No one wants to think that spiders crawl over them while they are sleeping. If you have problems with spiders in your home and it is a concern, there are some things you can do to keep spiders away from your bed.
Most spiders that are seen in homes are harmless, but this doesn’t make those 8 legged little creepy crawlies any less scary. Try one or more of the following to rid your bedroom and home of spiders.
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How to Keep Spiders Away from Your Bed
Declutter and Clean Your Bedroom
I’m sure your bedroom is spotless, right? Ok, maybe there are some clothes hanging around and a little clean up is due anyway. Spiders love hiding in among clutter, so the cleaner and more clear your room is, the better.
If you’re really concerned and like to have more visibility use clear storage boxes for your items. Give the floor a quick vacuum often to keep dust, their scents, and anything else that you don’t want in your carpet away.
Use Vinegar
I love using vinegar for applications around the home. Vinegar is great for cleaning, it kills germs in the bathroom, eliminates odors, and most importantly keeps spiders away from you, your home, and your bed.
Simply mix water in vinegar into a spray bottle, about the same amount of each. Use this in the areas where you think spiders will crawl, like against the walls and window sills. Just be careful not to damage and surfaces.
Use Citrus
Citrus is a scent that will keep a lot of pets, bugs, insects, and more away from areas you don’t when them in. Diffusing citrus essential oils in your bedroom is an effective way to spread the scent, or you can use pieces of fruit, scented candles, make your own spray, etc.
Obviously, if you have pets you need to be careful. Most cats and dogs hate the scent of citrus, so look into this before diffusing or spraying it everywhere. I really like orange and lemon scents and have used them around the home to keep insects away during the summer.
Give Spiders Less Ways into Your Bedroom
If you’re on top of the cleaning as discussed above and don’t have any spiders in your room, new spiders will need to get in from somewhere. What are the available entry points? Usually the doors and gaps or cracks around windows.
Put a draft stopper against the bottom of your door, and fill in any gaps around the windows. You can feel pretty safe as you sleep that no spiders will be crawling over your bed then.
Use Chestnuts
This is a slightly unusual but well-known fact, spiders hate chestnuts. The good thing about chestnuts is that we can’t smell them, and it’s not a huge inconvenience to place a few around the places where you think spiders appear.
They are seasonal, but once you have some you can use them year around. Try lining a few on your window sill to start with.
Use Garlic
I love using garlic in foods and have some garlic oil at home. I haven’t used this personally to keep spiders away but I’ve heard from many sources that it’s really effective.
Don’t worry, you don’t have to start ingesting lots of garlic. Just place a whole bulb, or even a clove or two around the windows and doorway. You can even make a water mixture with some garlic but this will be really strong and you’ll smell it while in bed.
Use Cedar
Cedar is wood shavings from a number of conifers and has a fragrant, woody aroma. It’s a nice aroma, certainly easier to tolerate around your room than garlic and just as effective.
You can use shavings, blocks, oils, any number of different cedar-based products, whatever works best for you. I recommend diffusing some cedar essential oil, it keeps moths and other insects away too.
Use Essential Oils
You may have noticed I have mentioned a couple of different essential oils in this post for some of the fragrances that keep spiders away. Citrus fragrances, cedar, peppermint, cinnamon, lavender, these are all insect repellant aromas.
Try diffusing the oils, lavender in particular will help you sleep better and is a good choice. You can also place a few drops around your room, or use them just about however you want. Essential oils are natural, smell great, and are fun to use.
Use a Bed with Legs
If you have a divan base, which are two blocks with drawers in, the spiders can hide under this easily and also climb up the sides with ease. The most difficult type of bed for spiders to climb up are frames with thin legs.
Spiders are adept at climbing and can get up any kind of bed. But let’s make it as difficult as possible if you’re really worried about it. Combined with some of the tips above to repel spiders I’d be very surprised if you ever saw one on your bed.
I’m a MA, (CMT) Certified Massage Therapist, Licensed Massage Therapist (LMT), and Reiki Master — I’m a licensed massage therapist with over 10 years of experience in the industry.
I do have a bed on legs, a very immaculate bedroom, use orange oil in a burner, and have sealed off any gaps. But I still get them… lots of big ones. I am in a top floor appartment, I can’t see how they are getting in! The landlord says its my responsibility and I am on benefits so cannot afford to pay to search for nests etc. I am a very clean and uncluttered person, I have ocd in fact.
They are in every room… it makes no sense. There are huge trees surrounding the flats, just twenty feet away. I used all the scents but they still show up. 🙁 Sigh
Awe, sorry to hear that Anne, it sounds like you’ve done everything you can and the little critters are still appearing new your bed.
There must be a space they are getting in through!