Most people aren’t the biggest fans of spiders and wonder why are spiders important, however spiders do have some redeeming qualities.
Living with Spiders: Understanding the Benefits of Spiders at Home
Spiders, for the most part, are not an aggressive creature that really will only bite humans if threatened. If you see them around and decide to let them live, don’t try and touch them because some species may bite if they feel threatened.
Most spider bites don’t do much damage to humans, and many don’t have strong enough venom or fangs to hurt us, however there are some that can be dangerous.
The biggest reason spiders are important is that they eat other pests. They aren’t the most effective form of pest control, but they can help with reducing the number of other pests in your home. Spiders eat other spiders and pests such as flies, moths, centipedes, fleas, and even cockroaches. However if you are seeing a lot of spiders, that means there is an ample food source for them, and that means you have other pest issues around your home.
Did you know? Spiders can be great for crop pest control
With the ever rise in popularity of organic foods, natural pest control becomes a bigger issue. Besides chemical treatments, natural pest control through spiders is really one of the few options available. Without spiders as a major predator, many pests would be free to eat our food crops without a threat. This could cause major famine and food shortages around the world.
Spider venom could be more than just a danger
Everyone knows about the dangers of spider venom from spiders such as the black widow, but did you know there are a lot of possible benefits that can come from spider venom?
According to the Washington Post “Researchers at several institutions are testing many of these chemicals [in spider venom]. Scientists at Yale, for example, are examining whether chemicals in the venom of the Australian funnel-web spider could be used to improve pain-control medications.”
There is a lot we don’t know about spiders and their venom, and with so many species around the world, there is no telling what kind of potential spider benefits we may not yet know.
Why are spiders important? Their silk has many future benefits
Another reason why spiders are important is that they produce silk, which can have a lot of potential benefits as well. It’s an astounding fact that spider silk is inch for inch stronger than steel. It is also flexible and could be used to create stronger building materials and for things such as bullet proof vests and other things like flexible suspensions and supports for bridges to withstand earthquakes and high winds.
Spiders don’t usually play well with others of their own kind, which makes farming of their silk very difficult, however scientists have recently been combining spider genes into silk worms and these worms are able to spin spider like silk as well.
Practical use of these discoveries is definitely still down the road, but with all to potential it’s still worth having spiders around. Most of the benefits take place outside of your home, so having your home spider free, is still not a bad thing. Again, if you are seeing a lot of spiders in your home, it may mean you are having other pest issues that you may not know about.
If you are in the greater Minnesota area and need to get rid of spiders or other pests be sure to reach out to us at Rove Pest Control to set up a consultation.
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