This forum is dedicated to connecting hosts with other hosts. Sign up to get the latest updates and news just for AirBnb hosts! Note that we are not affiliated with Airbnb - we are just passionate hosts!
Message from guest in my house this morning:
“I tried to fight a massive spider in the bedroom with antibacterial spray this morning - not sure where it ran off to and hid, so could you please get some insect killer spray just in case it re-emerges and I need to protect myself?”
I will either need to drive to the shops to hunt for spider repellent and then drive to the house to leave it for her or I’ll need to order it online.
Apart from the fact that spiders are arachnids and insect spray doesn’t generally work on them would you consider this a reasonable request? She is the only guest in the house and the spider must have got in as she leaves the bathroom window open.
If guests leave the window open all the time you probably need to install a screen. And if spiders are a regular occurrence you should have had something to deal with them in the place already.
Screens are not really practical in the UK - our windows open outwards. I used to live in the property so would just remove them with a glass and piece of paper. I don’t see them very often, there are no insects in the house at this time of year so nothing for them to eat. I hate the thought of buying a spray that kills the poor little things (plus it might fill the house with chemical gases that are possibly carcinogenic)
This large spider was quite docile. There was another one in the same room who was quite aggressive inside the glass and it kind of spooked me as one of the most venomous spiders in the world is a CR native.
Anyway, I’d just remove a spider to the outdoors but asking for poison spray is a reasonable request for any guest not renting an insect free place. Whether you’ve ever seen a spider there, what you do, how effective the spray is for spiders or how bad for humans…none of that answers the question of if the guest’s request is reasonable. And if it’s an Airbnb booking she could probably cancel and get a refund.
Thanks for the replies, I like to look after my guests so I shall be heading to the shops to see what I can find this afternoon, I was just wondering if all other hosts have spider spray in their homes? I’ve not heard of that before, don’t remember seeing any whenever I’ve stayed in a property.
Lots of people are terrified of spiders. I don’t get it, myself, I’ll pick them up in my bare hands.
One thing you could do is leave a little hand held vacuum in the unit- they can just be vacuumed up rather than spraying poison.
@KKC That photo looks like the type of house spiders I have here in Mexico. If so, they are quite harmless and I leave them be, as they keep the rest of the insect population down.
Of course I vacuum the guest room/bathroom thoroughly, and make every effort to make sure it’s spider-free. But I do tell guests about them and that they are shy and harmless.
One guest told me there was a spider on the ceiling above her bed and that she had a spider phobia and was afraid it would fall in her. She wasn’t having any freak-out, was matter of fact about it.
I assured her they don’t fall off the ceiling, but just went up to her room and vacuumed it up and she was fine with that.
I do have a mosquito net over the bed, which even if there aren’t any spiders or mosquitos, can make guests feel more relaxed if one lives in an area where insects are common.
That wasn’t an option as it was in the bedroom and the couple sleeping in there was not having it. In fact, after the second spider was found that same night they moved from the “garden room” to the murphy bed inside the living room. No AC in there but they were willing to sacrifice. Lucky for us no spiders appeared until the last night. It made me wonder if they did try to spray some sort of repellent or poison that wore off as the week and rain went on. We were in the Costa Rican jungle so of course there were insects. What was odd was that this room had a louvered door with no screen that opened to the side garden of the home. There was also a bit of a gap at the bottom of the door. Yet that room also had a refrigerated AC unit so that seemed odd. Anyway the spiders were just removed from the room and dumped in the landscape some distance from the house.
When I said I leave them be I meant in my own living quarters or when I don’t have guests. I wouldn’t expect people who are scared of them, or not have any idea of whether they are dangerous or not, to be able to just ignore them.
That would be like someone expecting me to ignore a snake slithering along the baseboards indoors, simply because it wasn’t poisonous
The onsite property manager said it was harmless but then again, he has a vested interest in saying so. It was completely docile so even if poisonous it wasn’t going to hurt me. It didn’t even want to crawl out of the glass, I had to shake it out. The smaller spider I scooped up was attacking the sides of the glass with an unmatched fury. It was like “let me out of here, I will punch you in the throat.” I love all kinds of animals, birds, insects and am not really frightened of any of them. Roaches are creepy and rattlesnakes to be admired from a distance. Wasps will be shot on sight if near me. Everything else is of interest.
I’ve seen cockroaches - the big flying ones - in both our apartments when guests have thought it’s a great idea to leave the doors open.
Our elderly building is also prone to ants if food is left out or there are crumbs on worktops. Then there are the mosquitos.
So under both kitchen sinks, there is always an ant & roach spray and a flying insect spray. I’d have thought that if they kill those bastard cockroaches then they’ll deal with a reasonably sized spider. But if not, I’d definitely provide something if possible.
I point out the sprays during the house tour which also serves as a bit of a warning to guests to not leave the door open or have mucky worktops.
If I’d been the guest I would have up-ended a glass over it and just left it there for the host to deal with after check out.
