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Indoor insect (including spiders) Repellant plants.

John Kilkelly 944John Kilkelly 944 Posts: 3
in Plants
Hi everybody. Any tips on which potted plant(s) I could buy that keep the pesky bugs away? John K
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Posts

  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    Welcome to the forum John. You don't like spiders?
  • John Kilkelly 944John Kilkelly 944 Posts: 3
    I love spiders, especially when they keep the fly population down. Unfortunately my wife is terrified of them,and we used to see some real monsters when we lived in Singapore. I would just like to find a humane way of keeping them out in the garden, and not in my house. Am I right in thinking that mint keeps them away? JK 
  • josusa47josusa47 Posts: 3,530
    Are you in the UK? I've lived here all my life and never found a problem with insects indoors.  The only place I know in the UK where they are a nuisance is western Scotland which is plagued with midges.  The best way I know to combat spiders indoors is to keep the house clean so they've nowhere to hide.
  • John Kilkelly 944John Kilkelly 944 Posts: 3
    I live in West Devon near Tavistock on the edge of Dartmoor (and near several cattle/sheep farms). Insects are a result of living near the farms I suspect. JK
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    Your last sentence sums it up John. There's not much can realistically do.
    Most herbs have a reputation for keeping various insects at bay.
    I grow basil and french marigolds in the g/house which keeps aphids away (works for me anyway).
    Grow a selection of lovely herbs close to the house - and maybe a venus fly-trap or 2 ;)

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    John Kilkelly 944 said:
    I live in West Devon near Tavistock on the edge of Dartmoor (and near several cattle/sheep farms). Insects are a result of living near the farms I suspect. JK
    So do I! 😀
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    Perhaps the answer is to encourage your partner to love spiders and get used to holding them - small ones first. Come to appreciate all the do in the house and garden and how very few of them would do you any harm at all. It's probably an easier way that trying to keep spiders out of the house.
  • Bagpuss57Bagpuss57 Posts: 256
    Collect fresh conkers each year and place them on windowsills and in corners of rooms on the floor. Apparently they don't like the horse chestnut smell and is a natural repellent.. I have lived in this house for over seven years and very rarely see a spider in the house and only teeny tiny ones at that if and when they do sneak in. Prior to living here and placing conkers everywhere I used to get huge ones and I, like your wife, HATE spiders in the house. I'm not sure how reliable it'll be in a house near the country but it's worth a try!!🕷️🕸️
  • herbaceousherbaceous Posts: 2,318
    My daughter is an arachnophobe also and she swears by conkers especially in the autumn when they are mating and too stupid to hide! Personally I would feel lonely without Horace, Doris, little Boris and Morris  ;)
    "The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it."  Sir Terry Pratchett
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    I have to say, I am getting a little fed up. I have always liked having spiders in the house as they help tackle the cloth moth problem. But this spring I was getting a lot of spider bites while asleep. Not painful but cheeky. I resent being bitten in my own bed. I now turf them out of the bedroom, into the cold night.
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