It seems to be one of those old wives tales that really does work…apparently scientists have started to investigate but it’s thought that chestnuts give off a chemical that the spiders don’t like. We used to have huuuuuuuuge spiders in the autumn, loads of them, but last autumn we didn’t have a single one. Very occasionally one braves it and is swiftly seen to by the cat.
We do have a fire but when they did come in it was usually through the air bricks or the patio doors.