Is it actually good to have spiders in your home?

You have probably heard that it is a good thing to let spiders live because they eat other insects. A single spider can eat up to 2000 insects in a single year. In that way, spiders help control the population of moths, flies, mosquitoes and even roaches. But one thing often overlooked is that spiders can actually get rid of other spiders too. Often times a bigger spider will move in and rid an area of numerous smaller spiders. Continue reading to discover more interesting facts about spiders…and whether or not it is actually a good thing to have them in your home.

Most spiders are not poisonous to humans – In America, the only spiders that are truly poisonous to humans are the black widow and the brown recluse. Almost all spiders kill or paralyze their prey by injecting poison into them through their fangs. But the venom from most spiders is not harmful to humans at all.

Female spiders lay their eggs in a silk egg sack – A female spider can lay up to 3,000 eggs at a time. Many species of spiders die after laying their eggs. However, certain species actually care for their young and will even carry them around and share prey with their babies.

Arachnids have an exoskeleton – This term means that a spider’s skeleton is on the outside of its body instead of the inside. As they grow, spiders shed their outer skeleton and then a new larger one hardens around them. Having an outer skeleton protects a spider’s vital organs from predators in much the same way as a lobster, crayfish or crab.

As for the debate on whether or not it is a good thing to have spiders in your house to eat other insects, the consensus seems to be that it is not ideal. First of all, if you find a spider in your house, it was likely drawn there by the opportunity to hunt prey. This means that if you have a spider, by default you likely have other bugs living inside of your home. If you find numerous spiders in your home, there is a good chance that you have another infestation of some sort. The best solution is to seek professional pest control for both the spiders and the other insects in your home that the spiders are feeding on. While they can help control the insect population in your home, they can also reproduce at an alarming rate. The best move is to rid your home of both the spiders and the other insects they are feeding on.

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