Sharing Our Home With Spiders

David Trammel's picture

I'm always surprised how many people freak out when they see a spider in their home, or at work. Sometimes they immediately kill the poor little thing. Sometimes I can run interference long enough to scoop the spider up and deposit it somewhere out of sight. Why do so few people realize how much good spiders do for us?

"Should I kill spiders in my home? An entomologist explains why not to"

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.

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.