If You See This Spider in Your Home, Don't Step on It, Experts Warn — Best Life (2024)

FAQs

Why shouldn't you step on a spider? ›

Or as pest control company Terminix puts it, if the spider you stomp on happens to be a female, the impact could release hundreds of spiderlings in your home.

While you might be tempted to squish one of these spiders with your broom, think again. If your target happens to be an egg-carrying female, it might release hundreds of spiderlings onto your floor. If you encounter a wolf spider in your home, trap it using glue boards and get rid of it.

As the weather grows cooler outside, spiders seek shelter indoors to stay warm. Spiders follow their prey. With the abundance of insects also seeking refuge from the colder weather, your home could become a haven for all kinds of creepy crawly things and the spiders that love to eat them.

1594 – “If a spinner creepe uppon him, hee shall have golde raine downe from heaven.” This one seems to have evolved from the older one above, indicating that finding a spider on your person is a sign that money is coming your way. Variations of this notion repeat again and again and persist to modern times.

Spiders are a sign of good luck, apparently. Many cultures believe that allowing a spider to run around the house is a sign of good luck and money. According to humansandnature.org, they say that various sources have claimed that “If you want to live and thrive, let the spider run alive.”

Along with boric acid, other natural repellents safely keep wolf spiders away. Many essential oils and natural herbs keep spiders away. They don't like the cedar, cinnamon, citrus, peppermint, and tea tree fragrances. Fill a BPA-free bottle with peppermint oil to repel spiders, ants, and other bugs.

If you are struggling with wolf spiders, make sure to keep the home clean of crumbs and food that is not sealed. Easily accessible food will attract ants, flies and other insects that will then attract wolf spiders. Also make sure to close entry points, such as cracks in window or door sealings.

Another excellent reason not to squash a wolf spider is that it may be carrying baby wolf spiders (spiderlings). When wolf spider eggs hatch, the spiderlings climb on the mother's back and she carries them until they're large enough to hunt for themselves.

If you keep seeing spiders around your house, you may want to consider hiring an exterminator to deal with the problem. Some pests can be very harmful to you and your family, and you don't want to risk that. These arachnids are a bit unappealing, and they can also spread diseases.

You might feel caught in a complicated situation, relationship, or emotion in your waking life, much like a prey ensnared in a web. The spider's presence might be a reflection of perceived threats or overpowering figures, suggesting that it is time to address these feelings and seek clarity or liberation.

What will keep spiders away? ›

To deter spiders, try peppermint oil, keep your space clean and clutter-free, seal cracks and gaps, and use cedarwood. Encouraging natural predators like ladybugs and birds can also help control spider populations. These methods, individually or combined, effectively keep spiders at bay.

Spiders do not live in nests with other spiders. They are lone hunters. You should not be worried if you see a single spider in your home.

But the good news is that they aren't after you. Spiders want to avoid human contact as much as people want to avoid spiders. So unless there is some sort of food source for them in or around your bed, spiders are not likely to come crawling on you while you sleep.

They may give you the creeps, but spiders are really just more of a nuisance than a health hazard. In fact, having a few spiders around your home can be advantageous as they will help to keep away harmful pests and disease-carrying insects like ticks, fleas, and co*ckroaches.

If you squish a wolf spider that's carrying her young, you may inadvertently send dozens of her babies into different cracks and crevices of your home. Counterintuitively, this may create more of a spider infestation in your home than if you had left it alone.

All spiders make venom (a poison) that they use to paralyze and kill their prey. But most spiders aren't aggressive to people, and their fangs are too small to puncture human skin. Spiders usually only bite humans when they feel threatened, like when you trap them or unintentionally make contact with them.

Evidence suggests that spiders, with their comparatively simple nervous systems, may not experience pain in the same way as more complex animals.

Additionally, attempting to step on a female wolf spider may unintentionally release dozens of already-hatched spiders resting on her back, transforming a small spider problem into a bigger, potentially substantial one.