Spiders
Why Spiders Gather Around Colindale Flats
Spiders go where their food is, and around a modern block the food is drawn to light. What attracts spiders explains the general reasons; in Colindale, a few details of the buildings and their surroundings add to it.
Lit balconies and full-height glass
Large windows and glazed balcony doors let a lot of light out at night, and insects collect on the glass and on the balcony. Orb-web spiders build between railings and in balcony corners, and house spiders come in through the balcony door when it is left open on warm evenings.
Open ground and building sites nearby
Montrose Park, the Silk Stream and the planted courtyards support plenty of insects, and so do cleared plots and hoarded sites where weeds grow between phases. Spiders are part of that wildlife, and flats on the lower floors facing open ground tend to see more of them.
False widows on railings and frames
The noble false widow, a dark, shiny spider with pale markings, is often found around window frames, balcony railings and the gaps in cladding or frames on the outside of buildings. It can bite if trapped against skin, though bites are uncommon and usually cause pain and swelling like a sting. Are there dangerous spiders in Barnet homes? covers the facts. Speak to a pharmacist or GP about a bite that is painful or gets worse, and call 999 for signs of a severe allergic reaction.
House spiders in autumn
From late summer into autumn, male house spiders leave their hiding places to look for a mate, and they turn up running across floors or sitting in the bath. In a new flat they have usually come in from the balcony, the corridor or the gaps around service cupboards. It is a seasonal movement lasting a few weeks, not a sign the flat is infested.
What Treatment Can and Cannot Do
Treatment reduces the spiders in the rooms treated, and helps where they are living in a flat. It cannot stop new ones arriving from outside while the balcony keeps drawing insects, so the steps below matter as much as the visit. Can pest control reduce spider problems? is an honest look at what to expect.
Cutting Down Spiders Around a Balcony
- Close balcony doors and blinds once the lights are on in the evening
- Use warm-white or yellow outdoor bulbs, which draw fewer insects
- Brush webs from balcony corners and railings every week or two
- Keep balcony storage to a minimum, since boxes and folded furniture give spiders shelter
- Check that window and door seals close properly
- Keep plants on the balcony trimmed back from the door frame, so webs are not built right across the opening
Reducing spiders around windows and doors has more ideas. Lots of webs indoors can also mean plenty of small insects inside, as spiders and other pests explains; tiny insects trailing to food may be ants.
Booking Spider Control
When you book spider control, tell us which rooms are affected, whether you have a balcony, and whether you think you have seen false widows. Halls are not counted as rooms. Clear balcony clutter and move furniture away from the walls in the rooms to be treated. How long the effect lasts depends on the flat and on what is outside, so get back in touch if numbers do not fall. A nest of insects flying in and out of one gap on the balcony is a job for wasp nest removal in Colindale. For spiders in other Barnet homes, see Spider Control Barnet.
