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| Horses knee deep in buttercups. |
I get all those pretty nudges also but for me the absolute sign that Winter has retired is not the first robin or sprouting flowers but the first spider in my bathtub. Then I know Spring is for real.
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| That was definitely the old me. |
Being in the tub is not the worst of it however. spiders also invade my bedroom during this time period and will give me a nasty bite that both itches and hurts for days.
There is a remedy for that thankfully---peppermint essential oil. Just three drops on my sheets each night and I can go bite free for the rest of the season. The tub guys let me know it is time for peppermint sheets.
Can spiders smell?? I don't know, I just know it works. By the way, it also repels mice. I periodically put some under the hood of my car after a mouse ate through my windshield wiper wiring.
So after that lone spider signal in my tub, I not only become spider free and mouse free thanks to peppermint but I smell minty fresh and my car is easy to find in the parking lot. I just follow my nose.
Do you get the dreaded spider in the tub in Spring and if so, how do you handle it??
Thanks for the peppermint tip, Patti. I also had a spider phonia when I was young. Still not a fan, really. If I see them outside, I wish them well but if they step their eight little feet into my living quarters, it's the death penalty either by hot water or the vacuum cleaner, depending on the location.
ReplyDeleteOut to Pasture,
DeleteHa ha, well I am not a fan either but the terror has tempered a lot. You know I never thought of the vacuum cleaner back in the day. Good idea, if they can't crawl out.
I have spiders year round. I am forever vacuuming up eggs to keep the spider population levels at a controllable level.
ReplyDeleteSue,
DeleteYikes. Seriously think peppermint. They really don't like it and it repels mice also.
I see spiders inside in the fall, mostly. I'm actually a fan of the little guys and don't have that common fear of them. If they bit me, however, it would be a different story. :-)
ReplyDeleteDjan,
DeleteOh yes, the bite will aggravate you for days if not weeks. Maybe they know you're on their side and will leave you alone.
You need to read Musing's post for today. You guys are on the same track. Yes, I am not a fan of spiders either but living rural America I need to get over it.
ReplyDeleteAnnie,
DeleteI did read her son's tale and think I'd have been on the first plane home:)) I have reached a tolerance of the many legged creatures.
Guess what...I was in minor emergency this week for a spider bite and am now bandaged and taking antibiotics for 10 days.
DeleteAnnie,
DeleteYikes that sounds like a brown recluse. Sure glad you are getting treatment.Be well soon. Don't forget the peppermint.
I don't like spiders either and luckily I don't get many in the house--2 or 3 a year. I think that's because I have the siding of the house (outside) power washed from ever other year and the basement walls vacuumed the opposite years. My niece has the outside foundation of her house sprayed for spiders and insects.
ReplyDeleteJean,
DeleteNow that is some heavy duty prevention but we do what works. I do wash my house every year which probably helps.
Thankfully this has never happened to me. But i like the idea of peppermint oil being a bug repellent. I'm going to buy some immediately. Besides that smell is nice. :-) Thx
ReplyDeletePeggy,
DeleteI know, the smell is great and it really does work. Good luck.
Years ago when I lived in the north I would get the odd spider in the tub....with hot water at hand I never felt the need to burn the house down. :)
ReplyDeleteIn this house I get them in the basement but I think the cats must eat them as they never migrate upstairs. But peppermint essential oil sounds much more appealing.
Eileen,
DeleteI think cats do a pretty good job. I have seen Minnie batting them about like a ball. Callie catches flies and Minnie gets the spiders. Good luck with the peppermint. It does smell great.
I find a few spiders in the house all year long. If they're in the bedroom I move them someplace else and wish them well. I like the idea of peppermint oil. It sounds like a lovely fragrant deterrence.
ReplyDeleterobin,
DeleteI was pretty sure you were a relocator type. You have a gentle nature. I am learning.
Patti-- I found a spider in the shower yesterday morning and thought of you! Yes, I moved it.
Deleterobin,
DeleteThen it is officially Spring. Way to go on relocating.
That's very interesting. I don't really have a spider problem although once I was bit by one at a fancy hotel in D.C. Not fun. I'm going to share this around. Sounds like a good thing to know.
ReplyDeleteBarbara,
DeleteSo sorry you were bit. They can make you miserable for a while. Just remember you have a repellent that smells good.
Spiders are a nuisance, but here on the coast cockroaches are worse. Now I wonder if that oil would work for roaches. Thanks Patti, for visiting today. (You mentioned you enjoyed the lens ball photos...if you'd like, use my table of contents on my sidebar, and scroll to lensballs...my favorites are ocean & sunrises)
ReplyDeleteHootin Annie,
DeleteI googled it and it will repel but not kill cockroaches.
Thanks, I'll check out the lens ball photos. Those were cool.
Ps...my car takes synthetic oil, and it DOES cost $80 ... but, it lasts 2/3 longer than "regular oil".
DeleteGot any ideas how to get rid of stink bugs? We get them every Spring, usually in our bedroom where they like to light on by head or my Kindle while I'm reading. I usually end up throwing the Kindle clear across the room and jumping out of bed and searching everywhere for the darn things. I hate them. They make me think of aliens and they are so stinky. Ugh. I'd rather have spiders.
ReplyDeleteSnickelfritz,
DeleteSo sorry about the stink bugs- they are really ugly. I checked and ole buddy peppermint repels them also. Ten drops of peppermint in 16 oz of water in a spray bottle and you are armed and dangerous. Won't kill but keeps away.
Spider bites are nasty. I did not know about peppermint oil.
ReplyDeleteLinda,
DeleteChecking for some of the commenters I have found it repels most bugs. Great and smells good too.
I would love to have a tub, with or without a spider. I get spiders inside any time of the year, the whole area is over run with daddy-long-legs, they're everywhere inside and out. Most of the small house spiders hide during the day and I only see them if I disturb something I don't usually move. All the bitey poisonous ones seem to stay outside, lucky me.
ReplyDeleteRiver,
DeleteI have daddy long legs that hang out by my door hoping to get in. Think I will try the peppermint at the door way.
So glad the poisonous ones are not bothering you.
My condo in VT seems to have been built over sacred spider territory and they are dedicated to reclaiming it. I use the peppermint oil religiously.
ReplyDeleteI used every now and then see a spider on the bedroom ceiling when I was getting into bed and I would point it out to Mike who would capture and release. (The man would capture and release cockroaches.) Sometimes he was too tired and he would say, "just be sure to keep your mouth closed and it will all be good."
Olga,
DeleteThat is just too funny what Mike said. I have read that we not only eat 6 pounds of dirt in our lifetime we also swallow 8 spiders a year. He made a good point about keeping mouth closed:)
Oh MY GOSH! That would totally freak me out. How funny that we both wrote about spiders. Actually, Patti, I've been in Japan since the start of this month. Mom is going to be 90 and Art wanted to take her one last time to see her family there. I'm so glad spring is here for you, though I wish it could be without the creepy crawlies.
ReplyDeleteKay,
DeleteCan't wait to hear how the trip went. You have the sweetest Mom and such a thoughtful husband.
You are always giving me new ideas to investigate! I don't like spiders and usually get Mark to deal with them. It's the flying stingers that I am most afraid of (wasps, bees, hornets), and thankfully, they do not get in the house very often.
ReplyDeleteTerri,
DeleteHow lovely that you have an in house exterminator. I don't get the flyers inside either. Toes crossed.
I haven’t noticed that spider issue, though my daughter encountered it when she was still living at home. I learned about it years later. Seemed she would wake her younger brother who would capture and release them outdoors. No wonder he didn’t want to get up some mornings for school. I wrote a factual/fantasy fun piece about it some years ago.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the peppermint info effectiveness — news to me.
My niece got bitten at her house by a brown recluse some years ago she found out when had to seek medical treatment due to finger tip rotting away.
Joared,
DeleteOuch, those brown recluse are evil. I had a friend who got a bite on her leg and like you said, it looked like it was rotting away.
I move them outside also, but this year I've encountered two giant, more like Florida type, spiders, one, dead in a kitchen kitchen bowl, the other very much alive in my bathtub. Sad to say, he's dead too now. After that, I plugged up the drain and since then I haven't seen any. Will get some of that oil though, thanks.
ReplyDeleteInger,
DeleteAs a former Floridian, I know what you mean about those big spiders. They have one in Key West that can catch birds.
Flowers like that won't show up here until next month.
ReplyDeleteWilliam,
DeleteThank you so much for stopping by and commenting. We have had so much rain this year that those buttercups are everywhere and thriving.
I am dousing myself with peppermint from now on! I'm afraid to say we haven't seen any in the house for awhile - I don't want to be infested next week!
ReplyDeleteBarb,
DeleteHa ha, there was a time I thought of putting it in my bath water. Hope you stay spider free.
Oh, thanks! I will definitely try peppermint. When we had a mouse in the house, I bought a couple of those electronic devices that emits a high frequency sound that is supposed to keep mice away. Well, I guess it works, for we have seen no more mice. But, we also haven't seen spiders either. Just wondering about that. Of course, I also read that a high-pitched frequency can cause hearing loss for people even though we can't actually hear it. Oh, well, I am almost deaf anyway!
ReplyDeleteChip Butter,
DeleteI thought of one of those electronic devices till I learned that while they work early on, the critters soon get used to the noise. Yikes, never thought about it affecting our hearing.
I didn't know peppermint worked like that. I haven't seen too many spiders yet, but flies and wasps seem to be appearing now. I have my bug gun at the ready.
ReplyDeleteJoey,
DeleteGood to know you are locked and loaded for the flying insects.
Love the horse and buttercups. I've a similar one of Lily in a field of
ReplyDeleteVirginia bluebills near a Troutstream..Ray
Ray,
ReplyDeleteI loved that shot too but I understand they are not good for horses so I guess there was some grass underneath all that yellow. Love wild flowers though.
Thnaks for the peppermint clue!
ReplyDeleteReHiTu
DeleteThanks for stopping by.
I have a friend that was bitten by a brown recluse spider in her tub once. We don't see a lot of spiders in the house here - but possibly the 3 cats have something to do with that.
ReplyDeleteRian,
DeleteThat is the one I fear for they can do a lot of damage. Cats help, I've seen Minnie playing with the remains of one.
I had no idea about the spiders, mice and peppermint oil. Thank you sweet Patti for sharing this. Hugs
ReplyDeleteMaggie,
DeleteFrom all my research and from using it, it does work.