Is your home being invaded by spiders? If so, here's why…

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THEY are not the ideal companion with which to share a bedroom…

So it’s not surprising that some Islanders have been more than a little alarmed by the huge number of spiders that appear to be invading our homes.

The phenomenon is nothing new – spiders which have produced offspring migrate indoors when they sense summer has ended and daylight is reducing – but this usually happens much later in the year.

The early arrival this year is another sign of the so-called ‘false autumn’.

Following the long, hot and dry summer, trees have been shedding leaves – and in some cases branches – to survive, and the Island, like much of the rest of Britain, has taken on an autumnal look earlier than usual.

And this has resulted in our wildlife exhibiting autumnal behaviour much earlier than normal.

In this week’s Nature column in the JEP, Bob Tompkins wrote: ‘I understand from my contacts at the JEP that a number of Islanders have phoned in asking why their homes are becoming resident to a range of spiders.

‘This is not unusual later on in autumn, so is another sign of our false season. When climbing into bed and looking up at the ceiling one night this week I could not fail but see a house spider, ‘Tegenaria domestica’, looking down at me.

‘This is the large, dark spider commonly found in the bath or seen scurrying across the lounge floor and is usually the male of the species, which, in autumn, has romance on his mind and pops in through an open window or door in search of a mate.

‘This one was caught and relocated before we settled down, as there is nothing more unsettling than to have a spider walking across your face at two in the morning.’

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