Getting rid of spiders

September 2, 2012 7:06 PM

Spiders! How to get rid of them?

Has anyone had experience with spiders whilst traveling in Central America? Our rental has quite a few of them and we are wondering if there is any way we can keep at least our bedroom free of them. Any fixes/remedies (natural or otherwise) or smart tricks would be helpful. My goal is to at least get some sleep without worrying about spiders crawling over me at night. Any "mosquito net" like contraption suggestions would be great also..help! :( and thank you!

posted by pakora1 to Home & Garden (7 answers total)

You don't. They kill mosquitos, they aren't generally poisonous in central America, and will not bother you. You are either going to get used to bugs down here or you will not survive, and spiders are pretty harmless compared to things like scorpions and just fleas and flies. Spiders down will not mess with you while you sleep either. The best you can do is dust out the webs when there get to be too many of them or in inconvenient places.
posted by empath at 7:13 PM on September 2, 2012 [7 favorites]

Best answer: Mosquito nets are well worth it. Here's some portable ones for travel: http://www.longroad.com/
posted by The otter lady at 7:20 PM on September 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

Vacuum the bedroom thoroughly (floors, ceilings, corners, under things, in things) and use a mosquito net.
posted by DarlingBri at 7:26 PM on September 2, 2012

If there is no food for them, there are no spiders.
posted by sanka at 7:29 PM on September 2, 2012

I bought a silk sleeping bag liner, which covers your feet and arms pretty well, but honestly after a few weeks of living in central America, I just forgot about it, sprayed some Off and hoped for the best. Like seriously, seriously mosquitos are many times more dangerous than spiders here. You can't see them, and you can get dengue fever or malaria from them, both of them can kill you or put you in the hospital. And spiders eat them. I have talked to multiple people who have gotten dengue fever here, at least one person who has been stung by a scorpion, a few people who had run ins with poisonous plants, but not a single person who has been bitten by a spider.
posted by empath at 7:31 PM on September 2, 2012 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Central America frequent traveler. Spiders do not care for humans. Don't worry about them; it's a psychological obstacle for most. The ones that bite will likely never enter your house.

If you really need peace of mind, they sell lavender oil in CA; you can buy and spray near bedside for natural repellant.
posted by Kruger5 at 8:43 PM on September 2, 2012 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Tobacco (unsmoked) is an old traditional spider repellent. We used to put an unwrapped, unsmoked cigar or a sprinkling of pipe tobacco in places where spiders were known to lurk. You can also make this Tobacco Spray... however, although it says it is 'safe', nicotine is highly toxic if ingested so DO NOT LET PETS DRINK THE LIQUID.
posted by The otter lady at 9:41 AM on September 3, 2012