Where Do Spiders Hide Inside Houses?

The Web Builders: Up and Still

Ceiling corners, particularly in rooms that are cool and little used. Behind and above wall units and wardrobes. In the angle where a wall meets a ceiling in a hallway or stairwell. Around window reveals and the top corners of frames. In light fittings and lampshades.

They stay put, so they are where the food comes to them — which usually means near a light source or a window. If you clear the webs and they rebuild in the same spot, that spot is catching insects.

The Hunting Species: Down and Sheltered

Large house spiders do not use webs to catch prey and roam at night. During the day they shelter behind and under furniture, in the gap beside a wardrobe, under a bed, behind radiators, in cupboards, and behind boxes.

These are the ones people encounter in a bath or a sink. They fell in while roaming and could not climb out; it has nothing to do with plugholes, which is one of the more persistent myths.

The Rooms That Hold Most

Garages, sheds and outbuildings by a wide margin. Then cellars, loft spaces, conservatories and utility rooms — cool, cluttered, undisturbed spaces with structure to anchor to and a doorway that gets opened.

Inside the house it is usually the least-used rooms: a spare bedroom, a downstairs cloakroom, a porch. A busy centrally heated living room supports fewer than people assume.

The Specific Places Worth Checking

Behind and under the sofa. The gap between a wardrobe and the wall. Under the bed and behind the headboard. Behind boxes in a garage. Inside a shed, along the roof line. Behind and under a radiator. In the fold of a curtain at the top. Inside plant pots and watering cans in an outbuilding.

And in autumn, anything low and dark near an outside door, because that is the route in for wandering males.

What Reduces It

Clear the clutter that provides shelter, particularly in the garage and outbuildings, and lift stored items off the floor. Brush webs and egg sacs out of corners, reveals and roof lines regularly — removing egg sacs removes the next generation, which most people forget.

Deal with the lighting outside and cut back planting that touches the walls. If it is still persistent, treatment is £180 for the first room and £60 for each additional one, though for the September wandering-male season we will tell you honestly that it passes on its own.