.png)
By Hannah Cease
When most people see a spider in their house there are usually 3 possible reactions. They either kill it, scream and leave the room, or as I always tell people to do, catch and release. Spiders are remarkable creatures that do a lot more for us than we realize. Now I will admit I am biased. I love spiders and think they are one of the most fascinating animals out there. I’ve kept spiders as pets in the past and currently have a tarantula (a Bahia Gray Birdeater named Layla if you're interested).
I am biased when I say “don’t kill the spiders in your house,” but for good reason, not just because I like them. They are one of the best forms of pest control out there, eating bugs that harm gardens and crops, yet spiders pose no harm to these plants themselves. According to one study spiders eat an extraordinary 800 tons of pests annually (1), to put that into perspective, globally humans consume about 350 tons of meat a year (2).
Spiders also have a long history of being used in healthcare, whether that be in creating antivenom, or anticoagulant and antibacterial substances. Some researchers are even using spiders to help develop treatments that could be used to treat chronic pain, pancreatitis, and even some cancers (3).
Contrary to popular belief, spiders are also not as dangerous as you might’ve been led to believe. In the US the only spider species you may have to worry about would be a brown recluse or a black widow, both of which are easily recognizable and much less dangerous than most people would think. How many times have you heard that black widows are deadly? Probably many. Yet this is a total myth. Almost no one dies from a black widow bite, in fact almost no one dies from spiders at all. According to Boston Children’s Hospital less than 3 people a year die from spider bites (4). In fact you would be 6 times more likely to die at the hands of a dog than a spider. Not only are they not particularly harmful to humans if they were to bite, but spiders rarely bite at all in the first place (5). They are not inclined to bite or be aggressive and would usually prefer not to interact with people more than necessary.
As someone that has kept pet spiders as well as catches and releases ones they find inside, I have never once been bit or felt threatened by a spider. I’m not encouraging carelessness, but if you live in the US you have little to be concerned about when catching and releasing the spiders you find in your home.
I think if you took the time to watch spiders you would find them very interesting and personable. Did you know tarantulas and many other spiders are very clean animals and will often clean themselves much like a cat? Maybe a furry tarantula freaks you out but look at jumping spiders, even my mom thinks they're kind of cute. I know not everyone will agree that they are cute or will want one as a pet, but I think everyone can agree that these are generally harmless animals that only seem to help us out and killing the ones that wander inside is helping no one.
Layla (my tarantula named for the Eric Clapton song)
A jumping spider
1. Springer. "Spiders eat astronomical numbers of insects: Spiders feed on an estimated 400 to 800 million tons of insects and other pests annually; in comparison, all humans consume about 400 million tons in meat and fish." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 14 March 2017.<www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170314111251.htm>.
2. The World Counts. “Globally, We Consume around 350 Million Tons of Meat a Year.” The World Counts, https://www.theworldcounts.com/challenges/consumption/foods-and-beverages/world-co nsumption-of-meat.
3. Bonk, Lawrence. “Why You Shouldn't Kill Spiders in Your Home (and What to Do Instead).” Angi, Angi, 21 Apr. 2022, https://www.angi.com/articles/how-kill-spider-or-not.htm.
4. Spider Bites | Boston Children's Hospital. https://www.childrenshospital.org/conditions/spider-bites.
5. “Venomous Spiders.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 31 May 2018, https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/spiders/default.html.
Hannah Cease, of Louisville, Ky., is a member of the McConnell Scholar Class of 2026 at the University of Louisville. She plans to study biology (with a track in ecology) and political science.