How to repel spiders: Could pale blue paint, peppermint and conkers help arachnophobes?

"Brace yourself!" screamed The Sun, for they are "seemingly taking over Britain" according to The Daily Telegraph. Meanwhile, the Daily Mail warned that an "influx are heading for your home". No, not refugees, Isis or Corbynites, it's spiders that have tangled them in a web of hysteria. We're now in "spider season", which means stories about arachnids seem as plentiful as any we might spot shimmying round the bath or scuttling across the carpet.