Here’s when and where you’re most likely to meet huge spiders (as millions of them invade our homes)

Rob Waugh
·Contributor
Arachnophobes should stay out the house at 7.35pm becaIt'use that is the time spiders are most likely to be scuttling around, a new study suggests. Householders are likely to see more creepy crawlies in the coming weeks as Britain hits peak spider mating season, which runs until the first week of October. And because females tend to spin their webs on door and window frames, males come inside to track down a prospective partner. Prof Adam Hart, an entomologist at the University of Gloucestershire, collected more than 10,000 records from more than 250 locations in Britain to find out when spiders are most likely to be seen.  He discovered that peak sightings happen at 7.35pm in the evening. There was also a slight peak in sightings at 6–8 am which could refect morning observations of spiders trapped in sinks or baths overnight, said the researchers.
It’s spider mating season, so expect to encounter lots of our eight-legged friends (Getty)

It’s that time of year again, when millions of spiders are sighted crawling around in people’s homes – mostly in search of love.

It’s spider mating season, which means that lovestruck males crawl into British homes in search of company… and they have several distinctive habits.

That’s based on data from a new app, Spider in da House, where British people were encouraged to record where and when they saw spiders.

The researchers found that most spiders are spotted in the early evening, peaking at 7.35pm.

The researchers collected data on 10,000 sightings based on 250 locations in Britain.

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Up to 80% of spiders sighted during ‘spider season’ are male, with male spiders looking for female partners, who tend to spin webs on door and window frames indoors.

There is also a slight peak in sightings between 6 and 8am, perhaps due to spiders becoming trapped in sinks and baths overnight, the researchers say.

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Prof Adam Hart of the University of Gloucestershire in England, ‘We think that while people are more likely to be sat down and able to view spider at 7.30pm the pattern of sightings in rooms other than living rooms suggests that it is not just people driving the pattern – so we think it probably does reflect some spider ecology too.’

‘The main message is like to convey is that UK spiders are basically totally harmless and that spiders are incredibly important predators – natural pest controllers and their predation encourages higher biodiversity.

‘So we should really celebrate spider season.’