Households urged to put bowls of cinnamon powder on windowsills

Households across the UK are being urged to put bowls of cinnamon powder on windowsills to help keep spiders away.

While peak spider season is still a couple of months away, spider activity can also spike during the summer, with the warmer weather drawing the eight-legged creatures out of hiding in search of food. There’s typically an increase in household pests like flies and ants in the summer, and this access to an abundance of prey can lure spiders out, while rising temperatures can cause eggs laid in previous seasons to hatch, resulting in more sightings indoors.

Spiders find their way into homes through any openings they can find, like windows, doors, cracks and gaps, and they can also be brought in on things like plants or clothing brought in from outside.

Windows and doors tend to be open a lot during the warmer months so it’s easy for spiders to venture in. But rather than sealing your home shut all summer, there is another form of defence you can try – and all you need is some cinnamon powder.

Spiders are very sensitive to smells and dislike strong aromas, so cinnamon is a great natural deterrent as it has a particularly potent scent.

Cinnamon contains cinnamaldehyde, which irritates the sensitive hairs on spiders’ legs and deters them from entering the area where the scent is present.

As windows are a key entry point, placing a bowl of ground cinnamon on windowsills can help keep spiders out and deter the critters from creeping through any cracks around window frames.

It’s best to put ground cinnamon in a bowl or inside a sachet rather than sprinkling it directly onto windowsills, as it contains rich brown oils and tannins, which can easily leave a stain, particularly if it gets wet from rain or condensation.

In its online advice on keeping spiders out of homes, This Is My Garden said: “Ground cinnamon is an easy and inexpensive way to ward off spiders. And it can be used in several basic ways to keep spiders out of almost anywhere.

“One of the easiest ways to use ground cinnamon is to sprinkle it along the areas where spiders are likely to enter your home. This includes window sills, doorways, and around cracks or gaps in walls or floors. The strong scent from the ground cinnamon will act as a barrier.”

As well as ground cinnamon powder, households can also make use of natural cinnamon sticks or cinnamon oil to create a homemade repellent spray.

Simply mix around 10 to 15 drops of cinnamon oil with water in a spray bottle and spritz this around your home, targeting entry points like windowsills, window frames and doorways. Another option is to soak cotton wool balls in cinnamon oil and place these around your home, such as along windowsills.

Knockout Pest Control said: “Do you know where the high-traffic areas of your home are when it comes to spiders? If so, sprinkle some cinnamon here to deter spiders from continuing to enter your home. Spiders won’t cross a line or sprinkle of this spice, so be sure to keep some close by at all times.”