Are some houses just more spidery than others?

[Nachobutt]

Living in a 1930s house. Very spidery. I slightly dread this time of year because it feels as though they all pack their suitcases and come indoors. Chunky ones, long legged ones with many joints, the ones that look like hair - all types.

It feels as though in our previous house - a Victorian semi - we had far fewer spiders.

Could this be? Are some houses just more spidery than others? Or am I not vacuuming properly...?

It's the ranging house spiders people are referring to and people mind them because they have a fear or phobia of them. Surely that's not a new concept to you?!

Totally think some houses are very spidery. I am very spider-phobic. So irrational was my fear I once got a complete stranger off the street to deal with a massive one in a very spidery flat in lived in 😂 I now live in a very old, very spidery house which I’ve made very white (floors/walls/ceilings) partially aesthetics, partially a subconscious decision so I can spot them a mile off. Then I discovered the spider spray which gave me my life back as previously I couldn’t even get near them with the hoover. Since MN I leave the cellar spiders alone. Then a weird thing happened at my dad’s funeral earlier this year and a spider came out of nowhere and crawled over the order of service. My friend who loves all things woo woo said ‘ooh that’s your dad visiting you’ so as daft as it sounds, now I can’t kill them in case it’s my dad saying hello. I probably should have gone to a hypnotherapist years ago if suggestion was all it took to get over it 🤷‍♀️

I love this plan of action thank you! The house is a doer upper which doesn't help matters but when we get round to each room at least I can also design around spider proofing!!!

@CloseYourEyesAndSee has it correct. Ranging spiders. But OMG I didn't realise there was an actual word for those types too?!?

If I knew they'd just keep to the ceilings and remind me of where I hadn't dusted then that would be fine but we have what feels like more than our fair share of chunky ones that skitter along the floor at breakneck speed like ladies who have hitched up their skirts and are running from the devil!

New builds are notorious for gaps and are usually covered in plasterboard which has been dot and dabbed. So huge spider friendly gaps behind every walll. Often there will a gap at the top of the plasterboard in the loft which makes a nice entry point.

We've just moved to a spidery house, my DS was bitten by one in bed in the first week here, they were all climbing up the conservatory into his room. The big, hairy legged guys just walk in the back door!

Our last house was Edwardian and we had 3 resident false widows who basically saw off all other contenders so we just left them there (they live a surprisingly long time!)

they Are ranging at the moment because they are looking to mate. After that they go back to hiding in dark places!

Wait. what? Spiders BITE??? Is this real. What's a ranging spider? When I Google it asks me if I mean 'raging spiders' and now I'm scared.

What do they do??? I have loads all the time on the kitchen and they always get vacuumed up 🙈

Our previous home was very spidery. Our neighbours had a large garden filled with well established trees on our boundary. When they sold the house the new owners cut down the trees. No idea why they decided to do this as it spoiled what had been a beautiful garden. From then on we had a constant stream of 8 legged visitors moving in with us and they were all huge!

Ours is a 30s semi I’d say ours isn’t very spidery. Obviously we get some but even the small ones get evicted. They are always on the floor never the walls! We don’t have a big garden and while we have plants and grass no trees or bushes etc.

Only two of us here and not much clutter really for them to hide in and light carpets and floors so easily spotted!

My house is a converted church with lots of corners, dark wood skirting, gappy floorboards and an open dirt underfloor that runs the length of the building so I rarely see spiders at all. I think they have plenty of routes that avoid humans (and cats). Where I lived before in an 80s bungalow with lots of light and pale walls there were LOADS

We don’t get ones that build webs etc and stay still they just charge around the floors at speed. We probably don’t give them chance to build webs.

@Mybeautifulfriend22 I would 100% feel differently if they did that. I try not to be scared of them (sometimes easier said than done) but big ones running around by my feet would not be appreciated.

Can I ask if you found this helpful?
I am so, so disabled by my fear, looked up the Friendly Spider Programme but it was lockdown. ( I am v v frightened, even of pictures but TFSP didn't have pictures
which I was hugely appreciative of.

When we moved into our new (30 year old) house last year there we so many massive spiders that I was in the verge of telling DP that I couldn't live there. Multiple huge ones every day. There were however no 'spindly legged ones'.
We tackled some gaps, invested in dethlac for some air bricks which helped. This year we've noticed a huge increase in the spindly one which I am happy to have live in the corners of rooms and so far no big ones. The spindly leg ones definitely make a difference and are now my 'favourite' sort of spider (if you can have such a thing!)

@Boxofsockss

If cellar spiders are the spindly legged ones, I believe the feed on other spiders.
I'm told you can see this in action on the internet but there's no way I am ever going to google anything to do with spiders eating other spiders. 😱
I certainly notice a lack of big spiders if the spindly legged ones are allowed to take up residence.

Yes! Never saw a big black one in our 60s large town semi, now live rurally in a 1990s property and the fuckers are everywhere. I can't go in the kitchen or utility past 8pm because thats when they seem to come out and it upsets me before bedtime

I think so. My friend's old house was excessively spidery for no clear reason. In the end it genuinely played a part in their decision to move because her partner couldn't handle it any longer!

PIL's old house was also crawling with them over autumn but that made more sense because they backed onto a wooded area overlooking fields.

Thatched roof over here and it's horrific for them 🤢 Peppermint oil spray works quite well to repel them.

Rarely had any in previous 1st floor mid terrace Victorian flat. Current suburban 60s semi has loads - all of the sorts, cellar, web dwelling, free roaming mega huge hairy ones. I think my cellar ones are defective because despite having loads, and having had loads for years the other also still abound. But then I prefer to have web dwellers hanging out than flies. The only ones I am less keen on are the huge running ones, which I trap and eject when I find them but I'm convinced they just come straight back in again under the cladding. On the whole as long as they not coming near me I leave them be.

Not all spiders make webs - I guess the big black running ones are the non web making sort. Don't know what they eat.

We have trees just outside our north facing garden and the garden is full of spiders, I never go into the garden shed as is it is coated in spider webs. If I disturb the gravel in the garden I can see lots of tiny spiders running around in it. I don't mind the small ones.

At this time of year we can have 2-3 large spiders running across the living room floor in the one night. We have a tub in the living room to catch and evict them but they keep coming back. I know there are many more in the house as we do get webs (on the light above my bed 😨), but try not to think about it.

Since letting the cellar spiders stay we have had hardly any big fat house spiders. The downside is that they are now out of control and in every corner and cupboard and I’m feeling a bit overrun !

Our house is a 50s semi detached in a rural area. Front and rear gardens. We have so many more spiders than when we lived in a first floor flat!!
That said, we've had more spiders this year than last year, and they are HUGE. DH bravely evicted one the other night that was honestly bigger than some mice. (I bravely stood on the sofa quivering)

This made me laugh! What came up with the 'raging spider' search?

I think the op who mentioned ranging spiders, just meant the house spiders that move around a lot, usually on the floor. Particularly at this time of year (aka shagging season).

We are in Aus and get our house sprayed by a pest company every year, it covers other things but I want it for spiders. It’s all child and pet friendly these days. In the 12 years we have lived in this house we have had two (non poisonous) spiders indoors. Can you do the same?