Spiders!

[IansMommy]

So we have LOTS of creepy spiders as of late. I know it's the fall, their time to come in...etc. I have been reading a lot about essential oils...namely, peppermint, as a good spider deterrant. So, this afternoon, during my kiddos' naps, I took it upon myself to "paint" (literally, with an old paintbrush) peppermint oil on all of my downstairs window casings and thresholds that lead to outdoors/basment.
WOW...our house smells minty fresh.
Is there any issue with inhaling this at the strength I can smell it?
Granted, it cleared the heck out of my sinuses...and this is a good thing...
but it's not toxic to smell too much pure peppermint, is it?

Thanks.

[IansMommy]

[Lisa Lubner]

Not exactly answering your question, but interesting nevertheless...

Myth: Spiders come into houses in the fall to get out of the cold.

Fact: This seemingly simple idea conceals many false assumptions. In reality, house spiders are usually not the same species as the yard or garden spiders outside the house.

House spiders belong to a small number of species specially adapted for indoor conditions (constant climate, poor food supply, very poor water supply). Some house spider species have been living indoors at least since the days of the Roman Empire, and are seldom to be found outside, even in their native countries (usually Europe). Many of these species now live in houses worldwide, and most have been carried by commerce to more than one continent.

House spiders colonize new houses by egg sacs carried on furniture, building materials and so forth. They usually spend their entire life cycle in, on or under their native building. If a large number appear at a specific season, it is usually late summer (August and September) -- not a notably cold time of year! -- rather than fall, and their appearance coincides with the mating season of the given species. What you are seeing is sexually mature males wandering in search of mates.

The females and young remain hidden for the most part, in crawlspaces, storage areas and other neglected rooms; wall and floor voids; behind furniture and appliances, etc. Generally fewer than 5% of the spiders you see indoors have ever been outdoors.

[Piercedboy]

What type of spiders? I ended up in the hospital twice this year over a Brown Recluse bite.

[IansMommy]

Lisa...that is so interesting. I am not sure what type of spiders they are. I have captured a few, and they don't look like recluse. They look more like small wolf spiders. However, I can't be sure.

[Lisa Lubner]

They're probably your everyday house spiders... I get them here in PA and I had them in NJ when I lived there. They can get really big (like, the size of a quarter) but I usually see smaller ones around. I used to be DEATHLY afraid of spiders... So I started taking pictures and identifying them on the internet (you have to be able to see how many eyes they have and how they are lined up on their little spider faces). I'm not nearly as scared anymore.

Here's a picture of a house spider... GOOD spider! S/he lived in my storage closet. http://img209.imageshack.us/my.php?i...il05001ra9.jpg

We don't have brown recluses here, but we DO have yellow sacs, which I hear their bites are frequently mistaken for recluse bites... very very painful with a very similar venom that a lot of people have a bad reaction to. The yellowsacs are the only spiders i kill in the house.

[cassiemommy]

Lisa, that was exactly the type of spider I saw in my basement today! I was utterly horrifed, then disgusted, it was so big! Now that I saw one, does that mean we have tons more somewhere else? Is there anyway to get rid of them, or at least significantly lower the numbers? If they are house spiders, does that mean that EO won't work?

[Lisa Lubner]

Which ones, the yellowsacs or the house spiders??

I don't think they're like cockroaches... multiplying behind the walls, if you see one that means there are more etc... I would just leave them alone. Chances are they are eating things that you would want around even less than the spiders. Give them names!

[Oka-san]

Huh, I never knew that about peppermint oil. We’ve got a spider living in our bathroom and while I don’t mind spiders at all, this one is a bit too close for comfort – s/he lives right at the door and comes out at night, and I’m afraid one of us is going to smoosh her/him when we go to the bathroom in the dark. Maybe peppermint oil would make her/him move somewhere else.

S/he’s a house spider just like the one in the picture Lisa linked! They don’t bite, do they? Because one time I woke up in the night with a fierce pain in my foot and I’m sure a spider bit me while I was sleeping – I can’t think of what else it could have been. What kinds of spiders do bite?

[rainyday]

The kind of spiders you have to worry about varies depending on where you live. In the pacific northwest and down through Utah, the hobo spider is the one to watch out for.

More than you wanted to know: http://www.srv.net/~dkv/hobospider/

[mamma.mia]

Eeeek! Y'all are giving me the heebie-jeebies!

The peppermint question...I'd think it wouldn't be toxic, but that's just opinion. You gave me a good idea to make my house smell good! lol

~Mia

[IansMommy]

mamma.mia...it will definitely make your house smell...MINTY!!!!
Dilute a drop or 2 in olive oil first, and then apply. We got pretty queasy from the minty-ness.

[mamma.mia]

Oh ok I'll do that. Thanks!