Entomologist Urges Leaving House Spiders Alive After Survey Found Them in 50 Homes
Updated
Updated · The Independent · Jul 24
Entomologist Urges Leaving House Spiders Alive After Survey Found Them in 50 Homes
1 articles · Updated · The Independent · Jul 24
Summary
Matt Bertone says people should avoid killing spiders at home because most are neither aggressive nor dangerous and can help control indoor pests.
A visual survey of 50 North Carolina homes found spiders in every house, with cobweb spiders and cellar spiders the most common indoor species.
Those predators regularly catch nuisance insects, including mosquitoes, and some cellar spiders even hunt other spiders, making them part of the indoor ecosystem.
Bertone says bites are extremely rare, and even medically important widow and recluse spiders seldom cause serious harm; if needed, he recommends capturing and releasing them outside.