How do you get rid of those skinny spiders?

[sparklyIsPretty]

I have a few in my house at the moment. I don't mind them whilst they are small. Dc don't like them though. I've removed a few in a bit of tissue and then blow them into the garden but just wondering if there is a better way. Especially for the bigger ones that I don't really like touching!

I have a transparent plastic tube for holding artists' paintbrushes. If they are on the ceiling or a wall I can usually just knock them in and shake down to the bottom. If they're on the floor then I trap them and push some card underneath to hold them in. Then out the window they go.

Don’t get rid of them - the cellar spiders get the big house spiders !!

Skinny legs stay in my house to eat the big hairy feckers, which they do with amazing efficiency. I am not a spider fan, but would never evict the skinny ones.

😲 is this true? How do they do it when they are so spindly and weak looking and house spiders look like little spider-tanks?!

100% true, I've seen them do it (well, I've seen huge ones wrapped up in their webs for them to snack on later).

I keep them for this reason, like many MNers.

I hate spiders, but some how these are now my friends!! We've loads in our house and they really do eat the big spiders. We didn't have any of the huge house spiders last autumn or this spring, in an old farmhouse that normally gets loads. They are miracle workers!!

Omg this is excellent to know! We seem to have millions of the things this year and only yesterday DH said to me that we didn't get the influx of house spiders last autumn as we normally do.... this could be why!

This. Plus if you kill a money spider you will lose money, so don't.

Weirdly we didn’t have cellar spiders in our previous two houses, this one is full of them and I don’t know why.
I do now let them stay after reading on here that they get rid of the big ones, I don’t like them but I like the big ones less!

Team skinny cellar spider here too

I don't get rid of them any more, we live in a creaky Victorian and saw ZERO house spiders last autumn. Year before I think we had one.

Previously before I realised how useful the skinny ones are we had loads. Urgh!

Anyone wondering how the little skinny ones eat the massive ones, someone told me they basically liquidise them and suck 'em up 🥴🤢
If you need to relocate a cellar spider, they are very docile and can generally be scooped up into a cup 😁

I've seen this happen! It's brilliant, they get stuck in skinny's web then skinny wraps them tightly in silk and winches them up to their corner and has a feast. It's amazing.

Me too - hate spiders but am alright with the skinny ones.

Although the other day I lifted my (dry) mop out of its bucket quite high and a MASSIVE house spider swung out and landed on my front. So clearly the skinny ones have not been keeping up their end of the bargain properly. I may have to kill one as a warning to the others to up their game

(That was a joke, before anyone scolds me for killing spiders!)

Skinny spiders get given a name and left alone in this house! They pretty much stay in the same place and do a very important job of eating the big black spiders that scuttle around..,,,

The cellar spiders also attack each other and keep their own population under control. Whoever wins the battle claims that corner of the ceiling and eats the other one. We have one over the patio door who is very good at catching and eating the mossies before they can eat us!

Cellar spiders are the only sort I will tolerate, they don’t run around and they eat the scary ones who do run around. Legends.

Another one who lets the cellar spiders take up residence in my house.

They are excellent at eating all the other bugs, and it’s correct that they also eat the big house spiders. I’ve seen it with my own eyes!

I don't like spiders, despise house spiders. However cellar spiders which is what you have eat the house spiders. I keep them and told DD they are good spiders. I've seen one wrapping up a big house spider to eat it.

I pick them up gently and put them out. I had no idea that they dealt with the big fat legged spiders though. I will leave them to their business in future. 🕷️

I don't like spider poo so skinny or fat, the spiders are out the door.

This has been enlightening. We have loads of skinny spiders. I shall look upon them favourably in future.

I shall have nightmares...

I always used to get loads of house spiders until I read about the skinny ones eating them.
Since I started leaving the skinny ones alone I see max 1 house spider a year.
They can stay

I have arachnophobia, and whilst I don't like the spindly ones, I can tolerate most except the largest. They do indeed eat the chunky terrifying ones so I try to leave them be. I was staggered when I saw a house spider wrapped up next to a spindly spider.

All I can say is that this thread has been life-changing. We're getting quite a few cellar spiders this year and they freak me out much less than the standard chunky bastards. I still tend to move them as, er, spiders, but as long as they're not over my head in bed, I'll leave them be from now on