Why you should never kill a spider in your home
Although it may not be nice to see them, house spiders are not dangerous and are actually very helpful, says entomologist Matt Burton.
Burton says that house spiders mostly stick to their corners and are never 'aggressive' towards people.
Much like their outdoor relatives who eat pests, house spiders kill insects that want our food. If nothing else, it can be said that they are our protectors because of that.
All spiders in the world eat between 400 and 800 tons of insects and small animals a year. A team of German, Swedish and Swiss scientists came to that conclusion. In their research published recently in the professional journal 'The Science of Nature', they concluded that small spiders in their carnivorous race leave behind even whales that eat 'only' between 400 and 500 tons of plankton, shrimp, fish, and mollusks a year.
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The magic of cobweb
With the help of spinning glands, spiders can create up to eight types of silk: basic and auxiliary threads, nets, or for fixing edges, especially thick silk for nests, etc. When the net is finished, the spider bites off the ends of the three initial attached central threads, sits in the center of the net or next to the net with one leg on it, and waits for the first victim, writes the New Acropolis.
The average thickness of silk thread is 0.15 mm, and the smallest recorded is only 0.002 mm. The spider's thread is so thin that the human eye cannot see it from a distance of more than ten centimeters - we notice it only thanks to the reflection of light and dust particles that accumulate on it.
The silk of the spider web consists of a polymer of fibroin, which is characterized by low weight, and high elasticity and strength.
Spiders are not dangerous to you and actually prefer to avoid humans; we are much more dangerous to them than the other way around. Spider bites are extremely rare.
Although there are several medically important species such as widows and recluse spiders, even their bites are rare and rarely cause serious problems. If you still suffer from arachnophobia, consider that common house spiders, like the long-legged spider, actually eat black widows, writes Return to Now.
By: Sarah R.
