Use These Common Essential Oils To Help Keep Black Widow Spiders At Bay
Black widow spiders are one of the worst spiders you can encounter in your home. They have entirely black bodies with different leg lengths and a red hourglass-shaped print on their back. Their venom is deadly, and one bite can cause serious health issues if you don't seek medical help immediately. If you live in a highly populated black widow area where they come out during the hotter seasons, you'll want to take preventative measures to keep them out of your home. All spiders enjoy hiding in dark corners where they can't be seen. So, setting up traps and creating homemade solutions with essential oils you can spray around the house will help prevent black widows from entering your home and scare them away when they're inside.
While vacuuming and dusting your house every week will keep the interior clean and prevent black widows from invading, sometimes it's not enough. Black widows are sneaky and will find any dark spot to hide in and lay their eggs, making a home for their family. Using essential oils like eucalyptus, peppermint, and chestnut will deter black widows. The intense scent is too much for spiders that they turn the other way the second they smell the oil.
Benefits of using essential oils
Researchers have created many studies using essential oils to figure out if they work to repel spiders. One study by the National Library of Medicine found that using essential oils, specifically eucalyptus oils, has a toxic effect on insects. The essential oil harms the insect's nerves, regardless of whether the insect comes in contact with the oil or ingests it. Since insects are more likely to destroy outdoor plants, researchers have found a way to repel them with essential oils taken from the plant as a natural repellent instead of a chemical one. Because the insects responded negatively to the essential oils, meaning the eucalyptus worked how it was supposed to, it's safe to use them for pest management.
Another study by the National Library of Medicine found that peppermint and chestnut oils were more likely to repel spiders than lemon in their experiment. The spiders they tested immediately reacted to the peppermint and chestnut oils, whereas they gave no reaction to the lemon essential oil. So, when choosing which oil to spray or use around your home, opt for peppermint or chestnut. If anyone in your family has an allergy to either scent, then refrain from using the oil. You can try eucalyptus as an alternative if nobody is allergic. Use the oils in areas where spiders are highly likely to hide. They don't have a normal sense of smell through a nose; they smell their feet, making spraying any solution on the floor more accessible for them to smell immediately.
Create essential oil solutions
If you notice an unusual amount of spiders in your home and live in an area where black widows are likely to appear, then it's best to start spraying your house with an insect repellent spray. They can quickly make an appearance at any time of the day and night. While there are a few repellent sprays with natural ingredients, making your own with a few simple ingredients, including essential oils, will be more effective at deterring black widows. You'll need water, oil in a peppermint or eucalyptus scent, a spray bottle, and dish soap.
The solution is straightforward. Simply add five drops of your preferred essential oil to the spray bottle. Then, add four drops of dish soap to the bottle and fill it with water. Finally, shake the bottle to combine everything and spray the solution along your baseboards, windows, furniture, and corners. The black widows will personally escort themselves out of your home. You can clear any webs they leave behind with a vacuum to prevent them from returning to their home and food.