Q:

I have a question about spiders.

A:

The World Wide Web is full of information on spiders. One of our favorite sites is this site. This site, the Arachnology Hub of the World Wide Web, is a collection of links to a vast quantity of that information. We suggest using this as a starting point for your search on spiders. Also see our Spiders Links page for other options.

You can also find more information about spiders on our Spider Links page.

Q:

What is the difference between spiders (arachnids) and insects?

A:

There are some really obvious differences. Arachnids have eight legs and insects have six. Arachnids have two body segments while insects have three. The Australian Museum Online gives more specific details on what the differences between the two types of animals are.

Q:

How do spiders climb walls without falling?

A:

According to a BBC science website, some spiders secrete a small amount of the sticky silk they use for their webs onto their feet and use that to move across walls. Other spiders have specially designed feet that allow them to grasp the irregular surface of walls and ceilings. They cannot climb slick surfaces, because their feet have nothing to grasp.

Q:

How many species of spiders are there?

A:

There are more than 35,000 known species of spiders, including over 800 tarantula species.

Q:

I want to see pictures of deadly spiders.

A:

Try our Spider Links page, under the "Pictures" category for a few suggestions on where to start.

Q:

How can I control or eliminate spiders?

A:

We suggest control rather than elimination. Most spiders are beneficial, and spiders serve an important role in the food chain, both as predators of insects and as prey for birds.

The only way to control spiders in or around your house is to eliminate the places they live and their food source. Try vaccuming or sweeping away any webs you find. Clean up all woodpiles, rocks, trash, compost piles, old boards, and other debris. Keep basements, garages, and crawl spaces clean and dry -- dampness encourages spiders and their prey. When working in the garden, remember to plant trees and shrubs far enough from the foundation to prohibit movement into the house from the plants, and to allow wind and sun to penetrate. Wear gloves when working in areas that spiders are likely to live, including stacks of firewood, boxes or lumber that have been relatively undisturbed.

Spiders get into the house do so through cracks and crevices. Screening on all of your windows, properly fitting window frames and caulking in any cracks in the structure of the house will help. If you have fruitflies, consider storing ripe fruit in the refrigerator. Check your potted plants for rotting leaf debris and remove any you find. If you have living spiders in your living space, they must be finding something to eat. Eliminate their food source and they will go elsewhere searching for food.

If you are concerned about spider bites, there are a few things you can do that will help prevent them. Shake any clothing that has been laying on the floor or stored before putting it on. Check shoes and boots before putting them on... Shake out the linens on infrequently used beds prior to sitting on the bed. In general, spiders don't bite humans unless they are pinched or cornered, as in trapped between skin and clothing.

All of that being said, if you think you have an infestation of dangerous spiders, consult a pest control professional. Without direct knowledge of your situation and environment, we are not comfortable offering advice on eliminating spiders in that situation.

Sources for this answer include:

http://gardening.wsu.edu/library/inse005/inse005.htm

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/notes/Urban/spiders.htm

http://www.centralsan.org/education/ipm/spiders.html

Q:

How many spiders does a person swallow in his sleep each year?

A:

The chances of swallowing one spider while you sleep are pretty small. The chances of swallowing hundreds in your lifetime are even smaller.

Don't believe me? Visit http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mspidereat.html where they go into detail about how unlikely it is, and why.

Q:

What is arachnophobia and how can it be cured?

A:

Arachnophobia is a fear of spiders. The cause might be different from person to person, so the level of their reaction, the type of reaction and the cure are all different.

Because it's such a wide subject, we've collected a series of websites with information, either professional or anecdotal about the fear and it's treatment. We don't take responsibility for any of the information provided on these sites, nor do we guarantee their accuracy.

http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/1997/297_bump.html

http://www.psych.org/public_info/phobias.cfm

http://www.uselessknowledge.com/trivia/phobia.shtml

http://www.insecta-inspecta.com/culent/arach/

http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/June98/Spider.bpf.html

http://www.virtualgalen.com/virtualhealing/phobia.htm

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/columncc/cc980716.html

http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/biology/b103/f00/web2/hilts2.html

http://www.ufsia.ac.be/Arachnology/Arachnology.html provides a good starting point for learning all sorts of things about spiders, and sometimes, learning about something so that it's less of an unknown is enough to make it less frightening.

Q:

What is the biggest spider?

A:

The goliath spider, with a leg span of 10 inches is the largest known spider.

Q:

How long do spiders live?

A:

http://www.sciencenet.org.uk/database/Biology/Original/b00054d.html says that the life span of spiders can vary from a few months to 20 years.

Q:

What should I feed the spider I caught?

A:

We don't provide information on keeping spiders caged, nor do we recommend it. They are wild animals, and don't seem to thrive very well inside. However, http://wheel.dcn.davis.ca.us/go/explorit/science/spider.html offers basic information about spiders.

Also, http://www.freezone.com/brain/spiders/spider3.html offers information specifically on what spiders eat. Remember that if you have your spider in a closed jar, you need to have somebody help you punch holes in the jar lid so that air can get in for the spider to breathe.

Q:

If your domain name is spiders.com, why don't you have more information about spiders on your site?

A:

We build web pages. Spiders build webs. When the Internet was still a novel concept, we were one of the few companies creating web sites -- we were one of the first organizations to take advantage of the inherent capabilities of the Internet as an exchange for information.

We don't provide information about Arachnids on our site because that's not our expertise. Our expertise is creating applications to help our customers communicate with their audience more effectively. Our expertise is web-weaving, in the most modern of senses.

Q:

What is the difference between spiders (arachnids) and insects?

A:

There are some really obvious differences. Arachnids have eight legs and insects have six. Arachnids have two body segments while insects have three. The Australian Museum Online gives more specific details on what the differences between the two types of animals are.

Q:

How do spiders climb walls without falling?

A:

According to a BBC science website, some spiders secrete a small amount of the sticky silk they use for their webs onto their feet and use that to move across walls. Other spiders have specially designed feet that allow them to grasp the irregular surface of walls and ceilings. They cannot climb slick surfaces, because their feet have nothing to grasp.

Q:

How does a spider build its web?

A:

A spider's web is constructed of silk made from a protein the spider secretes. For more information, visit the sites listed on our links page, under "Web".

Q:

"I found a spider, and I was hoping that you'd tell me what kind of spider it is. It looks like ..."

A:

We aren't experts in arachnid identification, and because so many different spiders share similar characteristics, we can't even begin to identify your spider for you. We suggest that you take a look at a field guide for your area, or sites with pictures of spiders.

Q:

I have spiders in my house. Is it possible that they are dangerous?

A:

According to the Spider Myths page published by Roy Crawford at the Burke Museum , the number of hazardous spiders is "the number of spiders that pose even a mild hazard to humans is vanishingly small (perhaps 1/20 of 1% of all species)"

What does this mean for you?

While it is possible for your spiders to be the type that might be harmful, odds are against it.

Q:

What is the difference between spiders (arachnids) and insects?

A:

There are some really obvious differences. Arachnids have eight legs and insects have six. Arachnids have two body segments while insects have three. The Australian Museum Online gives more specific details on what the differences between the two types of animals are.

Q:

Help! I've been bitten by a spider, and I think it might be poisonous.

A:

See a medical professional.

Objective Consulting, Inc. does not offer medical advice, nor do we take responsibility for any information provided on the pages listed on our "Spider Links" page. The only way to be certain of receiving appropriate medical treatment is to consult a doctor or the poison control center for your area.

Q:

I have spiders in my house. Is it possible that they are dangerous?

A:

According to the Spider Myths page published by Roy Crawford at the Burke Museum , the number of hazardous spiders is "the number of spiders that pose even a mild hazard to humans is vanishingly small (perhaps 1/20 of 1% of all species)"

What does this mean for you?

While it is possible for your spiders to be the type that might be harmful, odds are against it.

Q:

What is the most deadly spider in the world? In the U.S.?

A:

According to sources we found on the internet, there are two extremely deadly species of funnel-web spider in Australia that via for the title "most deadly spider in the world."

The United States have two dangerous spiders whose bites might cause death: the brown recluse and the black widow.

Q:

What is a Brown Recluse Spider?

A:

A Brown Recluse is a relatively rare, poisonous spider that lives in the Midwest US. The following collection of links deal specifically with the habits and behaviours of the Brown Recluse.

http://cnas.ucr.edu/~ento/Spiders/index.html

This is a collection of assorted information on the brown recluse spider.

http://www.highway60.com/mark/brs/default.asp

This site collects information on brown recluse spider bites and tracks information about them. There is a searchable database containing information on treatments, bite location, bite severity and regional distribution.

http://home.texoma.net/~linesden/spider.htm

This page is a collection of personal observations and photos of the brown recluse.

http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/Entomology/entfacts/struct/ef631.htm

This site discusses the habits of Brown Recluse Spiders and the treatment of their bites.

Q:

Is the Daddy Longlegs Spider the most poisonous in the world?

A:

There is a site out there that says that daddy long leg spiders are the most poisonous spider in all the world, but its fangs are too small to bite humans. There are several species of arachnid that are referred to as "Daddy Long Legs" so this statement is a little misleading. Not all of the species called daddy long legs even have poison glands. (Which means that no, they won't bite you, if they don't have poison glands.) No studies have been found by all the people on the internet looking up this very same question, on the toxicity of the poison produced by those "daddy long legs" who do have poison glands, but everybody seems to agree that "most poisonous" is probably overstating the case. This site: http://www.urbanlegends.com/animals/daddy_long_legs_poisonous.html addresses this question as does http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mdaddy.html, which agrees.

Roy Crawford, the Curator of Arachnids at the Burke Museum in Washington, tackles this same subject on his spiders myths page.

Actually, it seems that many sites agree with the view that none of the creatures called Daddy Long Legs are dangerous. http://www.powerup.com.au/~glen/daddy.htm is another site with the same point of view.

Q:

I want to get a tarantula. How do I pick one and what do I need to know to take care of it?

A:

We suggest a lot of research before you buy your first tarantula. A healthy specimen can live up to 20 years. That is quite a commitment, and it's not like you can take it to the pound if you get tired of the work.

Visit any of the sites listed under our Tarantula links for more details. There is a lot of very valuable information available on the internet and we've listed our favorite sites here.