Brits 'can expect home invasion of spiders' after hot and humid summer

A wet and warm summer is bringing a multitude of spiders into people's homes, according to scientists.

Because the summer was warm and wet, Brits can expect a home invasion of arachnids, scientists at the University of Gloucestershire said.

This is because heat coupled with heavy rain has created the perfect environment for the type of insects that spiders like to eat.

Professor Adam Hart from the University of Gloucester told The Telegraph: "It certainly looks as if people are getting quite excited by it quite early this year.

"People are saying that they are seeing more than they normally do."

The team pioneered the use of "Twitter mining" in which they trawl through social media posts to build an ecological picture.

They found early indications to suggest this year's "spider season" will be busier than 2018.

A lot of spiders seen inside at this time of year are usually male spiders on the hunt for a mate.

During a previous 2018 study, the scientists pinpointed at what times you can expect to see spiders.

They are most active at around 7.35pm each evening and there are also a lot of sightings between 6am and 8am in the morning.

Professor Hart said there is "not much you can do" to keep them out of the house.

He added: "The reality is that house spiders are there already and there’s not that much you can do about them.

“But they love mess, such as piles of clothes, to try to keep things tidy.”

The UK has 650 species of spider but only 12 are harmful to humans.

This year was the twelfth warmest on record since 1910 and the seventh wettest overall.

Scotland had the second wettest summer on record in 2019, surpassed only by that of 1985.

Despite the wetter summer, Professor Hart says the spiders will not be bigger than usual.

He concluded: "People always forget that we have some quite large spiders in Britain which it isn’t unusual to see at this time of year, so they tend to post comments saying spiders are getting bigger.”