I won’t lie to you: this month might get pretty rough for arachnophobes.
September is officially the (mating) season for many species of spider, including the house spider. They can have a leg span of up to 12cm (ahhhh), and are especially active during the autumn months.
“As summer ends and autumn begins we tend to see large house spiders more and more, at least for a few weeks. Most of the spiders we see trotting across the carpets are males, out looking for females,” Professor Adam Hart, ecologist, conservation scientist, and entomologist, told HuffPost UK.
So, we thought we’d share how to humanely remove the spiders from your home, and when we can expect the supersized spider season to end.
Huge house spiders only look dangerous ― they’re actually harmless
”Although [house spiders] can look quite fearsome, they aren’t aggressive and they aren’t looking to hurt you,” Professor Hart told HuffPost UK, adding that “spiders are incredibly important in the wider ecosystem, and we don’t notice them for most of the year.”
Of course, if you hate any sight of the eight-legged beasts, that statement ― no matter how true ― might not offer enough reassurance. So, if you want to banish the beasties from your home without harming them, Professor Hart has a couple of recommendations.
“The old ‘glass and card’ trick works well, but if you can’t bear to get close to them there are products you can buy that will scoop them up safely and allow to move them outside at arm’s length,” he suggests.
And if you want to reduce your risk of spotting a huge spider in the first place, Dr. Hart says that picking up after yourself could lessen the risk significantly.
“Perhaps the most boring advice is to keep your floors clear ― they like to hide under clothes and other things left out, and it is the ‘surprise’ of suddenly uncovering one that often scares people the most, “he advises.
Well, looks like I have some cleaning to do...
When will it all end?
Tips and tricks are good, but knowing for sure that I won’t have to deal with a massive, menacing-looking spider at all is even better. Thankfully, Professor Hart told HuffPost UK that their time in the limelight is limited.
He says that our spider scares should end, or at least significantly lessen, by about mid-October. “We studied ‘spider season’ a few years ago by asking people to record their sightings, and by around mid-October sightings were unusual ― so if you aren’t a spider fan don’t worry, ‘spider season’ doesn’t last forever,” he said.
In the meantime, don’t let the helpful critters’ fearsome appearance scare you into killing them ― scoop and wait, my fellow arachnophobes, scoop and wait.