Can Lavender Repel Spiders?

If you are searching for a natural way of repelling spiders from around your home, look no further than using lavender in its natural form or as an essential oil. 

Lavender is a strong scent that can repel spiders. It contains a non-toxic compound called linalool, which is an essential component found in insect repellants. You may use Lavender essential oils, candles or incense sticks. The critical point is that lavender does not kill spiders; it merely repels them.

It would help if you found an easy but effective way to repel those creepy crawlies that invade our homes and outdoor spaces. In the following article, you will find that lavender, whether used as a plant, essential oil, or in dried form, is effective in repelling spiders.

Can Lavender Plants Repel Spiders?

Lavendula Angustifolia, commonly known as lavender, belongs to the mint family. It is found worldwide, from Europe to the northern and eastern parts of Africa. Medical practitioners use lavender in many traditional medicines, including aromatherapy.

The strong scent of lavender is used in so many different products, from incense sticks and candles to insect repellants. 

Spiders have their place. They are beneficial to our environment and play an essential part in helping to get rid of other insects. That being said, many have a natural phobia of spiders and dislike having to share space with them.

Although not fatal, the bite of a spider, except for the black widow and the brown recluse spider, may cause an allergic reaction. With this in mind, we look for natural remedies to repel spiders from our surroundings.

Spiders dislike the intensely strong scent of lavender. Indoors, the fragrance of the lavender plant permeates your home, thereby repelling spiders. As a bonus, the vibrant colors and the scents of the lavender plant bring color and add a natural perfume to your living space.

You may hang bunches of freshly cut lavender stems around your home or keep them in vases. As they dry, the natural oils are released, filling your home with a beautiful fragrance that brings calmness to humans and animals but can also repel spiders.

Having your lavender plants in brightly colored pots around your home adds a bit of fun and color to your home. However, for a healthy plant, you must ensure that your lavender plants have sufficient light.

You may also choose to keep your lavender plant in lightweight pots for the outdoors. Place these pots around your porches, patios, or outdoor seating areas. Using pots facilitates moving them around your garden or to areas where you notice spiders are thriving.

The fragrant lavender plants will detract and repel spiders from entering your space. So you may enjoy the beautiful outdoors without having to worry about spiders bothering you. 

When winter rolls in and temperatures drop, you may move the potted lavender plants indoors. You will need to ensure the pots are placed close to your windows or in an area having sufficient natural light.

Can Lavender Oil Repel Spiders?

If you are being bothered by an infestation of spiders, you can try preparing a homemade all-natural spray to repel these pesky pests. This natural spider repellant uses lavender oil and benefits you and the environment.

To prepare a simple homemade spider repellant, you will need a spray bottle (medium size) of base oil and your lavender essential oil. You may use any vegetable or plant-based oil, such as olive oil or sunflower oil.

These will work great as your base oil. Spiders dislike the smells of vegetable oils and lavender oil, which is why these oils are ideal for repelling spiders.

Add approximately six to eight drops of lavender oil to half a cup of vegetable oil. Give your mixture a good shake, combining the two oils, and your spider-repellant spray is ready.

Why Not Brand Your All-Natural Spider Repellant?

Find a fun name, prepare labels for your bottle, and you have your very own homemade spider repellant!

Spray along your floorboards, inside your cupboards, or wherever you may sight spiders. By choosing to prepare a natural spider repellant instead of one bought off the shelves at your local supermarket, you choose to be more environmentally friendly. 

It is your choice to reduce your carbon footprint by not contributing to air pollution.

A bonus to using this spray indoors is that your home and cupboards will smell fresh and fragrant, and not to forget, you will be calm and relaxed!

How To Use Lavender Oil Outdoor To Repel Spiders

Natural homemade products like lavender as spider repellants are suitable for the environment since they do not harm the spiders or surrounding environments. The strong lavender scents are what drive them away.

In preparing your homemade spider repellant, you require the following:

• A glass spray bottle,

• Approximately 500 ml of distilled water

• Two Tablespoons white vinegar,

• Six to eight drops of lavender and lemon eucalyptus essential oils.

Combine all these ingredients into your spray bottle, give it a good shake, and your spider repellant is ready for use. You may spray around your garden, in your tool shed, along your windowsills and doors, or wherever you find spiders.

What is so great about this all-natural spider repellant is that you can use it around your home and outdoors. It is safe for use around your pets and children.

However, these essential oils are not safe for topical use, so you should avoid contact with your skin. If these oils come into contact with your skin, wash them immediately with soap and rinse them with clean water.

Can Lavender Incense Repel Spiders?

Should you not have fresh lavender around, you can burn a lavender incense stick to repel spiders. Incense sticks contain oils from the lavender plant, which incense manufacturers use in many natural insecticides. 

When you burn lavender incense, the strong scents waft through the air, repelling spiders from your home.

Alternatively, you can light a lavender-scented candle, which repels spiders from your home. Scented candles also contain lavender oils. When the oils are heated, it releases the floral scents into the air, thus repelling spiders.

Can Dried Lavender Repel Spiders?

When you strategically place bags of dry lavender leaves and flowers around the corners of your home, in bookshelves and cupboard spaces, they will repel spiders from entering and taking over your space.

Several gardening enthusiasts use the lavender plant's dry leaves and flowers to prepare potpourri. They fill the dried leaves and flowers into cotton bags, then place the bags into cupboards and drawers, lending a pleasant fragrance to your clothing. 

They serve an additional purpose in that they repel spiders. 

Can Lavender Repel The Brown Recluse Spider?

Naturalists will tell you the brown recluse spider is only the second most poisonous spider in the United States. In South Africa, the button spider is the most venomous spider but violin spiders are more common.

These specific spiders move into our homes because they seek a warm place to hide and a food source, namely other bugs.

Bites by the brown recluse spider or the button spider may prove to be dangerous, and you will require medical attention. On the other hand, the violin spider is not as dangerous, but you will need some medical attention if bitten.

The brown recluse spider will not "attack" you unless disturbed by its environment. In many cases, humans are bitten by the brown recluse spider when searching around dusty, dark spaces or if the spider crawled into clothing, under beds, etc.

Therefore, growing lavender bushes along pathways, under windows, near doors, and close to your garden shed is wise. These lavender bushes will repel even the brown recluse spider.

As a precautionary measure, place bags of dry lavender leaves and flowers in cupboards, around your attics, or in dark spaces where these spiders like to hide.

Conclusion

Spiders have a place to play in our environment and ecosystem. We need them.

Therefore, removing them from our living space makes more sense than killing them off. And that is where lavender as a repellent comes in. One of the most natural remedies used for repelling spiders is lavender.

Reference

https://bugwiz.com/get-rid-of-brown-recluse-spiders/
https://askinglot.com/does-incense-keep-spiders-away
https://www.angi.com/articles/get-rid-mice-and-spiders-essential-oils.htm
https://www.extermpro.com/blog/can-you-use-essential-oils-to-get-rid-of-spiders/
https://homeguides.sfgate.com/keep-spiders-away-lavender-76480.html

About the Author

Nirvana Parmanand, passionate about gardening, plants, animals and saving our environment through sustainable living. "To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow," Audrey Hepburn