Spiders
Where Spiders Settle in Friern Barnet Buildings
Spiders need somewhere quiet to build and insects to catch. A converted building offers both: ceiling corners too high to dust, window reveals set deep into thick walls, and lights on landings and stairwells that draw flying insects after dark. Webs in those places come back soon after they are cleared, which is often what people find most wearing. Why spiders keep appearing in the same rooms explains why the same high corners fill again.
Deep window reveals and tall frames
In old masonry, windows sit in deep openings, and the corners of the reveal, the top of the frame and the space behind a blind are all sheltered. False widow spiders in particular like window frames and the edges of outside fittings. They can bite, though bites are uncommon and usually mild; if a bite becomes very painful or swollen, or you feel unwell, speak to a pharmacist or GP, and call 999 for signs of a severe allergic reaction. Dangerous spiders in Barnet homes puts the risk in context.
Stairwells, bin stores and bike stores
Communal stairwells, bin stores and bike stores stay quiet for long periods and are often lit at night. They can hold a lot of spiders, and those areas are normally the managing agent's to deal with. Inside an apartment, the rooms nearest the front door or a communal stair may see more of them.
Autumn by the woods and park
In late summer and autumn, male house spiders leave cover to look for a mate, and houses and ground-floor apartments near Coppetts Wood and Friary Park may notice it more. It lasts a few weeks. A spider in the bath in October has usually come in under a door or through an open window rather than up the plughole, and it is more likely wandering than settling. Why there are so many spiders in the house covers the seasonal rise.
What You Can Do First
- Use an extending brush or vacuum wand to clear webs from high corners and the tops of frames
- Keep windows shut after dark or fit fly screens, so fewer insects are drawn to lit rooms
- Clear boxes and clutter from cupboards and storage spaces
- Seal gaps round window frames and under doors that open to the outside or a communal area
Reducing spiders around windows and doors goes into more detail. Lots of webs full of small flies can point to something else worth checking, as whether lots of spiders mean another pest explains. If you are finding small beetles or bristly larvae as well, see carpet beetle control.
What Treatment Can and Cannot Do
Treatment reduces the spiders in the rooms that are treated and helps with webs returning to the same corners, but it will not stop spiders arriving from outside, particularly in autumn. What professional pest control can do about spiders is honest about what to expect. When you book spider treatment, tell us which rooms are affected, how high the ceilings are, and whether the problem is inside your home or in a communal area. Clear the floor along the skirtings and pull furniture from the walls where you can, and get back in touch if the treated rooms are no better after the time we give you.
Keeping Numbers Down
Keep lights off in rooms with open windows at night, trim plants back from the walls of a house, and brush down webs often so new ones are spotted early. Wasps also build at the top of tall buildings, so a steady flow of insects at one high gap is more likely a wasp nest. For spiders elsewhere in the borough, see Spider Control Barnet.
