Spiders as a clue
One spider tells you nothing. A room with many webs, spiders of several sizes and fresh egg sacs tells you food has been reliable there for some time. Look at what is caught in the webs: the wings, legs and empty husks left behind are a fair record of what is flying or crawling in that room.
Flies
Houseflies and bluebottles point to something they are breeding in or feeding on, such as bins, pet waste, compost or a blocked drain. A sudden burst of bluebottles in one room can mean a dead animal under the floor or in a wall void, so it is worth checking for the signs of mice. Tiny fruit flies and drain flies round a kitchen sink come from ripe fruit, damp plugholes and old recycling. Cluster flies at upstairs windows in autumn are mostly a seasonal nuisance.
Moths
Moths in webs around outdoor lights are usually garden species drawn in at night. Small, pale moths that stay indoors, fluttering near wardrobes, under furniture and along the edges of rugs, may be clothes moths or carpet moths. Look for bare patches in carpet and holes in woollens. The signs of carpet moths and carpet moth treatment go further.
Carpet beetles
Adult carpet beetles are tiny, rounded and mottled, and they gather on windowsills in spring and early summer. Their larvae are small, bristly and brown, feeding on wool, feathers, fur and fluff in undisturbed places. Spiders patrolling sills and skirting boards may be finding them. Read how to know if you have carpet beetles or see carpet beetle control. Period homes with wool carpets and rugs, like many in Dollis Hill, are worth checking closely.
Silverfish and other damp-loving insects
Silverfish are small, silvery and quick, and they come out at night in bathrooms, kitchens and along damp skirting boards. Booklice, springtails and woodlice favour similar spots. All of them are a sign of humidity more than anything else, and spiders in the same rooms are often feeding on them. Fixing leaks, improving ventilation and drying the room out helps with both. Flats above shops and kitchens, like many in Harlesden, can also pick up insects from the premises below, which then feed spiders upstairs.
Ants and cockroaches
Spiders will take ants, but ants are seldom the reason a house has a lot of spiders. A trail across the kitchen worktop is a problem in its own right, covered by ant control in Brent. Cockroaches are a separate matter altogether and should never be put down to spiders; if you see them, particularly at night in a kitchen, read the signs of a cockroach infestation and look at cockroach control.
How to tell what you have
- Look closely at what is trapped in the webs, using a torch or your phone camera’s zoom
- Put a sticky insect monitor along a skirting board for a week and see what it catches
- Check under rugs, inside wardrobes and along carpet edges for larvae or damage
- Note the room and the time of day you see insects, since night-time kitchen sightings matter
Which problem to deal with first
If another pest is confirmed, deal with that first, because fewer insects will mean fewer spiders over time. If the webs are only catching the odd fly from the garden, the spiders are probably the main issue, and what attracts spiders into a property and why spiders keep appearing in the same rooms help with that side. Spider control in Brent is £180 for the first room and £60 for each additional room; book a spider treatment and mention any other insects you have noticed.
