When you live in an old house — mine was built in the 1880s and could double as the set for a creaky doors-and-windows horror flick — there are certain things to which you adjust: floors that creak like the floorboards in a haunted house, windows that let in the draft, and — like an unwanted houseguest who will not leave — an occasional spider settling into some dark, unused corner.
But this fall, things went too far. Each morning, it felt as if another had emerged, from a lampshade to the corner of a windowsill. I am no delicate flower, but even I have my limits. I’d been living in a Halloween exhibit for a week, I thought, and it was time to get to the bottom of this thing.
I wasn’t exactly thrilled about coating my living space in poison, so I went hunting for some natural alternatives. Weirdly, I stumbled upon a useful bit of advice in a comment on a forum: one poster said she uses Vicks VapoRub as a way to make spiders skedaddle. It wasn’t exactly your traditional pest control, but I was desperate.
The First Test: Skepticism and a Jar of Vicks
I even owned a crusty old jar of Vicks that I’d had in the back of the medicine cabinet for ages. Almost certainly past its sell-by date, but it smells as strong as ever — that shocking hit of menthol.
That night, I put little globs around all the window frames, by the baseboards behind the couch, behind the door going downstairs to the basement. Locations I’d observed the spiders appeared to favor. I wasn’t expecting much. To tell the truth, it all got a little silly rubbing cold remedies all over my living room.
But there was a shift by week’s end.
No fresh webs. No fast-movin’ darting shapes scuttling across the floor. Only the faintest whisper of menthol whenever I passed a window — and so much more peace of mind.
Why Vicks Seems To Work
There’s no magic involved. Spiders are strongly adverse to potent smells, especially those that are rich in volatile oils like menthol and camphor, two of the predominant Vicks ingredients.
They “smell” not like we do; chemicals and vibrations are sensed through the fine hairs on their legs. When those receptors get bombarded by an overpowering perfume, it messes with their ability to hunt, navigate or feel comfortable enough to stay.
In my experience, it’s not so much killing them that works as making your home seem like enemy territory.
How I Conquered Spiders With Vicks
After much trial and error (and some very late-night spider sightings when I took shortcuts), here were my best bets:
Target entry points. Windows, doors, vents — if there’s a crack or seam, spider, you’ll find them there. I use vicks on it there, in those places I just smear vicks thinly with cotton stick.
Protect quiet zones. Basements, garages, laundry rooms — the less human presence, the more perfect the spot for spiders. I started with a small open jar of Vicks tucked behind the water heater and another one hidden behind the washing machine.
Refresh monthly. This is not a set-it-and-forget-it recipe. Vicks evaporates over time. I touch up every 3-4 weeks and test with the tape. If you’re no longer noticing that fragrance, it’s time to apply again.
One thing I knew immediately: you don’t need to lay it on thick. A little goes a long way; the only problem is making a bottle without everything getting sticky.
What Didn’t Work (and Why)
My first solution was to put a jar of Vicks on the kitchen counter and be done with it. Spoiler: that didn’t work. Spiders not only don’t mind a smell from far away, but you also need to place whatever is smelly right where they’re getting in (or where they’re setting up shop).
I also observed that super-humid days seemed to speed up the reduction of odors, especially in the basement. During the dampest weeks, I switched out the Vicks every other week instead of monthly.
These are small adjustments, but as far as I can figure, they’re what made the difference between occasional success and spider-free bedrooms.
Other small habits that have a large impact:
Vicks worked, but I’m not sure I can say that it cured it outright. But two other things I did along the way were just as important:
Vacuuming hard-to-reach corners of the house on a regular basis. I found a half-finished web behind the TV stand once — way back, a part of it I hadn’t cleaned in months. Vacuuming early-stage nests before they hatch.
Decluttering storage spaces. Towering stacks of boxes and old baskets are perfect spider housing. I cleared surfaces and added shelving to the custom built-ins and storage that was off the floor.
Sealing obvious cracks. One tiny hole where a pipe met the wall was a spider superhighway. He was staring at a crack in the ceiling of my laundry room, but I filled it with a little caulk, and I have seen another spider in that spot since.
Pet Safety Note
You will need to be careful with Vicks if you have cats or dogs. Consumption of menthol and camphor is poisonous. I made sure to spread Vicks on things my dog’s face could not reach — windowsills, top doorframes, behind heavy furniture. Out of sight, out of mind.
When To Call in the Pros
I admire do-it-yourselfers in theory, but if you’re dealing with spiders daily — possibly the dangerous kind — then no, this Vicks-up-the-noseholes trick isn’t going to get you where you need to go. We had an infestation in a past apartment that required professional treatment. It’s not about pride; it’s about safety. Don’t second-guess yourself if you’re wondering whether it’s time to call the pros — it probably is.
You won’t wow your guests or necessarily get rid of spiders by applying Vicks VapoRub to them. But it’s simple. It’s inexpensive. And, most crucially, it works — at least on most home spider problems.
This is not building a sterile, bug-free bubble. It’s a matter of just tipping the balance back your way a little bit, making it a bit less appealing for the creatures you’d rather not share your home with.
And honestly? It’s a small, low-overhead comfort — the disappearance of one thing that was skulking in the corners of my life.