Benefits of Spiders in the Home

The 1990 film Arachnophobia may never go down in history as one of the greatest movies of all-time but it was one of the scariest for many people just because of the topic. Arachnophobia, the fear of spiders, is the most common creature-based phobia in the world. If a spider is seen in a house the most common reactions are probably scream and run in terror or to quickly squash it So it might come as a surprise to many that spiders do more good than they do bad.

Spiders are technically considered predators but their prey is soft-bodied invertebrate animals and last time I checked humans still had their vertebrae. Spiders kill their prey by biting them and injecting poison into their prey but since their prey is usually a small insect the poison is a small amount. In most cases the amount of poison is not enough to harm a human.

The black widow, brown recluse and yellow sac spiders should be avoided but types of spiders that are not harmful to humans include the cellar spiders, spiny orb weavers, house spiders and wolf spiders.

Spiders that are not harmful to humans can be beneficial because they prey on small insects and pests and they can prevent these critters from invading your home. Spiny orb weavers and house spiders both feast on insects like crickets, flies and other small, flying insects. The wolf spiders are more likely to hunt insects that may invade the garden. The cellar spider can be beneficial because it hunts black widows, one of the types of spiders that is dangerous. Even the black recluse has one benefit. It will eat cockroaches and other larger insects but I don't recommend willingly let loose some black recluse spiders in your house.

Surprisingly, spiders can actually be beneficial to the health of humans also. First of all, many of these insects that spiders will prey on could be disease-carrying insects and the spiders preying on them could prevent them from spreading that disease. Meanwhile spider venom is not always a negative thing. Spider venom has been researched for years by neurological experts. The spider venom can often be used to prevent brain damage in stroke victims. Maybe next time you should think twice about stomping on that spider you find crawling in the house.