Spring is when spiders start to show up around backyards and in houses. They have gotten a bad rap throughout the years but actually serve a benefit to homeowners as they eat flies, gnats and other insects. Like most rural areas, Lake County has an abundance of spiders.
They are short-lived critters. A female spider can live as long as a couple of years but a male only lives a few days. Often the female kills and eats the male immediately after breeding.
There are several species of spiders commonly found around the house. One of these is the common house spider. They normally build their tangled webs in or near human dwellings, greenhouses or similar secluded areas such as between loose walls and behind open doors and attic windows. Spiders can enter your home in different ways. Doors and windows are common entry points. Common house spiders usually spend their entire life indoors. They live in hidden spaces and undisturbed areas, such as behind a bookshelf or beneath the basement stairs.
Some spiders may hide inside an old box you’ve brought in from the garage or in a bundle of firewood brought in from outside. Others may mistakenly wander inside if a door or window is left open. Spiders also can enter through small openings such as those found around dryer vents or areas where cable and plumbing lines pass through the walls of your home. They build their webs to catch prey. One trick they use is to bring a small piece of a leaf to the center of the web. They hide in that leaf to catch their prey.
Spiders can travel great distances. Even though they don’t have wings they move around by “ballooning.” They perch on a high point such as a tree branch and release one or more threads to catch the wind. This allows then to rise to elevations of more than 20,000 feet and travel by air currents. Studies have shown that spiders can travel thousands of miles by ballooning.
All spiders are predators and feed on insects such as flies, gnats and even other spiders. They are known to keep the insect population down around homes and other outbuildings. Actually, they are the good guys and shouldn’t be destroyed. In fact, many people are protective of spiders located in their backyards. Spiders have a lot of natural enemies and most only live a few weeks or months.
One spider just about everyone fears and is common throughout Lake County is the black widow. This is the only spider that you are likely to encounter in California that has venom that is medically significant. A black widow bite can cause discomfort but is rarely dangerous. Males and immature females are not solid black and have attractive marble-like patterns on their abdomens. They make a typical tangle web. Despite possessing a heavy concentration of venom, it rarely bites anyone. The black widow is often found in dark recesses around barns and outbuildings and in basements. They feed on various insects and actually are a benefit to people. Like just about all spiders, the black widow female normally eats the male after breeding. The female can live up to five years but the male rarely lives longer than a few days.
One insect that is often confused with spiders is a “daddy longlegs.” It isn’t a spider but a member of the Arachnids species.
A lot of people don’t know it but spiders can actually pass gas. Since the stercoral sac contains bacteria, which helps break down the spider’s food, it seems likely that gas is produced during this process and therefore most scientists believe that spiders do pass gas. You can’t smell or hear it because their stomachs are so small.
Spiders have had a bad rap for centuries but they have been an important part of our environment for more than 350 million years, and they will still be here long after man is gone.
