“There is nothing to fear but fear itself. And spiders. ~Bumper sticker~” ~ Darynda Jones
I know we are supposed to love all god’s creatures, great and small, but spiders? Now that I’m a full-time lake resident, I can’t get over the number of spiders. They stay up all night weaving their tinsel-like webs all over my front porch, my back porch, my car, every outdoor light fixture, plant, and wind chime. When I go out for my morning coffee, it’s little Miss Muffet syndrome times ten.
A friend told me to buy marigolds. “They hate the smell,” she said. This morning, I discovered a beautifully done web hanging between two giant blooms on my new pot of Marigolds.
I Googled and found the pesticides, but I’m trying to find a more holistic solution. I mean, I read Charlotte’s Web, for crying out loud!
We have cedar posts on the back porch. The spiders swing from them like Tarzan of the jungle. I thought one smiled at me as he descended from the ceiling and did the Thor landing on my favorite teal pillow. We planted lavender in the flower beds. I’ve sprayed peppermint from sea to shining sea. Yesterday, I caught one large eight-legged creature doing the backstroke in the bucket of vinegar water.
I know there is a way we can live together in peace. Please, catch the pesky flies, eat the mosquitos, and prevent the Bubonic plague. Continue to inspire awesome superheroes who save the day with their quick wit and spidey senses. But please stay off my porch.
If you have any spider saving tips, please reply below or say Hi on Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/Janetleighbooks
Book 1 in the Jennifer Cloud series is getting a facelift. Please let me know what you think about the new cover.
Yours in health and history,
Word by Word 
Hey, Janet. LOL I did LOL a lot through this post and I truly identified with you. I was the same way when we first moved to our lake house 5ive years ago. I’d been trained to think spider webs meant you weren’t a good housekeeper. I diligently went after those very industrious and creative little creatures. Now, after pausing a moment to appreciate the beauty of their creation, I just brush them aside with a broom. My husband tends to go after them with bug spray. I’ve not tried all the kinder treatments you’ve tried, but apparently spiders are with us until the end of time. Thanks for such a fun post. I hope others have something helpful for us. I’ve shared. 🙂
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Janet
I think you’ve gone through nearly every environmentally safe solution. I know people who swear by peppermint. I don’t do it here but when I lived in a place that had chestnut trees around them I’d collect a bunch in the fall when they fell, take the shell off, stick pinpricks throughout then go around the house sticking them in corners and around walls. Spiders seemed to stay outside so I believed people who said they were poisonous to spiders. Outside I’ve never been able to control the spider population. Maybe we’re not meant to😊
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Yikes. Spiders are the worst. My auto response is to flail and shriek. I have a broom just outside my patio door that I use to make a spider web sweep before I go farther. I hide all pictures of spiders on my Facebook feed because they make me jump every time! I have used a peppermint spray. Maybe works a little?
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Spiders. I used to think they were terrible. When I was a kid, if I found one inside I’d put a bowl over it and have my dad take it away when he got home from work. We don’t have many where I live now, and I’ve learned they have a right to live outside. So, now I just stay away from them—if possible. 🙂
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Hi, Janet: My friend lives at a lake also and she put up a sprayer with chrysanthemum stuff. Maybe that will help?
Boy, I was creeped out a few weeks ago when I walked into a web.
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