By Etan Smallman for the Daily Mail

Published: 18:09 EDT, 24 September 2014 | Updated: 20:47 EDT, 24 September 2014

Pity Britain’s technophobic arachnophobes. For while they will be trying desperately to trap the onslaught of autumn spiders in the age-old way — fumbling around with a glass and a sheet of paper — the nation’s savvier spider-haters will be arming themselves with the most inventive of gadgets.

Homewares chain Lakeland reported a sales boost of 140 per cent for its Spider Catcher gadget in just a week — and little wonder.

Not only are customers preparing themselves for the annual spider season, but they are also reacting to news that the beasts are likely to be larger than ever.

According to Professor Adam Hart, of the University of Gloucestershire, we should be expecting spiders to be 3mm bigger than usual because the warm summer has furnished them with an abundance of insects to munch on.

And as the cold nights draw in, the males will be venturing indoors in search of a mate.

So don’t get caught out. Instead, take your pick from a dizzying array of — largely humane — devices designed to delicately dispose of our eight-legged friends, from vacuum tubes and glue traps to catching compartments and bristled claws. ETAN SMALLMAN tests what’s on offer . . .

This canny invention resembles a giant pipette, but one with battery-powered suction

This canny invention resembles a giant pipette, but one with battery-powered suction.

With a transparent plastic tube measuring 60cm, you can suck up the spiders from a safe and comfortable distance — simply press the button and the critter will be ever-so-gently captured. Place the cap on the end of the Spider Catcher tube and then release out of the window or door.

It works equally well on wasps, flies, moths and woodlice, as well as dead insects littering the windowsills.

And the catcher also comes with celebrity approval. This Morning’s Phillip Schofield has been photographed brandishing one (theatrically holding it in the manner of a lightsaber).

At this price, the Katcha Bug is certainly a bargain.

It is also beautifully simple, involving no chemicals or even batteries. Just cover the spider with the clear ‘catching compartment’ and twist so that the shutter falls shut.

The Katcha Bug is completely transparent so you can make sure you’re not trapping the innocent spider’s legs, and you can then release it outside.

But be warned: one sensitive online reviewer was alarmed just by the packaging.

She wrote: ‘Personally, I am terrified of even pictures of spiders, so to cover the box in realistic photos of spiders is a very bad idea.’

The Spider Catcher, is billed as ‘the world’s friendliest, most innovative way to catch spiders’

This gadget, also named the Spider Catcher, is billed as ‘the world’s friendliest, most innovative way to catch spiders’ and ‘an important product that helps in the protection of our environment’.

Scaredy-cats will be more interested that the 65cm-long arm will reach up to ceilings and behind cupboards.

It works by surrounding the spider with bristles, which harmlessly trap it. Just grasp the handle, squeeze the trigger and you can easily incarcerate spiders and daddy-long-legs measuring from 2mm up to 25mm in length.

The device comes in green or a fetching pink and, best of all, you also get a practice plastic spider with every purchase ‘to show you how safe and easy it is to use’.

This Rentokil bug catcher is for slightly braver users, as it doesn’t come with a long handle.

Instead, its makers boast that it ‘can be used as an educational aid for both adults and children’ — presumably for those who want to gawp at the creatures through the plastic window before they release them back into the wild.

Perhaps the most inventive of all the solutions on the market (but probably also the most cruel), the SpidaTrap is said to be the ‘world’s only spider catcher to have been invented by an arachnophobe for the arachnophobe’.

It is a system of long sticky traps that are laid end to end — ideally across a doorway at night.

Once a spider steps on to the trap, it becomes stuck in the glue and the sloping, non-grip sides stop it from dragging itself free.

One happy customer declared it was ‘like having a spider force field constantly protecting my house’ and free traps have been supplied to grateful troops serving in the Middle East to help protect them against the notorious camel spider.

The website suggests ‘covering them with the release paper supplied and hit them with a stick’ if you want to kill your catch.

‘If you are completely insane and want to release a caught spider, then applying cooking oil directly on to the glue and around its feet will slowly break the bond.

‘This is also the best way to release any other objects that become stuck like you or an unfortunate pet.’

This trap from Rentokil works along similar lines, but has a folding cardboard roof to stop pets or children getting their little feet stuck. Poison and insecticide-free, it looks like a mini home for the arachnids, but the glue inside the trap will ensure they won’t make it out alive.

It also traps cockroaches, woodlice, ants, silverfish and other insects — and said to be perfect for behind the sofa.

This gadget plugs into a socket and its waves are sent throughout the cabling within the walls of your home.

Ultrasonic and electro-magnetic waves are emitted to ‘stimulate the hearing and brain nerves’ of most crawling and flying insects.

Spiders should feel terrorised in the affected area — up to 20 sq m — and flee the noise, which cannot be detected by humans, save for possibly a faint buzzing. Safe to use around your pets.

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