How to Keep Spiders Away While Sleeping

Co-authored by Chris Parker and Eric McClure

Last Updated: August 28, 2022 References

If you’re trying to keep creepy crawlies out of your bed at night, we’ve got good news for you—spiders want nothing to do with you at night either! People move around while they sleep, and even the movement of your chest as you breathe can scare a spider on its way. However, if you’re trying to maximize the odds that spiders leave you alone while you get your beauty sleep, we’ve got a bunch of scientifically proven tips and tricks. Just FYI, while spiders are scary looking and a bit creepy, it’s actually good to have them hanging around while you sleep, since they’ll eat all of the nasty bugs that will bother you while you snooze.

1

Clean your room up.

Spiders want a place to hide, so keeping things clean will help. There’s a reason you never see spiders just wandering around in the open. Arachnids want places to hide so that they stay safe from predators, and any ambush spider is going to hunt somewhere with cover. Get your clothes off the floor, throw out any old stacks of newspapers, and vacuum your room. Spiders will be unlikely to poke around at night if there’s nowhere to hide.^{[1]
X
Research source}
- This is especially important if you ever eat in your room. Food scraps and crumbs will attract spiders (and other bugs that spiders hunt), so never eat in your room and clean up thoroughly if you absolutely need to snack near your bed.
- This isn’t to say that you should freak out about keeping your room perfectly immaculate. A single crumb or loose sock is unlikely to attract a bunch of spiders.

2

Remove stuff from under your bed.

If you use the area under your bed for storage, clear it out. If your room is clean but there are a bunch of shoeboxes under your bed, a spider is just going to hide under your bed. If you’re using this area for storage of any kind, it’s going to attract spiders. Keep the area under your box spring totally open if you want to minimize the odds that spiders end up crawling around you while you sleep.^{[2]
X
Research source}
- If you’re worried there are dozens of spiders hiding under your bed, take a deep breath. Spiders are looking for bugs to eat, so unless you find tons of bugs around the skirt of your bed, there probably won’t be any spiders down there.

3

Turn your bed into an island.

Minimizing the number of access points to your bed should help. Spiders aren’t particularly smart, and if they crawl up the side of your wall, there’s no reason they won’t wander on to the headboard that’s resting against that wall. Move things around so that there are as few connections between your bed and the floor or wall as possible.^{[3]
X
Research source}
- Pull your bed 8 inches (20 cm) away from the wall so the headboard isn’t touching anything.
- Lift bedskirts and excess blankets up so that nothing is hanging over the side of the bed or touching the floor.
- Push side tables away from your bed so that the sides of your bed aren’t near them.
- If you’re really scared of spiders, rest assured that turning your bed into an island like this is going to be enough to deter the vast majority of spiders.

4

Move plants out of the room.

Bugs tend to like plants and spiders like bugs, so move your plants. Some spiders will hide in houseplants to hunt mites and aphids that are attracted to houseplants, and many spiders will hide in houseplants just because they’re safe.^{[4]
X
Expert Source

Chris Parker
Founder, Parker Eco Pest Control
Expert Interview. 15 January 2021.} Before you go to bed, pick up any potted plants in your room and move them to another part of your home. This should minimize the number of arachnids you run into on any given night.^{[5]
X
Research source}
- The one exception here would be any variety of mint. Mint is one of the few scents that spiders actively avoid, so a mint plant in your room should actually help.^{[6]
  X
  Trustworthy Source
  PubMed Central
  Journal archive from the U.S. National Institutes of Health
  Go to source}

5

Keep the thermostat down at night.

Spiders do not like the cold, so turning the A/C on may prevent spiders. Many spider species want it to be 70 °F (21 °C) or warmer, so a cool bedroom may deter them from poking around in the night. If it’s fall or winter, crack the window a bit and close your door to keep the room cool. Otherwise, turn the thermostat down so that it stays nice and chilly at night.^{[7]
X
Research source}
- If some other part of your home isn’t warmer, this may have the unintended effect of attracting spiders to your warm bed. Spiders aren’t that smart, so it shouldn’t be a huge deal, but it may help if another part of your home is warmer than your room.

6

Keep some chestnuts nearby.

Believe it or not, the scent of chestnuts scares spiders away. This doesn’t apply to every species of spider out there, but it will certainly give a lot of spiders out there pause. Just toss a chestnut or two into a few bowls and lay them out around your bed. For reasons we still don’t entirely understand, spiders just don’t like chestnuts and they may stay away.^{[8]
X
Trustworthy Source
PubMed Central
Journal archive from the U.S. National Institutes of Health
Go to source}

7

Set traps around your bedframe’s legs.

Place a few glue traps around your bed to stop spiders in their tracks. If you really 100% want to keep spiders out for the night, set multiple glue traps out around each of the legs of your bedframe where it meets the floor. If you pulled your bed away from the wall, this will be the only access point for nighttime creepy crawlies, and there’s no way a spider is outwitting a glue trap.^{[9]
X
Research source}
- Just don’t forget about the glue traps when you wake up in the morning! There’s nothing worse than stepping out of bed half-awake to discover a glue trap stuck to the bottom of your foot.

8

Pour diatomaceous earth around your bed.

DE is nontoxic and it kills spiders, so it'll keep them from bothering you. Diatomaceous earth (DE) is a dust-like insecticide that doesn’t pose any danger to humans. Before you go to bed, sprinkle a thin layer of DE entirely around your bed. If any spiders wander near your bed, they’ll either crawl away in the opposite direction, or become critically injured by the DE and die.^{[10]
X
Trustworthy Source
National Pesticide Information Center
Organization run by Oregon State University providing objective, science-based information about pests and pesticides
Go to source}
- The next morning, you can simply vacuum up the dusty substance.
- While DE is nontoxic, it can still pose a potential health risk if it’s ingested. Don’t leave this stuff around if you’ve got kids or pets in your home.

9

Seal any cracks or openings to your room.

Minimizing the number of openings for spiders to come in will help. If you don’t have weather stripping on your windows or a door sweep on your bedroom door, start there. If there are any cracks in your wall or along your baseboard, seal them up with caulk. If you sleep with the window open at night, make sure that your window screen is secure and tear-free (or keep the window closed). This will reduce the odds that any spiders wander in at night.^{[11]
X
Research source}
- Keep in mind, spiders can crawl in through some very tiny holes.^{[12]
  X
  Expert Source
  
  Chris Parker
  Founder, Parker Eco Pest Control
  Expert Interview. 15 January 2021.} This isn’t going to keep every spider out permanently, but it will definitely minimize the odds!

10

Diffuse some mint oil.

The only essential oil that appears to repel spiders is mint. If you’re fond of aromatherapy, pour a dash of mint oil in your diffuser and run it in your room before you go to bed at the night.^{[13]
X
Expert Source

Chris Parker
Founder, Parker Eco Pest Control
Expert Interview. 15 January 2021.} Much like chestnuts, spiders just seem to really hate the smell of mint and they should leave you alone for the night.^{[14]
X
Trustworthy Source
PubMed Central
Journal archive from the U.S. National Institutes of Health
Go to source}
- If you prefer, you could simply keep some mint plants in your room. The effect should be relatively identical.
- The problem with this solution is that mint actually wakes most people up. If you have any kind of trouble falling asleep at night, you may want to skip this one.

Expert Q&A

Question

How can I prevent spiders from entering my house?

Chris Parker
Founder, Parker Eco Pest Control
Chris Parker is the Founder of Parker Eco Pest Control, a sustainable pest control service in Seattle, Washington. With over seven years of experience, Chris specializes in Integrated Pest Management and doesn’t use any chemicals for pest removal. He offers removal services for ants, rodents, fleas, spiders, wasps, and more. Chris is a certified Commercial Pesticide Applicator in Washington State and received his bachelor’s from the University of Washington.

Chris Parker

Founder, Parker Eco Pest Control

Expert Answer

Have all plants one foot away from the house. Put curtains on the windows so that insects are not attracted to the light. Seal all the crawl spaces and entry points from where the spiders can enter the house.
Question

What can I do to keep spiders away from outdoor areas?

Chris Parker
Founder, Parker Eco Pest Control
Chris Parker is the Founder of Parker Eco Pest Control, a sustainable pest control service in Seattle, Washington. With over seven years of experience, Chris specializes in Integrated Pest Management and doesn’t use any chemicals for pest removal. He offers removal services for ants, rodents, fleas, spiders, wasps, and more. Chris is a certified Commercial Pesticide Applicator in Washington State and received his bachelor’s from the University of Washington.

Chris Parker

Founder, Parker Eco Pest Control

Expert Answer

Try switching to low-frequency light bulbs. Use bags of cedar chips, as they are a kind of natural repellent. You can use insecticides that make the surface infeasible for attaching spider webs.
Question

If I have holes in my drywall. Is that gonna be a problem, like right above my head when I'm sleeping and various other places in my room?

Naava Brown-Pope

Community Answer

I used to have a few, but it depends on how much light there is in your room. I would recommend patching the holes, because while most spiders don't like a lot of light, this will attract other insects, and some spiders will come in, light or not.

Warnings

Lemon/citrus oils are one of the most commonly-recommended natural spider repellants. Unfortunately, citrus and lemon oils don’t appear to do anything when it comes to keeping spiders at bay.^{[17]
X
Trustworthy Source
PubMed Central
Journal archive from the U.S. National Institutes of Health
Go to source}

⧼thumbs_response⧽
Helpful 4 Not Helpful 2