I know it may be hard to convince you, but let me try: Don’t kill the next spider you see in your home.
Why? Because spiders are an important part of nature and our indoor ecosystem – as well as being fellow organisms in their own right.
People like to think of their dwellings as safely insulated from the outside world, but many types of spiders can be found inside. Some are accidentally trapped, while others are short-term visitors. Some species even enjoy the great indoors, where they happily live out their lives and make more spiders. These arachnids are usually secretive, and almost all you meet are neither aggressive nor dangerous. And they may be providing services like eating pests – some even eat other spiders.
My colleagues and I conducted a visual survey of 50 North Carolina homes to inventory just which arthropods live under our roofs. Every single house we visited was home to spiders. The most common species we encountered were cobweb spiders and cellar spiders.
Both build webs where they lie in wait for prey to get caught. Cellar spiders sometimes leave their webs to hunt other spiders on their turf, mimicking prey to catch their cousins for dinner.
Although they are generalist predators, apt to eat anything they can catch, spiders regularly capture nuisance pests and even disease-carrying insects – for example, mosquitoes. There’s even a species of jumping spider that prefers to eat blood-filled mosquitoes in African homes. So killing a spider doesn’t just cost the arachnid its life, it may take an important predator out of your home.Both build webs where they lie in wait for prey to get caught. Cellar spiders sometimes leave their webs to hunt other spiders on their turf, mimicking prey to catch their cousins for dinner.
It’s natural to fear spiders. They have lots of legs and almost all are venomous – though the majority of species have venom too weak to cause issues in humans, if their fangs can pierce our skin at all. Even entomologists themselves can fall prey to arachnophobia. I know a few spider researchers who overcame their fear by observing and working with these fascinating creatures. If they can do it, so can you!
Spiders are not out to get you and actually prefer to avoid humans; we are much more dangerous to them than vice versa. Bites from spiders are extremely rare. Although there are a few medically important species like widow spiders and recluses, even their bites are uncommon and rarely cause serious issues.
If you truly can’t stand that spider in your house, apartment, garage, or wherever, instead of smashing it, try to capture it and release it outside. It’ll find somewhere else to go, and both parties will be happier with the outcome.
But if you can stomach it, it’s OK to have spiders in your home. In fact, it’s normal. And frankly, even if you don’t see them, they’ll still be there. So consider a live-and-let-live approach to the next spider you encounter.
Matt Bertone, Extension Associate in Entomology, North Carolina State University
This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
I grew up terrified of spiders because of my grandmother. That went down to my mother and to me and on to my children… especially my daughter. However, upon moving to the South (South West VA) there were just too many spiders in my house to keep up with. I became friends with my Common Brown House spiders (cob web spider) and have an especially dear little girl in my kitchen that I named Henrietta. I don’t know how long she will be with me but I think she had some babies this Spring. When we encounter each other, we just stop and stare. I talk to her and she seems to have no fear of me anymore and doesn’t run away. She is around quite often when I am cooking. I would miss her. That is a big step for me. Sometimes they repel right down in front of me when I am on my computer.
Thanks for this! I feel the same way.
Whenever I see one I take a glass ,tilt it on it’s side, and when it crawls in I release it outside on a plant.
Kill it
Their poo makes a very hard crusty mess that sticks relentlessly to any surface. Sorry but outside you go.
We live in Australia, and we always catch and release them outside. You get a glass and just put it over the crawling “friend” , put a card underneath and here you go. But be careful not to damage the legs. Spiders are alive creatures and deserve their lives.
We must be magnets for poisonous spiders. Have come across Brown recluse spiders several times through the years and I have been bitten by one. Awfully painful and the bitesite decayed like it would on an animal. Relieved antibiotics and a few days of my feet and all was well. We have also come across Black Widow spiders🕷 on our screened in porch and while walking in a park. Baby Black widows landed on the front of his shir,brushed them away and we were on our way. So all spiders are not welcome. I was also dinner for one living in my bedroom. It would come out while I was sleeping and I would wake with a bite on my leg. I searched my room to no avail and only saw it one night when I had gone to bed later then usual and there it was on the wall behind my lamp on my bedside table. Needless to say he met his demise. I am not a fan of spiders but they can live outside my home all they like.
Reason why I can’t stand them when I was a sleep my ex put a spider in my mouth whiles I was sleeping wake up and saw it on face went nuts
Guess that’s why they are you’re EX!.! What a horrid thing to do
I got bitten by a Black Widow spider back in the 80s while I was sleeping. The bite area was red, inflamed and very sore and itchy. I was worried because most times you get bit by a spider and your body resolves it with no problems. You could see the poison spreading down my leg swollen and itchy sore, very intense. I went to the doctor and he recognized it was a black widow bite and gave me a shot. He said it was very nasty and if I hadn’t gotten a shot, I would’ve gotten very sick. Some people even die from Black Widow bites. I don’t mind most spiders at a distance, but that’s where they belong.
I love spiders!
But would you please stop advertising for nubuu.com, it’s making me sick, thank you!