spider infestation

[nwtrikette]

I have got hundreds of black spiders in my back garden. At first i thought they were just under the decking so over the past few days i have been pouring buckets of bleach over to try and get rid of them but i have just been out to hang the washing out and my lawn is alive!!!!!!!
Help!!! What can i do to get rid of them? I know i'll never get rid of all of them but i need to do something asap so my kids can play out again!!

[burnhal]

How big are they? Are they pretty small? Sounds like you have a hatch of spiders occuring- possibly garden spider- laid last year - hatching this spring. If so they will sort themselves out- will disperse on the breeze usign a silk thread to catch the wind.
Why do you want to kill them? THey are not going to harm anyone- and very few will survive to adulthood anyway due to predation- so leave some to have a chance!!
Sounds like heaving buckets of bleach about is potentially more dangerous to kids than spiders!!

[nwtrikette]

I know that they are not dangerous but i really dont want them crawling all over my kids when they are trying to play out and my 16month old trying to eat them!!. And i wasn't "heaving buckets of bleach about" while my children were around so no danger there.
I dont nessesarely (sp?) want to kill them i just want rid of them and i couldnt think of any other way, hence me posting this question.
The spiders are of a fair size, they dont seem to have grown any in the last 2 weeks. There are no signs of any cobwebs (if that makes any difference) on the decking or the railings and they dont seem to crawl up any of the walls or railings.

[nwtrikette]

I have just looked up the garden spider on the internet and i dont think that is what these are. They are dark brown or black but have no markings on them. Are they born with the markings? if they are babies like Burnhal suggested then perhaps the markings could appear later on? But as I said before, there are no webs anywhere and all the info on them says they make orb webs and the female stays on it?
I really have no idea......... I just want them to go away!!!

[what..the?]

Maybe if you can attract animals that eat spiders to your garden that way they will be eaten.

If you put small amounts of food out for the birds maybe that will attract them a little.

Also you can buy ultra-sonic devices which send out signals that drive spiders mad.

[peppy]

what..the, did I hear you right, that there's a device you can buy that scares spiders away ? What is it and where do I get one , do you know ?? x x

[bluevern]

put yr cd player in the garden,and play them a load of elton john songs they should ****** off to next doors garden,,,,

[bigmamma]

Did somebody say spider!!!!!!!! Can I get down off the chair yet?

[RuthieD]

I have the same problem - it started late last year , and they are back. The grass and plants are alive with them, literally hundreds. They are about 1.5 cm, and very dark brown/grey/black, not many markings as far as I can see, which is tricky because they are super fast and obviously don't want to be around people!
My lawn is full of cracks, which I suspect might be something that's encouraging them. Whatever it is, any help on keeping the numbers down appreciated! I know they don't hurt, but they are just taking over !!

[sophie_e_m]

i have the same problem too. we had decking and turf laid on thurs and i need to water the turf daily but just went to go outside and the decking is covered in these spiders so can't bring myself to go out. are they here permanently or does it change with time of year?

[RuthieD]

I'm not sure about the winter as I didn't venture onto the lawn, but they have been there for a month or so at least so seem to be all weather spiders - I've also noticed that they vanish in the evening.

[what..the?]

This place sells them

http://www.nauticalia.com/products.php

[nwtrikette]

I think they have all gone now!! HURRAY!! But..... I now seem to have quite a few big flies around and an unusually high amount of bumblebees which appear from under the decking. Dont know if all these things are somehow connected.