The reason you may be seeing more spiders than usual in your house is due to the shift of seasons…
And while spiders can always be seen throughout the year, you’ll likely see more of them during mating season.
After maturing during spring and summer, male spiders, who live shorter lives than females, start actively seeking a mating partner by fall. The majority of spiders we normally see in webs are females because males search for female partners on foot.
It's officially spider-mating season, as the temperatures begin to fall and the nights get darker it looks like we'll be getting some more (unwanted) house guests… 🕸️ pic.twitter.com/AbC2v4Mfrn
— The Star, Sheffield (@SheffieldStar) September 4, 2021
And, as males are in the process of fully developing their reproductive organs, their focus changes from seeking food to seeking a mate. According to Rod Crawford, the curator of arachnids at the Burke Museum at the University of Washington:
“That’s what he will keep doing for the remainder of his life, which at that point is going to be relatively short because when you’re not foraging for prey, you will eventually starve.”
So the actual reason why you may be seeing more spiders at this time of the year is that they are on the move.
This isn’t to say that mating seasons for different species around the world are the same, but Crawford explains that through September and October, there are normally more spider sightings. It is also worth noting, that you shouldn’t worry about them too much because, according to Annie Danielson-Francois, professor of biological sciences at the University of Michigan, they have no interest in setting themselves up in your house.
Are you seeing a lot of spiders in your house? It’s mating season, and you’ll mostly be seeing male house spiders following the scent trails of breeding females. Have you noticed they generally follow the same route each night? pic.twitter.com/y6dDCsCaiO
— BBO Wildlife Trust (@BBOWT) September 6, 2020
Crawford also says that most house spiders present no threat to humans anyway, but there’s actually a benefit to having them around as they exterminate other unwanted insects like mosquitoes and flies. So it might be best if they’re left alone…
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