Spiders In Home: Spiders: Good Spiders: Avoid Getting Bitten:

There are certain spiders that like to visit and some that like move right in. We have all encountered a spider or three in our homes. If you are like me, then spiders freak you out somewhat. I used to have a paralyzing fear of spiders but I made myself get over it. The first thing I learned is that most spiders are not poisonous to humans. Even if bitten, it is likely that not much will happen. Spiders in home can be worrisome, though overtime I have come to accept the various kinds of spiders I find in my home. Some I allow to stay and other I take outside... sometimes three times.

I could argue that all spiders are good spiders for the simple reason that spiders do not look at humans as prey. With that being said, there are really good spiders that I have just accepted as being there.

Spiders in my home that are good spiders have a job to do. Mostly that job is to catch insects like mosquitoes, flies, and gnats. As long as they are doing their job and they stay out of my hair... literally and figuratively, then I have no issue with providing lodging. Good spiders do me a service!

There are a few spiders that strike fear into us all. The black widow is one such spider. The brown recluse is yet another spider that makes people go pale. Both of these spiders have venom that is poisonous to humans an at least in the case of the Black Widow may be lethal if the spider were to bite a frail child or older adult. Most humans will have a reaction and everyone who is bitten by a black widow or brown recluse should seek medical care. Many Emergency Rooms carry anti-venom.

Spiders in general are not looking to come into contact with humans. It is usually a great "misunderstanding" when a spider meets a human, or when a human meets a spider. A good example would be my sister... If you say to her... hold still... she will start jumping around, wiping her hands all over her, turn red in the face then go into hysteric and starts sobbing... GET IT OFF ME. It doesn't matter if there is a spider on her or not. If she was not so terrified it might actually be fun to say from time to time. This is the sort of reaction that a spider can have on people. Given the fact that most spiders are harmless to us... the general reaction is ... well... over rated. Calm down and deal with it.

In my house I have umbrella spiders which hand upside down in the corners and usually stay there until they die or another umbrella spiders eats them. They make a little triangle webs in the corners and wait for flying things to come at them. They prefer that the flying thing is not a shoe. I like these spiders because they help catch stray mosquitoes that may get into the house. Nothing is more annoying then drifting off to sleep and hearing NNNNZZzzzeuwwwww.... as a male mosquito tries to land on your face. The umbrella spiders like to eat mosquitoes and I like them to eat mosquitoes. They have another benefit that is kind of interesting. There webs collect airborne debris and as such make a great indicator of the air quality in a room. Darker webs mean flying dust and other particles that can make us sick or cause our allergies to kick up few notches.

I also have two quarter sized (maybe more) hunter spiders which I tolerate I believe them to be a species of wolf spider. I do not fear them for their bite... but I do like to know where they are. I like them because whomever lived here before must have had lizards or something because there are crickets in the house. It does not matter how often I clean, there will be one or two crickets that hope on me from time to time. The wolf spiders seem happy to hunt the crickets and I am happy to be rid of a cricket now and then because frankly they startle me when they land on my arm and in the middle of the middle of the night... they sometimes sing.. off key.. and really bad songs that annoy me.

Both of these types of spiders avoid me at all costs. The umbrella spiders stay in their webs and the wolf spiders roam around at night while I am sleeping. On occasion I have found a black widow in the house and I take her right back outside... sometimes several times. I am just not comfortable having her in the house. I have a large female that lives in my side garden and she and I have a mutual understanding.

Avoiding spider bites is not difficult, but it does require a bit of persistence on your part. Black window spiders are similar to the umbrella spiders, they build a web and they stay put. They move for environmental reasons such as water or cold, but for the most part they hate moving as much as I do. The brown recluse is also a solitary spider that finds a place to hangout and then stays there. Most people who are bitten by either spider are either working in older places and moving things like rotting wood or lumber or they put their foot into a shoe or boot that one or the other species has moved into.

Both the black widow and the brown recluse like to live in darker and clutter areas such as garages and sheds but they will make your home their home as well. Make it a habit of checking shoes that sit overnight or are only worn once in a while as the shoe may have become a condo for a spider. To be fair to the spider, they bite when we hurt them or when we disturb them a great deal.

Check clothing and jackets each time you put them on. Spiders like to live in clothes that hang around. Coveralls, jackets, pants, shirts, shoes, and gloves are good places to find the not so happy black widow or brown recluse. Avoiding spider bites means checking your clothes first before putting them on. You can find images of people who have been bit by either spider on the internet. Those pictures are kind of graphic and I did not want to post them here. If you look at the location of where people were bitten, you will see how checking your clothing first is a good idea. I have seen picture of bites on hands (gloves) on the thigh (pant, coveralls, etc.) and on the arm (jackets and shirts) as well as the foot (shoes, boots) Check your clothes first.