Aside from their huge legs and nasty disposition, spiders are feared by most humans for one reason: their bites. If you’re not sure what kind of spider you’re dealing with, there’s always the possibility that it’s poisonous. However, only approximately 10% of spider bites result in necrotic skin lesions, according to research. These bites aren’t caused by the harmless brown spiders that make their home in your house. In fact, a spider like that would have a tough time biting you.
Ways to get Rid of Spiders
Spiders are natural predators; therefore they will catch pests in your house. Spiders are sometimes misunderstood as solely eating flies. Even disease-carrying insects are prey for spiders. Cockroaches, mosquitos, earwigs, and even garment moths are among the pests they target indoors. The more daddy-long-legs you have around your house, the less mosquitos you’ll have. Spiders such as cellar spiders and cobweb spiders are common home spiders. Wherever their food supply is, these spiders will spin webs. They set up camp based on the location of the bugs, and they will take care of the pests for you.
Spiders can be killed in a variety of ways. You can squish them with a shoe, suction them up with a vacuum, or hire a cat to do the job for you. However, the next time you encounter a spider in your home, you might think again. Allowing spiders to walk freely around your house is obviously not a pleasant experience. If you can’t bear having a spider in your house, don’t squash it. Instead, catch it in a container and set it free outside. It will find a new home and continue to hunt on the pests you dislike as well.
What chemicals do spiders release when they die?
Another explanation for this bizarre occurrence is that when spiders die, they emit chemicals. This molecule, or pheromone, is thought to warn other spiders in the region of danger. This is also a typical activity in bees, who have an “alarm system” built in that notifies other bees of potential danger if one is hurt. Because bees have a natural impulse to defend their queen, some bees will generally investigate the murder scene. So dead bees attract live bees, and it’s thought that spiders do the same. Again, there isn’t much study on this subject, so much is up in the air, but this alleged death pheromone is thought to be comparable to the pheromone generated when a female is hunting for a mate.
Summary
Dead spiders do not attract other spiders. Not directly, but indirectly, because their carcasses can become food for other insects, attracting additional spiders to consume the insects. When a certain species of bug is killed, pheromones are released, alerting surrounding comrades to the presence of a threat and motivating them to rally to the place to deal with the threat. This is how the concept of a dead insect attracting others came about. This is a widespread feature among bees and other related species, however not all of them can emit the pheromone. Spiders are arachnids that live largely alone, unlike ants and bees, and are not part of a larger social group. So the concept of a dead spider luring additional spiders doesn’t actually make sense, because there aren’t any willing to assist. They are, however, opportunistic, and if one of their companions dies in a particular location, they will move in and dine on the food supply that the late spider was consuming.
