How To Stop Spiders Coming In My Bedroom
I hate spiders.
And if you're reading this post, I imagine you do too.
Well, you'll be glad to know there's not a single picture of one of them in this article. I don't know why so many guides to dealing with spiders are covered in pictures of them! As if we haven't seen enough!
Instead, here's a picture of cats maxin' and relaxin' in a bug-free bedroom. Soon that'll be you, too!
If you have the unfortunate problem of spiders being nearby when you're sleeping – you're not alone. I've been there too, and so have many other people.
Thankfully, there's plenty of ways to solve this 8-legged problem.
Personally, regular cleaning, sealing windows, and being smarter about leaving windows open solved my problem. But to make it an absolute certainty that you'll be able to keep spiders away when you're sleeping, I've researched and included just about every option under the sun.
The tips are in rough order of:
- Moving things around
- Doing a little extra leaning
- Trying out some tools
- & Last resorts!
I recommend trying out the couple of tips that sound like they'll work, and slowly work through the list until you've banished those spiders forever.
Tips to Keep Spiders Away When Sleeping
Remove Anything That Attracts Spiders
This might sound ridiculous, but try to put yourself in the mind of a spider. They aren't just annoying little creeps, they're also living things that are looking for places to live.
Spiders love..
- Moist air
- Cool temperatures
- Dark areas
- Plenty of food (other bugs)
- Places to hide (nooks/crannies/plants)
- Dirty places
Remember – spiders aren't nomads. They're looking for somewhere to set up shop and stay. So let's eliminate each of these and destroy any chance that they want to make our bedrooms their home!
To help keep spiders away, make sure you remove:
- Trash. Don't let that trashcan overfill again.
- Leftover water. Got an ensuite? Try to minimize or sweep up splashes.
- Leftover food. If you must eat in your bedroom, don't leave it lying around. (It attracts insects, which attracts spiders)
- Damp areas. Around windows or leaking pipes.
- Piles of old paper/magazines. Perfect for hiding or making webs around.
Make Your Bed an Island
Next up, keeping spiders away while your sleep has a lot to do with your bed.
We need to make it pretty much inaccessible for anything that walks on more than 4 legs.
Move your bed away from the wall, and with a good gap between it and any house plants / furniture. If possible, use bid risers to raise the bed higher. Surround the base of the legs with a repellent, like boric acid, vinegar, or in small tubs of water.
Got large sheets? Make sure these are also tucked in and well off the ground!
Don't Eat in Bed!
This is fairly self-explanatory – but it's also a hard habit to kick for many people.
If you absolutely must have a midnight snack, it's worth taking the hit to just have it in the kitchen. Any leftover mess (even crumbs) will attract insects over time. And what likes to eat insects?
That's right, ant eaters!
(But also spiders)
Avoiding eating in bed has an added benefit of helping your sleep. By keeping your sleeping environment separate from your waking ones, you will naturally switch off much easier when you do get into bed.
Don't Keep Monsters Under Your Bed
The last step to making our bed a spider-proof zone is to clear out from under it.
Beds are one of the top places people keep their junk. This makes it a perfect breeding ground for unwelcome guests. Especially with things like old shoes, magazines, and old/damp boxes.
Keep beneath your bed clear, or at least organised and cleaned every so often.
If needed, give it a good sweep once a week until you're sure it's cleaned out.
Keep Windows Free
A spider poking it's little head through your window will first be looking for a place to camp out.
Having large plants or furniture next to an open window is like an open invitation for them to come in and set up shop. Try to keep the areas around your windows clutter free to a) make it more obvious when a spider comes in and b) discourage them from sticking around.
Clean.. Regularly! Replace Bedsheets Often
As I mentioned at the top, one of the best prevention tools you have is regular cleaning.
By doing a good clean once a week – even for a month – you should destroy any budding spiders chance at creating at home. Hopefully, if they're still around, this will annoy the hell out of them enough that they'll be convinced to move.
This doesn't have to be a deep spring clean.
Just a quick weekly dust-down, wipe, and quick sweep behind/under furniture should do the trick. Though the first clean should always be a deeper, more thorough job.
'Clean' Any Plants – Especially Newer Ones
This might sound silly, but it's important to give your plants a quick dust down now and then.
Especially if it's a fake plant.
Spiders love to hide amongst the leaves to wait for pray to be caught in their web. It's how they naturally hunt in the wild. Make sure to keep your plants spider-free through a quick brush down before you water them.
Plug Any Gaps
The biggest DIY task on this list is to make sure there's no secret entranceways for spiders to find.
This means looking into drafty areas around your doors, inspecting your windows, and generally making sure your room is shut-tight. (Though this applies to the whole home too, since spiders can easily crawl between rooms).
Thankfully, this is all pretty easy. A good sealant will quickly fix up any window, door, or crack. A door sweep can be a welcome addition to any room – especially in winter – to block out any airways at the bottom of the door.
Use Netting on Windows
This is a little advanced, but it's a must if you keep your windows open. Especially at night.
Installing netting onto a window can be a bit of a headache, but it's literally the only way to get fresh air ventilating in without including spiders as a package deal.
You can set this up yourself, but there's also easy DIY kits available online.
Try a Pest Repellent
This is one of the quickest and easiest solutions to not only spiders, but rodents and other bugs, too.
These ultrasonic pest repellents scream out a super high pitched noise constantly. Humans can't here it, so it doesn't disturb us one bit.
But to spiders? It's like someone blaring a high-pitched remix of BabyShark at max volume – over and over and over. They'll clear out quicker than you can say Mummy Shark.
Just make sure these won't be audible to any pets you have. It should be pretty obvious whether they can hear them once you turn them on.
Use a Bed Bug Spray
The second quick-fix is using bed-bug sprays (which also work against spiders).
These are either extremely stinky repellents (at least to the bugs), or a lethal liquid concoction. One that will basically cause the bugs to get stuck in it, and is also full of tiny sharp particles that will cut open any bugs that walk across it.
Pretty brutal, but they're cheap and effective.
Harness Essential Oils
When it comes to 'natural' solutions, essential oils are the number one way to keep spiders away.
And get your room smelling lovely at the same time. It's a win-win.
It turns out spiders hate many of these oils.
I don't know if their interior design taste just doesn't enjoy nice-smelling homes or what, but using a diffuser or mixing an oil with water in a spray bottle is a quick and cheap solution to keeping spiders at bay.
Some of the best oils are:
- Peppermint Oil
- Tea Tree Oil
- Rose
- Lavender
- Lemon
- Eucalyptus
- Cinnamon
Peppermint oil seems to be essentially hated amongst the spider community. You can often get these oils in a multi-pack to see what you like best. Diffusers aren't totally cheap, but can transform how relaxing (and spider free) your bedroom is.
While maybe not as effective as chemical repellents, essential oils are a healthy alternative which can be very effective at treating smaller spider problems. It's an especially great combination to keep spiders away while you fall asleep with a relaxing scent!
Bonus: If you try these oils, make sure to mix some in with your laundry detergent. It'll make your sheets smell amazing to you but downright repulsive to any eight-legged visitors.
Or Try Vinegar
If you don't mind your room smelling like a plate of British Fish 'n' Chips, Vinegar is an excellent option. Spiders absolutely hate it, and will straight up and move out of any area with an overpowering smell like vinegar.
Just like with essential oils, mixing around 1 part vinegar to 5 parts water will make an easy spider-spray-away solution.
While this works well, make sure to give yourself at least 6 hours between spraying vinegar and needing to be in the room!
Conkers & Walnuts?
There's a rumor going about this fall.
And that's the spider-preventing powers of conkers and walnuts.
Sound crazy?
It probably is.
There's no scientific evidence to support this, and I haven't had the chance to give it a real go myself. But hey, anything's worth a shot!
If you have some spare conkers or walnuts lying around, try putting them near your windows and doors to ward off any would-be house guests. If you do try this, I'd love to hear how you get on.
Get a Cat!
If there's one thing that cats love, it's catching and killing bugs. Spiders in particular – the bigger, the better.
So obviously the second you see a spider in your home you should go out and adopt a cat!
(I'm kidding)
But even if you could borrow ('look after') a friend's cat for a week, it might single-handled solve your bug problem.
..Burn Your House Down
Tried all of the tips above?
Nothing's worked?
Well then there's only one thing for it. Get the gasoline, the match, and sunglasses. You can sleep well tonight – on the warm ashes of those goddamn spiders. Worth it? You bet.
That's the end of the tips section.
I hope these have inspired you to try one or two. With a little action you'll soon only worry about the amount of sleep you'll be counting in your sleep.
Before we close out, I want to cover a few frequently asked questions by people on this topic.
Frequently Asked Questions
When Should You Call an Exterminator?
Yes, it can be worth calling an exterminator to handle a spider problem.
Especially if it's so bad that it warrants one of the most horrifying words in the English dictionary: an infestation.
Even just typing that gave me chills.
If you're tried most (or all) of the above tips but still can't get rid of the problem, then an exterminator could be worth a call.
Their services can range from quick consultations and setting up some repellents, to a full-scale hazmat and gas.
How Much Would an Exterminator Cost?
This can vary depending on the state, contractor, and work you want them to do.
For simple household jobs, they can often be done around $150-$300. Though this could vary a lot – all the way from around $50 (for a quick consultation) to $500 (for a full extermination).
Will Spiders Touch You While Sleeping?
Contrary to popular belief (myth), this is unlikely. Don't worry, spiders don't have some sick obsession with getting into our mouths while we sleep (ew).
To a spider, we are massive, living, vibrating (snoring), moving giants. We're basically the complete opposite of what they like. A spider tends to look for solid, cool, dark, and moist areas to hide in. And they hide from large, warm predators like birds, cats, and sometimes humans.
That's not to say this is impossible. They might accidentally wander onto you. But this would be rare and not something that either party would want!
Are Spiders Attracted to Light?
No. But everything that they eat is…
Spiders are naturally nocturnal creatures. So they actually rely on darkness for protection against their own predators. However, most other bugs will swarm around your lamps, and spiders aren't scared to come into the light if it means a quick feast for them.
Conclusion
It's not often I'm so glad to finish a post.
But man am I ready to never think about spiders again. I'm completely on edge now!
I hope these tips have helped given you some ideas about how to solve a spider problem. Especially one that affects your sleep.
By having a cleaner and bug-free bedroom, your sleep will benefit immensely. And when you sleep better, you live better.
If this article has helped you, please consider checking out some of my related articles below!
And here's a final cosy, fuzzy picture to help bleach our brains a little bit.
Thanks for reading.
Sleep well,
Craig
How To Stop Spiders Coming In My Bedroom
Source: https://sleeping.guide/spiders-away-sleeping/
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