buggers, except apparently the one in the corner of my bedroom, who may in fact be dead as it just looked on whilst a giant house spider crawled out from behind my computer monitors and gave me a heart attack.

I absolutely hate spiders but will get DH to relocate them as I can't stand being close enough to trap or kill them.

I have a couple of plug in things (bought from Amazon) which deters them. It seems to work. I also have a spray that keeps them away but doesn't harm them.

I have loads, they all have names. As long as they keep the house spiders away I'm happy.

My cat loves them. For snacks .

I just Hoover them up!

You need to get rid of those spiders quickly! They really are crafty buggers.

You know when you wake up in the morning, with bad breath and a horrible taste in your mouth? That's cellar spider poo that is!

And that stuff we call "sleep" stuck in the corner of your eyes? That's crystallised cellar spider wee.

I won't even get started on what ear wax really is.

My house is full of these. Their webs are everywhere. I clean them away but they come back within a few days and nothing I do seems to have much effect, it's like painting the Golden Gate Bridge.

How do they eat house spiders? They barely have any bodies! Though now you mention it, I haven't had any big spiders since I moved in here.

Oh god we have dozens of these, especially in our entrance hall. Poor dd has to shut her eyes tight and run through it every morning but they do a fabulous job, I've only ever seen a couple of chunky spiders in my house.

How do they eat house spiders

They suck them dry.

Loads in my house at the minute too

How are they any better than house spiders? I want all of them gone not just the thick legged variety.

@MangoBiscuit

Install a cat.

This tickled me 🤣🤣🤣🤣

My cats don't eat the cellar spiders. They're so almost not there they seem confused by them and their ethereal airs.

We just name them. And they eat the big spiders that come in around autumn, so useful things.

I do have to keep rescuing a small cellar spider from the bath. It hangs out on the plug chain and is in imminent danger of being drowned. I keep moving it to the spider plant next to the bath and hoping it'll take the hint.

I hate spiders but tolerate the skinny ones.

Only thing that annoys me is when they hang out in stupid areas. If they stick to the corners I'll leave them be.

@dryersheep its hanging out waiting for the big spiders that come up out of the plug hole.

oh wow, I have loads of these and never knew what they were called. Yes I have to evict at least 20 odd a week, one day I hooved up 10 in one go behind my headboard on my bed.

Still don't like that they invade in such large numbers but at least I know what they are now

@FreeBritnee

How are they any better than house spiders? I want all of them gone not just the thick legged variety.

Because they dont suddenly charge across the room at 100 mph when you are least expecting it?

I installed a cat. He looks at them walking over his paw and goes back to sleep. Faulty