Any spiderologists around that can explain this spider behaviour?

[AnneBullen]

We have a little house spider that lives in the kitchen. He will probably grow up to be one of those terrifying big scampering ones and therefore will sadly have to eventually die by my husband’s hand, but for the moment he is OK. He lives under a step in the kitchen next to the dog food. He spends absolutely all day standing stock still next to his little hole. Occasionally he is it there and I have seen him dart into his hole so if he’s not there I know where he is, but otherwise he just there all day, and all night for all I know.

Questions

1. what is he doing?

2. there was a dead fly on the floor near him last night. I left it, for science. This morning it was not there. Did he eat it?

3. How does he get enough to eat?
   And drink?

Just find it a little..... odd? That he sits there all day just a few centimetres from the kids running about, husband, me, dog, and he’s just sitting there in the middle of everything not moving?

I have a false widow in the kitchen window, and she’s fascinating. I even have video of the way she catches wasps and flies, spins them around while wrapping them, and carries them off lol.

Spiders don't have to eat very often.

Especially those very long legged ones that like the corners of ceilings - they can go a long time without eating. Though I appreciate your pet spider isn't one of them.

I love Sebastien.

Guys, absolutely NO OFFENCE intended, but I am getting the sense none of you are actual official spiderologists? Therefore can I trust your insight?

Nevertheless, please do keep bumping the thread until the experts get here.

I have a spider living up the side of my washing machine. I've become rather fond if him! He or she is bigger than the it's but pretty much just chills out all day. He will venture out a couple of inches inept the big world now and again but if he feels me walking about it I get too close he scampers back. Been there about 2 weeks now!

Sorry about typos! He or she is bigger than the op's but just within the size that I can live with!

I've just checked online and house spiders can go weeks without eating and get all the moisture they need from their food.

Can I be a self-appointed spiderologist now? 🕷

I usually have a wing-mirror spider

I am liking this thread - it is such a refreshing change to have spider fans instead of those who just wish to kill everything which dares to set foot in their house

I never kill spiders. But unfortunately like wolf / house spiders grow into ginormous fuckers that have a zillion babies.

If it has big front mandibles then I personally would throw him over the neighbor's fence as close their backdoor as you can😂

The bigger they are, the future down the row of houses I go. Sorry neighbours

You don't think I'm a spiderologist?

Based on what?!

• I know they cast off skins
• I know they don't like BOJO
• I implored you to relocate and encourage independence rather than murder him.

What other evidence do you require??

Watch out OP.

Oh ye have little faith

No need for murder, we get lots of spiders of various sizes. They are allowed to stay until they get too close then the dedicated pint glass and card is fetched and they are moved out into the garden. I watched a mummy spider put her egg sack in a high corner near the front door And then sit in the opposite one till it hatched, couldn’t bring myself to destroy her hard work, so they hatched and toddled off themselves. I catch wasps and put them back out too, we had a nest near the back door and another in the garage, they came out for a nose if we got too close but flew off once they checked us out and never got stung. I may be a bit too soft. Silver fish get squished in a tissue though, they are creepy.

Since were waiting for spiderologists I have some questions for them when they arrive.

Mother spiders do seem to hang around near their eggs - do they look after them? Are they surprisingly good parents, like crocodiles?
And what eats spider babies? I have watched countless spider eggs hatch in the corner of my kitchen window but the spider population in my house appears to remain static. What is happening to the 100s of spider babies?

I need to know where all the baby spiders go too

Oh yay! I've got a spider pal since lockdown too! She lives in the corner below the loo, right where I keep the toilet cleaning stuff. It's one of those spindly leg ones. She keeps moving her web.

Today I found a baby one in the downstairs loo. Not sure if they're related.

When the spiderologists get here, can somebody tell me why they soon around like they are tripping balls if you try to paint the corner they live in? At first I thought it was air movement making them spin but I watched closely and they are doing it themselves? Bizarro.

Meet Stephanie (think she's a cellar/harvest spider) She's currently living in the bathroom. Her favourite spot appears to be the corner near the shower.
These cellar or harvest spiders are gentle with humans but hard vicious thugs when it comes to other breeds of spider as they will kill & polish off a big house spider in no time.
Yet they are very maternal & look after the little spider eggs & don't eat any when the spiderlings hatch.

Since we've had Stephanie we hardly ever get any other spiders so she's a great spider guard dog.
A friend/relation of Steph's lives in the kitchen but I don't know his name as he's only just arrived.

I once had the fortune or misfortune of catching 2 of Steph's predecessors getting a bit romantic.
They were going at it hammer & tongs as they were wobbling so much 😂

Someone I’m on a gardening forum with here in my bit of Canada has jumping spiders in her garden. They’re cute and I’m strangely jealous!

Spider babies are largely eaten by other spiders.
Sometimes the spider babies eat their mums.
It's a rough life being a spider.

I spent 10 minutes untangling ladybirds from a spiderweb last week. Lockdown has done funny things to people.

I saw the strangest spidery behaviour. Ever. The other day. I was sitting on my garden step enjoying some sun & I saw a little ish spider run out the crack at the side of the step no big deal I thought ... then all of a sudden a gigantic spider leapt out from the same place & dragged the little spider 🕷 all kicking & screaming back into the spidey black hole.
It was torturous to witness as I'd never seen a huge spider leap on another spider before .... it was definitely a violent manoeuvre .... I moved sharpish for fear of being dragged into the creepy spidey hole too .... ugh ... was awful. The little one bolted out like it had just been set free or something then it was just scooped right back in there by the big spidey with the gigantic legs Ugh 😫 was the stuff nightmares are made of 😫😫😫

@TheSparklyPussycat

Fans of The Who (shows age) he would have to be called Boris...

Every spider that appears in my house gets called Boris

Harvest spiders are great if you don't like the hairy of leg variety. I had one in every corner of the house for this exact purpose but one day they all vanished? I think dd pointed them out to dh.

arty Probably a naughty child spider trying to leg it after he/she had been naughty but Mum caught up with him/her.
Naughty child spider most likely got a clip round the ear & a good telling off.