Keep Spiders Out With The Help Of Some Rosemary

Spiders are helpful creatures in the garden. They eat unwanted pests that can wreak havoc on flowerbeds and vegetable patches, such as aphids, wasps, and mosquitoes. While they keep these troublesome insects at bay, they're only helpful if they stay outside. Spiders entering your house are a whole different story. While they might be able to catch a rogue fly or two for you, their cobwebs make the place seem unkempt, and they make a mess with their caught prey. No one likes feeling like their home is infested with bugs, but luckily, there is a handy herb that can keep them out: rosemary. 

If you've grown or used it before, you'll know that this aromatic plant smells green and slightly astringent, like eucalyptus. It's this overwhelming scent that keeps the arachnids away. While the herb might smell pleasant to humans — and makes us think of winter pot roasts and cozy family meals — it makes spiders run in the opposite direction. Are you curious about how to use this humane and all-natural repellant? Read on.

The pungent smell of rosemary isn't just stinky to spiders. It also disrupts their bodies' central systems. Rosemary has camphor, cineol, and borneol, which are chemicals that wreak havoc on insects' bodies. Camphor messes with spiders' nervous systems, slowing them down, paralyzing them, and possibly killing them. Cineal interferes with their breathing, and borneol blocks the pheromones they use to interact with each other, causing distress and confusion. As you can imagine, a spider won't find such an environment welcoming and will instead high-tail it out of there.

You can use rosemary to keep spiders far away from your home in several ways. First, you can put the potted version of the herb on windowsills or near other entry points, discouraging them from wandering inside. You can also create a rosemary spray, which you can use to spray down doorways, floorboard cracks, or windows. All you need to do is steep rosemary sprigs in 1 cup of water overnight. Pour the liquid into a spray bottle and mist the entry points once a day. You can leave the sprigs in the water bottle, making the mixture more potent over time. If you don't have sprigs handy, you can also use rosemary essential oil. Add this to your weekly cleaning routine, and you'll notice fewer spiders visiting your house.