Are Spiders Good for Your Home?

Even the smallest spider can turn a full-grown man into a bumbling fool. Despite their diminutive size, the otherworldly appearance of spiders is admittedly off putting. It doesn’t help that Hollywood has turned the spider into a common horror movie accessory.

However, not all spiders are bad. In fact, it might be a good idea not to squish each one you see around your house. Here are a few reasons why it could be good for spiders to be in your home:

Pests Become Food

The number one reason why spiders are beneficial is that they make other pests their food. While you’re more likely to jump out of your socks at the sight of a spider, just one of these arachnids can take out a whole swarm of mosquitos on its own. A life without mosquitos seems like a pretty good one, doesn’t it?

Not only will you have fewer flying pests to worry about, but the diseases they sometimes carry won’t be a concern either. Mosquitos, as another example, are notorious for the diseases they carry, such as dengue and the Zika virus. It’s nice to have an eight-legged friend stop them from biting you and contracting any of those diseases or itchy welts. 

Bites are Rare

While they’re hunting down food, spiders are more likely to stay away from you than they are to bite you. You’re a formidable foe given that you’re thousands of times larger than the spider will ever be. For that reason alone spiders will often choose flight over fight when confronted by a human.

Besides, out of the 40,000 or so types ofspiders in the world, maybe a dozen of them have bites that cause serious health problems. Most spiders are physically incapable of biting a human, and those that can might just leave a sore spot for a couple of days. 

Spiders Fight Each Other

Some spiders will actually fight each other, making it so their numbers never become overwhelming. The long-legged cellar spider, frequently referred to as the daddy long-leg, is an example of spider species that keeps its own population in check. When two of them cross paths, a deathmatch ensues that results in one eating the other.

In addition to their gruesome sparring, cellar spiders have been known to attack other spiders including black widows. As this is one of the few spiders that can actually be deadly, you’ll be much happier to see a cellar spider take its place.