Hide and Seek: How to Keep Spiders off Your Clothes Line

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It's nice to be able to hang your laundry outside. It comes in sun dried and smelling fresh. However, when using a clothes line, you might find—often to your horror—that you aren't the only one using it. Spiders; especially your web spinning garden spider variety, love spinning their webs somewhere that has both access to flying insects and a comfy hole in which to hide whilst resting.

Unfortunately for you, your clothes line provides the perfect location for a web weaver such as a garden spider, and occasionally you may also encounter roamers like white-tailed spiders or wolf spiders.

It's understandable that you'd rather not have a face full of web, or encounter a fleet-footed arachnid whilst bringing in your laundry. Thankfully, your battle with these sneaky spiders doesn't have to consist solely of clearing away webs and shaking out clothes.

There are several ways to keep spiders off your washing line.

Use Surface Spray on Access Points Daily

Surface sprays such as those provided by Mortein or Brunnings, are ideal for keeping spiders away from access points. If you are worried about chemicals, there are chemical-free surface sprays available both online and in stores. However, you will only be spraying the access points, which tend to be the place where the line connects to a surface.

Some surface sprays can be effective for up to 6 months, however, this may vary depending on the weather, so make sure you check thoroughly each day—just in case.

Keep in mind that while surface spray is deadly to insects and spiders and should keep them from invading your clothes line, some do contain chemicals and you should therefore use them sparingly.

Wrap Duct Tape around the Ends of the Washing Line

 If sprays aren't to your liking, a simple method of keeping spiders and insects from walking along your clothes line is to wrap duct tape around the ends of your washing line. The sticky surface will scare off or trap anything that tries to access your line.

Put Pegs into a Sealed Container after Every Dry

Spiders need a cosy place to hang out when they are not munching on the prey caught in their web. Any pegs left hanging on your line will provide a more than adequate resting spot for spiders. Bring pegs inside the house and seal them in a container to keep spiders from using them as hiding places.

Give Them a Taste of Their Own Medicine

By using natural repellents to make spiders beat a hasty retreat, you can avoid killing them whilst getting your own back on them. Spiders detest natural oils like citronella, eucalyptus, peppermint, tea tree and citrus.

Create a potent spray using one of the aforementioned essential oils by mixing 5-10 drops with 12oz of water and a quarter of a teaspoon of washing up liquid.

Then smile with glee as you spray your washing line whilst your laundry is in the washing machine. You can also spray your washing line each evening, which is the time when spiders are most active. Once they get a whiff of what's on your line, even those that ride the airwaves on silken threads will avoid your washing line.

If you are in a heavily infested area, such as an area with lots of trees or bushes, you might need a more potent deterrent, such as a pest control expert who knows exactly how to locate and eradicate spiders. Whatever you decide, ensure you continue to shake out your clothes after they have dried—just in case there's a spider playing hide n' seek.

For more information or assistance, contact local pest control.

25 January 2017