Here’s Why You Should Never Kill A Spider
Updated: Jan. 10, 2023
Even though spiders are creepy crawlers that you probably despise, killing them could actually do your house more harm than good. Here's why.
Besides having long legs and a creepy demeanor, most people are scared of spiders for one specific reason: Their bite. If you’re not sure the type of spider, there’s always a chance that the spider could be venomous. However, it has been proven that only about 10 percent of spider bites lead to necrotic skin lesions. These types of bites actually don’t come from the innocent brown spiders that make a home within your home. In fact, it’s actually quite difficult for a spider like that to bite you.
So if that’s the case, why in the world are we so drawn to killing spiders? If anything, spiders can actually help our homes instead of harming them.
Spiders Rid Your Home of Pests
Since spiders are naturally predators, they capture pests within your home. A common misconception about spiders is that they only eat flies. In fact, spiders even prey after disease-carrying insects. They go for those nasty indoor pests such as cockroaches, mosquitos, earwigs, and even clothing moths. The more you keep daddy long-legs around, the less mosquitos you’ll have floating around your home.
Typical household spider species will include cellar spiders (pholcidae, also known as “daddy long-legs”), cobweb spiders (parasteatoda tepidariorioum) and brown reclues (loxosceles reclusa). These spiders will create webs where their food source is coming from. So if you see a spider on its web, it’s even more of an inclination to leave that spider alone. They set up camp based on where the bugs are, so they will be getting rid of those bugs for you.
How To Get Rid of a Spider (Without Killing It)
There are many easy ways to kill spiders. You can smoosh them with a shoe, suck them up with a vacuum or get a cat to exterminate them for you. But you might reconsider next time you’re trying to get a spider out of your home.
Obviously, it isn’t pleasant letting spiders roam around your home. If you cannot stand having a spider in the home, don’t squish it to bits. Instead, capture it with a jar and release it outside. It will find somewhere else to go and will continue preying on the bugs you also despise.
Spiders aren’t the only household creatures you want to keep around. Ever see those crazy looking house centipedes? They also have a huge impact to your home!
