Unless you're an all-around animal lover, your first instinct when you see a spider in your home is probably to squash it with the nearest object, whether that's your foot, a newspaper, or a nearby broom. However, experts warn that crushing one specific kind of spider can actually make matters much worse. Brace yourself—stepping on this spider could lead to hundreds more spiders being released into your home. Read on to learn which spider you should never smash.
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If you squash a female wolf spider, hundreds of baby spiders could be released into your home.
ShutterstockWolf spiders do things a bit differently. They don't spin webs, they chase down their prey on the ground, and the female wolf spider carries her babies in eggs on her back. Even after the young spiders hatch, the mother often continues to carry the babies, conservation biologist and naturalist Charles van Rees, PhD, explains. Experts warn that squashing a wolf spider may not be enough of a blow to kill all of her young. Or as pest control company Terminix puts it, if the spider you stomp on happens to be a female, the impact could release hundreds of spiderlings in your home.
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Although the spiders are unlikely to survive for long, the sight of hundreds of baby spiders can be startling.
ShutterstockA video shared by National Geographic showed someone hitting a spider with a broom and then hundreds of tiny spiders dispersing. Spider biologist Norman Platnick, PhD, told the magazine that the spider in the video is likely a wolf spider. But as Christopher Buddle, PhD, an arachnologist at McGill University, told National Geographic, the chances of young spiders surviving without the protection and assistance of their mother aren't strong.
Van Rees notes that if the spiderlings do survive the impact, the amount of food they would all need to survive in your home is unlikely to be found. This would lead many of the baby spiders to die out or eat each other, he explains.
To remove a wolf spider from your home, use pesticides or a trap.
ShutterstockIf you want to remove a wolf spider from your home, there are better techniques than trying to smash it. Entomologist and pest control expert Ryan Smith suggests using organic pesticides targeted at addressing spiders. He says you can also trap the spiders using a sticky cardboard trap. Terminix kindly recommends trying to capture a wolf spider in a cup to release it outside.
Van Rees advocates for putting wolf spiders back outside where they belong. "They play a very valuable role reducing the concentrations of harmful insects. They are also an important food source for wild songbirds, many species of which are on the decline throughout the world," he says.
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Wolf spiders do have venom.
ShutterstockThere are about 200 different species of wolf spiders throughout the U.S. Although they're often confused with brown recluse spiders, wolf spiders aren't as dangerous. However, these arachnids do have venom. Jim Dill, pest management specialist with University of Maine Cooperative Extension, told the Bangor Daily News that wolf spiders can be aggressive toward humans if they feel threatened or are manhandled.
"The wolf spider does have a venom it injects into its prey to dissolve it to make a nice wolf spider smoothie to suck in," Dill said. He explained that in humans, the venom could cause a reaction, especially in those who are allergic. Dill added that because wolf spiders feed on a variety of insects and spend a lot of time on the ground, their mandibles are also pretty dirty. "There can be a danger of secondary infection" following a bite, he said.
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