Spiders in Your House: Should You Be Concerned?

When it comes to house pests, spiders are probably not the first ones that spring to mind. Cockroaches and rats feel like bigger threats. That being said, spiders can be pests — they can bite you and spin spider webs across your house. But how concerned should you be?

Why spiders in your house should concern you

Spider bites, spider webs, and arachnophobia are the three primary reasons why you don’t want spiders in your house.

• Almost all spiders have venom. There are more than 40,000 known species of spiders in the world, and almost all of them have venom. They can inject this venom into you through their bites. You should not ignore spider bites. They can lead to skin damage, itching, swelling, and even infection. They can also lead to more complicated symptoms like difficulty in breathing and vomiting. If your symptoms persist, seek medical attention immediately. You may need antihistamines or even antibiotics.
• Spider webs can be a nuisance. Spiders spin webs to catch other insects for food, like flies. The insects get stuck because of the stickiness of the threads. Spider webs are basically death traps for other insects. But for humans, these threads are basically harmless. They are just a nuisance. Spider webs are unsightly. And you may see them in places that are hard to reach when you are cleaning.
• Arachnophobia is a real thing. Arachnophobia is the intense fear of spiders. And sadly, it can easily be triggered. The mere sight of a spider or a spider web is enough to make a person with arachnophobia anxious. In more extreme cases, even the mere thought of spiders can trigger an extreme reaction. You may think this is nothing serious, but arachnophobia can actually lead to physical problems like difficulty in breathing, dizziness, and tightness in the chest.

Why spiders are not that bad

The spiders in your house can be beneficial because they are natural pest controllers. They are also more afraid of you than you are of them. They just get a bad reputation because of the few species of spiders that harm humans.

• Spiders kill house pests. Spiders primarily feed on insects. One spider can kill and eat about two thousand insects a year. This can be good news to you because many insects are house pests as well, such as cockroaches, flies, and mosquitoes. These pests can be incredibly dangerous. Cockroaches and flies spread disease-causing bacteria and mosquitoes are some of the deadliest animals on the planet. Spiders are basically natural pest controllers. And they don’t stop with indoor pests. Spiders are also great in controlling agricultural pests like aphids, beetles, and moths.
• Spiders kill other spiders. It’s understandable that you don’t like spiders in your house. They can be dangerous after all and their spider webs are annoying. But here’s the good news if you have spiders in your house — they are going to kill the other spiders on your property. Spiders like to fight other spiders on sight. In some countries, spider wrestling is a real thing, wherein spiders are intentionally matched to kill each other. This won’t be possible without the natural inclination of spiders to fight each other.
• Spiders are not out there to intentionally harm you. You shouldn’t be overly worried about the fact that most spiders have venom. You are not likely to be a victim of spider attacks to begin with. Spiders are not bloodsuckers, meaning they don’t really have a reason to bite someone who is too large for them to eat. They would rather spend their energy hunting for prey. If a spider attacks you, it’s almost always because you have attacked it first. Most spiders will not attack if you just leave them alone.

How to avoid spider infestations

Even if spiders can be beneficial for your house, it’s still understandable if you don’t want them crawling around. After all, they can still be a threat because of arachnophobia and spider bites and an annoyance because of spider webs.

Here are some things you can do to avoid getting spiders in your house.

• Close all potential passageways. Spiders are small creatures. The common house spider is only about 0.6 centimeters long. This means that spiders can get in and out of your house with ease. There are many small passageways they can use, such as doors, windows, and cracks and holes in your walls. Even closed doors and windows have gaps on their edges that are still large enough for spiders to squeeze through. To avoid getting spiders in your house, make sure to keep doors and windows closed, seal cracks and holes in your walls, and reinforce your doors and windows with weatherstrips and window screens.
• Store food properly. Pests are attracted to houses because of two general reasons — resources and shelter opportunities. If they can find either in your house, it’s vulnerable to pest infestations. Your food items should be stored in cabinets, containers, and refrigerators. You should also not leave crumbs, leftovers, and garbage out in the open. Spiders are not necessarily attracted to these food items themselves. They are more attracted to the other pests that these food items attract, like cockroaches.
• Keep your house clean. Spiders like to stay in dark and undisturbed places. If you don’t clean your house regularly, there are plenty of spots like these. Like you, spiders like to be comfortable. They look for shelter opportunities on your property. Different species of spiders have different preferences. For instance, there are spiders who prefer damp areas like basements and crawl spaces. And there are others who prefer dry areas like closets.

Spiders in your house have pros and cons

Spiders may concern you because of their potential medical threat — spider bites that can lead to pain, wounds, infections, and vomiting. And if you or a family member suffer from arachnophobia, that can lead to anxiety and stress, which is not good. Also, the webs spiders so expertly spin can be very annoying if you are a person who likes to keep their house spotlessly clean at all times.

That being said, spiders are also not pests that you should be overly concerned about. Most spiders are not harmful to humans. And they can even be beneficial to your house because of their ability to kill other pests.