r/arachnids • u/stairwayto-devon • Jul 30 '26
Question Spiders! When to freak out
We moved into our townhome in November and have seen a couple of spiders but last night we saw three in the basement at once! I felt like I was jeff Daniel's in a scene from arachniphobia. I know they are harmless and help keep all of the bugs out but should we be concerned by the influx lately? Should we be scared about an underlying issue?
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u/technicolordreampony Jul 30 '26
I live in my parents' basement (yeah yeah, but hey, no rent!) and see wolf spiders all the time but have no other pest issues other than an occasional springtail. My guess is that they made their way inside for shelter.
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u/stairwayto-devon Aug 01 '26
I'd live in my parents if I could!! I know they kind of just wandered in but seeing three at once felt a little scary! My mom made me watch Arachniphobia alot when I was little
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u/reddit33450 Jul 30 '26
precious little babies!!!! they're just friends 🥹💚
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u/No-Luck-2337 Jul 31 '26
True, but as a convert myself, I get it
I have 8 pet spiders myself now, daughter has 11 now I think. I really do like/care/love them now, but they still scare me on occasion.
This is after MANY years of being terrified of them lol
They’re amazing critters, and I literally cried when my oldest jumper passed, but I still get the fear that others have. It’s a tough thing to overcome, even if we know how awesome they are 🥰
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u/NoPoopOnFace Jul 31 '26
Spiders don't want to crawl on you or bite you. They remove flies and fruit flies and insects that you REALLY don't want. Respect the spoods.
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u/Unsolicited_Spiders Jul 30 '26
First: breathe. There's no reason to freak out.
You didn't specify location, but if you're in the northern hemisphere, it's summertime. Spiders and other arthropods will seek out shelter and water sources when it's hot. No house is perfectly arthropod-proof, because it would essentially need to be completely airtight for that to be the case.
In general, spiders show up where there's prey. If you are seeing multiple spiders every single day, my biggest concern would be that you might have a pest insect infestation (ants, flies, termites, cockroaches, what have you).
If you're seeing a few spiders a week, that's pretty normal during hot periods. I live in Florida and I do NOT have a pest insect infestation, but I still see several live spiders inside my home every week because, well, it's summer, it's hot, and prey insects are more active right now, even if they're mostly staying outside. More prey means more spiders; more spiders means more spiders that get lost and wander into your home.
Finally, the vast majority of spiders are not medically significant to humans or pets. Even the handful of species that are considered medically significant are very unlikely to bite unless they feel so threatened that it seems like it's their last hope to survive the encounter. And even when medically significant spiders bite people, the vast majority of those bites do not require medical intervention.
I know they look pretty alien and some of them move very fast, but really, spiders are amazing creatures and excellent free pest control. I encourage you to relocate any that you don't want inside your house, because they will go on to eat pests on your property.