The spider's number one enemy: how to keep them out of the holiday home

Let us start with a confession: spiders love holiday homes. Quiet rooms, high corners, a bit of peace behind the furniture and plenty of insects right outside. To a spider, that is five stars. But they have a number one enemy, and if we may be a little silly for a moment, it is us.

When we let ourselves in before the next guest, we sometimes imagine the spiders holding their breath, listening for who arrived. And the moment they realise it is IT IS DONE, they start screaming, because their time has come. The web goes, the corners get vacuumed, and the house is sharp again.

Joking aside. Spiders in a rental are not dangerous, but they are one of the first things a guest notices, and a web in the ceiling corner can cost you a star even when everything else is spotless. So we take them seriously, and here is both what we do and what you can do yourself.

Why holiday homes attract spiders

A holiday home often sits close to dunes, meadow and nature, which is exactly where the insects are. Insects are the spider's pantry, so where there is food, the hunters follow. On top of that the house often stands empty between guests, and an empty, undisturbed house is a dream for a spider: no one sweeping, no one tidying, all the peace in the world to spin. Outdoor lights close to the windows only make it worse, because the light draws insects, and the insects draw spiders.

Where they hide, and where we always look

• The corners behind doors, where an open door hides the web perfectly.
• Ceiling corners and along the top edges, where no one normally looks up.
• Behind and under furniture, sofas, beds, wardrobes and shelves.
• Window sills and outside corners, close to the light that lures the insects in.
• Nooks in the utility room, shed and under the stairs, where cleaning rarely reaches.

At every changeover we vacuum the web away instead of just sweeping, so the eggs and threads go into the bag, and we wipe the corners so there is nothing left to anchor a new web to.

How to keep the spiders down yourself

Spiders come for two things: food and shelter. Take those away and the numbers drop almost on their own. Here are the tricks that actually work:

• Turn down the insects. Switch off outdoor lights near the windows in the evening, or change to warm, yellow light. Fewer insects means fewer spiders.
• Close the gaps. Sealing strips on doors and windows and a quick check of cracks along the skirting keep them out before they get in.
• Vacuum the corners regularly. A web never gets big if it goes into the vacuum once a week, top and bottom, inside and out.
• Keep it tidy. Less clutter behind furniture and in cupboards means fewer hiding places. Boxes on the floor are spider apartments.
• Move firewood and pots away from the wall. Stacks right against the house are a highway straight indoors.
• Try a mild scent. A little peppermint oil in water, wiped along sills and corners, keeps many spiders at a distance and leaves the house smelling fresh too.

Why autumn is the worst

Most people first notice spiders in August and September, and there is a reason. That is when the year's spiders have grown large enough to see, and the males start wandering to find a mate. So suddenly it is those you meet indoors in the evening.

At the same time the temperature outside drops, and a house with a little background heat becomes an attractive place. It is also the time when holiday homes start standing empty between guests, and a house nobody moves around in is exactly what a spider is looking for.

Practically, that means the effort belongs in late summer, not in June. One round in August holds for the rest of the autumn.

What does not work

There is plenty of advice going round that makes no difference, and it is worth knowing before spending money on it.

• Conkers in the corners. There is no demonstrated effect, however often it gets repeated.
• Ultrasonic devices. Same story. They sell well and do not work.
• Insect spray in the corners. It kills the individual spider and does nothing about the ones arriving tomorrow, because the problem is access and food, not the individual.

What actually works is dull: remove the webs physically, every time, and remove what draws insects in, namely the light by the door and open windows without screens. With no prey, no new webs get built.

What we do at every clean

We treat the corners as a fixed part of the turnover, not as an extra. We vacuum webs down from ceiling corners and behind doors, wipe the top edges, look under beds and behind furniture, take the window sills and outside corners, and always finish with a glance up at the ceiling, because that is exactly where the guest will look. We do turnover cleaning for rental owners along the West Coast, including in Hvide Sande, Henne Strand, Nymindegab and Blåvand.

The light by the door is half the problem

An outside light left on in the evening gathers insects, and insects gather spiders. That is why there are nearly always most webs right around the front door and the terrace door, which is exactly where guests see them first.

Switch to a warm-toned bulb rather than cold white, or put the light on a sensor so it only comes on when somebody arrives. That does more about the spiders than any spray, because it removes the food rather than the animal.

Five stars, no housemates

We are a dedicated local team based in Bork, and we take the corners, the ceilings and everything the guest notices, every single time. If you want a house that stands spider-free and ready between every guest, send us the address and your typical changeover days and get a fast quote.