food, reducing clutter, and using appropriate traps when necessary.
What About Spiders?
Spiders are often included on lists of pests supposedly repelled by mint, lavender, citrus, and other strong scents.
Evidence for reliable whole-plant spider repellency is limited.
Reducing the insects that spiders feed on may indirectly reduce spider activity, but plants alone are unlikely to eliminate spiders from a building.
Why You Should Not Fear Every Insect
Many insects play essential ecological roles.
Bees, butterflies, moths, beetles, and other insects may pollinate plants, decompose organic material, or serve as
