Maybe there’s one in your bathtub, or lying a bit too still in the corner of your bedroom. Maybe it’s slowly lowering itself onto your head.

Spiders are everywhere at the moment, especially in people’s homes in the UK.

On TikTok, users are sharing skin-crawling clips of tennis ball-sized critters taking a casual stroll.

And in bad news for arachnophobes, an insect expert has warned that not only are there more spiders than usual, but they’re ‘potentially bigger’, too.

Entomologist Dee Patel, 34, said this summer’s repeated heatwaves caused a surge in mosquitoes, moths and bluebottle flies.

In other words, an all-you-can-eat buffet for web-spinning insects like giant house spiders, which have a leg span of up to 7.5cm.

Patel said it’s ‘spider season’, when males leave their webs to find females to mate with.

‘Peak is usually October but we’ve noticed it’s started earlier,’ said Patel.

‘Their exothermic cycle is sped up, so you get more generations of spiders quicker than usual, which means more spiders in general and potentially bigger because of the food sources available.’

Experts told in August that the UK was seeing a plague of houseflies because they thrive in warmer weather, so they eat and mate faster.

Why are there so many spiders right now?

Don’t worry, we’re not in the grip of a ‘national spider population explosion’, says Adam Hart, a professor of science communication at the University of Gloucestershire.

In reality, there aren’t any more spiders in your home than usual. Instead, now-adult spiders are venturing outside (or, well, inside) to find mates and your home is a big, safe place full of food.

They also love clutter: think cupboards, under the bed, or anywhere you’ve been meaning to tidy since 2020.

But Hart, often called the ‘UK’s spider expert’, says he hasn’t seen evidence that spiders are any more numerous or larger than normal this year.

‘I’d be a little cautious about taking it as far as saying we’re going to see unusually large house spiders this autumn,’ he says.

‘Temperature and food availability can certainly affect the growth and condition of spiders while they’re developing.

‘So, in principle, a warm summer with plenty of insect prey could produce favourable growing conditions and perhaps some particularly impressive individuals.’

To confirm spiders are getting larger, entomologists would need to measure these eight-legged creepy crawlies through the years, rather than relying on firsthand sightings.

‘I think “potentially favourable conditions for growth” is much easier to defend scientifically than “this autumn’s spiders will be far larger than normal”,’ Hart adds.

So what should you do if you see a spider in your house?

Preferably, nothing at all. Spiders are an important part of the ecosystem, helping control insect populations and being food for animals.

You’ll also be glad to know there are no deadly spiders in the UK, and very few species found here bite.

The British Arachnological Society recommends that, if you do decide to take the spider out of your home, plonk it in an outside shed or garage.

Should we be afraid of spiders?

For any arachnophobes terrified at the thought of spiders in their home, Hart says to spare a thought for these insects.

‘From a spider’s point of view, an ordinary person is absolutely enormous,’ he says.

‘Imagine encountering an animal thousands of times your own mass, capable of killing you accidentally just by stepping on you.

‘We’re not prey, and there’s no reason for a house spider to approach us aggressively.’

Even a giant house spider isn’t exactly giant, being only 1.25cm or so tall.

This means that, at 175.8cm, an average British man is nearly 140 times taller than the spider, nearly as tall proportionally as The Shard.

Spiders sprint across your floorboards because they’re trying to flee from that living skyscraper watching TV, not because they’re out to get you.

People with arachnophobia are often reminded that spiders are ‘more afraid of you than you are of them’.

This line, while reassuring for some, probably won’t cure that fear, Anxiety UK tells .

Phobias are an intense anxiety response that is disproportionate to the actual danger something poses, the mental health charity says.

Even a photo of a spider can be enough to make an arachnophobe freeze up, and some half-joke that it would be easier to burn their house down than deal with the creepy crawlies.

‘Where a phobia is affecting someone’s daily life, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), including gradual and supported exposure, can help them build confidence and reduce fear in manageable steps,’ Anxiety UK says.

‘Helpful immediate measures can include stepping away, using slow breathing or grounding techniques, asking someone trusted for practical help and avoiding pressure to confront the fear before they feel ready.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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