However, wasps, lizards, and birds are the main spider predators.
If you want to keep nonvenomous spiders out of your house, consider these approaches. Keep cats or even frogs as pets, since they are known to hunt spiders.
Because they are small, spiders have many enemies. Larger animals, such as birds, toads, lizards and monkeys, hunt them. But they are also used as food by many smaller creatures. Ticks will attach themselves to a spider and eat away at it for a long time while the spider goes about its business.
To deter spiders, try peppermint oil, keep your space clean and clutter-free, seal cracks and gaps, and use cedarwood. Encouraging natural predators like ladybugs and birds can also help control spider populations. These methods, individually or combined, effectively keep spiders at bay.
Spiders hate the smell of peppermint. Fill a spray bottle with water and 10-15 drops of peppermint essential oil and spray in places spiders tend to hide—under furniture, in closets, and in other corners and crevices of your house.
Food Scents: Leftover crumbs, rotting food, and fruit attract insects, making your home a hunting ground for spiders. Light Floral or Fruity Scents: Some studies suggest that certain insects are drawn to sweet-smelling fragrances, which can lead spiders to follow.
Amphibians, Reptiles, and Fish
Some hunt spiders, while others wait near their nesting places to ambush them. Snakes and lizards like geckos, chameleons, and anoles also help keep the spider population in check.
A study by scientists from the University of California showed that lizards are so voracious when it comes to spiders that they can eradicate them in controlled environments.
Use Essential Oils: Spiders don't like the smell of certain essential oils, such as peppermint, eucalyptus, and tea tree oil. You can use these oils in a diffuser or spray them around your bedroom to keep spiders at bay.
Despite their cunning and lethal abilities, spiders have weaknesses. They typically have low health and can be susceptible to area-of-effect spells or attacks that disrupt their webs. Light sources can also be used to disadvantage them, as many are accustomed to operating in darkness.
Other bugs tend to gravitate toward bright colors, like yellow, white, or orange. So while green attracts spiders, it repels their food sources. The color that spiders tend to hate is light blue. People don't just paint their porches light blue for the aesthetic.
Some spiders have life spans of less than a year, while others may live for up to twenty years. However, spiders face many dangers that reduce their chances of reaching a ripe old age. Spiders and their eggs and young are food for many animals.
Lizards. Two of the most common lizard kinds in the United States, the geckos and chameleons, are known to hunt spiders and small insects. One study revealed that lizards are so greedy that they can eradicate the entire spider population in controlled environments for their arthropod prey.
A spider's nest will contain small whitish balls of spider silk which, depending on the type of spider, can vary in size, colour and texture. These are the egg sacs and you'll usually find them suspended from the web.
Lots of strong scents are great spider deterrents and, luckily, many are already used traditionally as home fragrances. Peppermint oil is a particularly popular remedy, as are tea tree, lavender and rose.
The Goliath Bird Eating Tarantula (Theraphosa blondi) is sometimes called “The King of Spiders” and has earned the name because they are the largest tarantula species in the world! Contrary to their given name, these tarantulas don't normally eat birds.
Spiders are important food sources for birds, fish, lizards and small mammals.
Animals which feed directly on spiders include birds, reptiles, mammals and many arthropods, including other spiders, centipedes, scorpions and even some insects. Spiders are considered a delicacy by people in parts of Asia and South America.
Spiders avoid people, animals, and most insects – except for the one's they're about to eat of course. As stated above, most spiders are relatively small. That makes them especially vulnerable. Many birds and animals may try to eat spiders, or at the very least, they'll probably interfere with the spider's food source.
Spiders are attracted to various factors in their search for shelter, food, and mating opportunities. Some common factors that attract spiders include the presence of insects or other prey, warm and dark spaces, and moisture.
Rub Citrus Peels Along the Windowsills: Spiders absolutely hate the smell of citrus. Rubbing the peels along your window sills, or just leaving a bowl of citrus fruit near the window, is a great deterrent. Use Peppermint Essential Oil: The strong smell of peppermint can keep spiders away.
As the weather grows cooler outside, spiders seek shelter indoors to stay warm. Spiders follow their prey. With the abundance of insects also seeking refuge from the colder weather, your home could become a haven for all kinds of creepy crawly things and the spiders that love to eat them.