A+ Pest Control is familiar with all species of spiders in the area. Most spiders are very beneficial to the environment. Here are some ‘fun’ facts that A+ Pest Control in Huntsville has learned about those not so scary creatures.
Spiders strike fear in a lot of people, understandably so. Eight legs and, for many species, eight eyes; just the thought of them makes people cringe. Perhaps if one learns more about them, they might not be so scary.
Below are 25 interesting facts about our eight-legged friends.
- Spiders existed before the dinosaurs. Experts estimate they started evolving about 300 million years ago. They pre-date most animals and plants.
- They have adapted to living with us. Although each spider has its tolerances, the spiders that live in our homes are accustomed to existing without food and water for a prolonged length of time.
- Spiders prevent disease and death. The next time a spider scares you remember this; they eat the pests responsible for spreading disease. That humble little spider eats cockroaches, fleas, and most importantly, mosquitos.
- Studies show a person is never more than 10 feet from a spider. Even if a house is spotless, there will be some lurking somewhere.
- Science has discovered 35,000 types of spiders. Only 3,000 of them live in the United States. Don’t be too disappointed; scientists are always discovering new species.
- Very few spiders bite humans. Those venomous spiders do inflect pain with possible injury or death, but those spiders don’t go looking for trouble.
- In some spider species, the female will eat the male. That’s why the black widow is called a widow. Watch out fellas!
- Spiders spin a web; that web is made of silk. Ounce for ounce, a spider’s silk is several times stronger than a threat of steel the same width. There have been reports of spider’s webs remaining intact through a Category 1 hurricane. If nothing flies through it, a spider web can survive 75 miles an hour of wind.
- Spiders have blue blood. A spider’s blood has hemocyanin; this, similar to a human’s hemoglobin, carrying oxygen through the body. Human blood is red because it has a molecule of iron. Spiders have a molecule of copper. Imagine that.
- Have you ever heard the phrase ‘curl up and die’? There is a reason that the spider’s legs curl up when they die. Spider’s legs are designed, so they only curl inward. When they are alive, fluid called hemolymph is pumped through the eight legs to help the spider move. When the spider dies, they no longer have the fluid, and the legs curl inwards.
- Spiders can create several different types of silk. Each type of silk is used for a different reason. They develop silk to spin webs, catch and wrap the insects they catch. They produce a ‘dragline’ to support them while a web is created. Launching either themselves and their young to a different location. Finding a mate. Creating an egg sac. Building a nest or protective covering.
- Females can lay up to 3,000 eggs. Most female humans tremble at that thought.
- Jumping spiders can jump 40 – 50 times their own body length.
- Those same spiders do a dance to attract females. Male jumping spiders ‘dance’ so fast with their back legs that they can’t be seen with the unaided eye.
- Spiders live on every continent except Antarctica.
- Spiders don’t have antennas.
- On average, spiders eat more insects than bats and birds combined.
- When a spider moves from place to place, they have four feet on the ground and four feet in the air, all the time.
- Every spider has between two and six spinnerets on its abdomen. Each spinneret looks like a showerhead. Each opening produces fine liquid silk. When the liquid silk hits the air, it hardens.
- Some species of spiders give dead flies to female spiders.
- Spiders are the only animal that spins a web.
- Most female spiders will abandon their eggs once they are laid. The wolf spider takes her babies with her where ever she goes.
- Many house spiders cannot live outside in the elements. They have adapted to living indoors.
- Long ago, humans used spider webs to stop a small cut from bleeding. Scientists have discovered Vitamin K in silk. Vitamin K helps a wound stop bleeding.
- ‘Spidernauts’ have been developed by space agencies around the world. They have taken the design of the spider and developed it into a space robot. The spidernaut’s eight legs can distribute weight over a wider area than an astronaut.’
All these facts are fun to know. But, if you feel your home has been invaded by spiders, it is best to call A+ Pest Control in Huntsville, Alabama. Their My staff is knowledgeable about the spiders in the area. A+ Pest Control will quickly and safely take care of the spider problem. If the homeowner has more concerns within thirty days, A+ Pest Control will return and retreat the residence. With no charge to the homeowner.
