Sick of the never-ending battle with spiders? Try growing these 5 plants indoors – it's natural pest control and spiders hate them

I don't know about you, but recently I have been walking around my home on eggshells, scared an unwelcome critter will run across the floor at any moment. Spider season is in full swing and these disconcerting eight-legged insects are making their presence known in our homes. There's an easy way to deter them, though: growing plants that repel spiders indoors.

While these aren't necessarily the traditional, ornamental indoor plants you may think of, there are plenty of fragrant plants to grow indoors as a method to keep spiders away. These plants have strong fragrances and contain chemicals these pests can't stand, discouraging them from sticking around in your home.

From my experience of adding these plants to my indoor garden, they're effective at repelling a number of other pests, too. Here, I share the top five plants to grow indoors to repel spiders and some tips on how to grow them successfully.

5 plants to grow indoors to repel spiders

If you get the shivers at the sight of insects lingering around your home, you'll be pleased to know these plants to grow indoors to repel spiders also play a role in deterring mosquitoes and other bugs:

1. Rosemary

The best place to start when choosing plants to grow indoors to repel spiders is an indoor herb garden. Rosemary is a top plant to incorporate into your herb garden to keep spiders away.

Rosemary contains essential oils like eucalyptol and camphor, creating a strong scent spiders do not like.

Grow rosemary indoors on your sunniest windowsill (using rosemary seeds from Burpee) and at other entry points to discourage spiders entering your home. Or, you can place fresh sprigs of rosemary around your home – just make sure to harvest rosemary correctly when doing this.

You can find rosemary plants at Walmart. Alternatively, using rosemary essential oil (from Amazon) to do the same job.

2. Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus is another plant to grow indoors to repel spiders. While growing eucalyptus can refer to a wide range of trees for the yard, indoor eucalyptus tends to be more compact varieties, such as 'Silver Dollar' (seedling from Amazon) or 'Baby Blue' (seedling from Amazon).

Eucalyptus is commonly used to keep insects out of the house, thanks to its strong-smelling essential oils. Spiders use sensory hairs on their legs to detect chemical signals, which these oils disrupt and block.

For this reason, many people choose to hang eucalyptus in the shower to keep the bathroom spider-free.

When growing eucalyptus indoors, choose a spot near a sunny window as these plants do best with six to eight hours of direct sun a day. A south-facing window would work well for this.

3. Scented pelargonium

This is another plant to consider growing indoors to keep spiders away. Scented pelargonium, specifically 'Citronella', is an effective bug repellent.

Its citrus smell is known to repel the insects spiders prey on, including mosquitoes. Having pelargonium 'Citronella' (from Amazon) in your home can therefore make it a less desirable location for spiders, as it helps to remove their food source.

The scent is on the foliage of these plants, which can be enhanced by crushing the leaves. You can then sprinkle this in spider-prone areas of your home, just as you would use citronella essential oil (from Amazon).

Scented pelargoniums are tender perennials and suit being grown as houseplants. To encourage blooms, grow citronella in a direct sun position and allow them to dry out between watering to avoid root rot.

4. Chrysanthemum

Alongside the houseplants for fall color, consider growing chrysanthemums indoors this season to deter spiders. Popular for containers in the yard, these fall blooms are known to repel a wide range of insects.

The reason being, chrysanthemums produce the chemical pyrethrin, which is one of the best natural pest control solutions.

Pyrethrins disrupt and attack the nervous systems of insects, including spiders. It can leave them paralyzed and even kill them. Meanwhile, the herbal and earthy scent of mums is pleasant to us humans, making it a perfect option for an indoor plant to make your living room smell nice.

Just like growing mums outdoors, indoor growing requires deadheading chrysanthemums. This will encourage continuous blooms through fall, offering longer spider protection. Use these pruning snips from Amazon to do this.

Find chrysanthemum plants at Walmart.

5. Basil

Another aromatic herb to include in your kitchen windowsill garden to keep spiders out is basil.

In high volumes, basil produces enough of a pungent scent that spiders will avoid. However, a singular basil plant will still make your home less desirable to spiders by deterring the insects they prey on.

This is because basil contains essential oils like linalool and eugenol which mosquitoes, fleas, and flies steer clear of.

When growing basil indoors, remember to keep moisture levels up. It would be a herb gardening mistake to let your basil plant's soil dry out entirely, likely to cause your basil to wilt.

I've had success with making my supermarket basil plant last longer by pruning basil regularly. This encourages bushier growth, improving its use as a pest repellent.

You can purchase basil plants from Walmart, or grow it with these basil seeds from Amazon.

FAQs

Are there any traditional houseplants that repel spiders?

Traditional houseplants (largely ornamental, evergreen tropical plants), are not typically known to repel houseplants. Rather, it is fragrant plants that be grown indoors that are used as spider repellents. Having said that, some traditional houseplants can help to make your home less desirable to spiders, like the best indoor air cleaning plants. However, using fragrant plants with pest-repelling essential oils is the most reliable way to use plants to deter spiders in the home.

Other ways to keep spiders out of the home is by keeping on top of cleaning and even using clove oil as a spider deterrent. Cleaning houseplants leaves regularly will also help ensure these creepy crawlies haven't wandered into your home.