Professionals in spider control in Toronto come across many homeowners who are downright terrified of spiders. The eight-legged fuzzy creatures may not pose a significant threat to human life, but they look creepy. Still, despite invoking fear with a gaze, spiders are fascinating creatures with many unique and curious attributes.

4 Fascinating Facts About Spiders

Spiders are paramount to the Canadian ecosystem and crucial to the global food chain. Arachnids are nature’s primary source of pest control, eating countless flies, moths, fleas, roaches, and other insects. Without spiders, all these other pests would thrive, spreading disease and destroying crops. It is speculated that without spiders, the world would experience historic levels of famine.

Despite their importance to the environment and human survival, spiders are unique. The creatures have various attributes across several species that make them extraordinary. For the purposes of this blog, there are four unusual and intriguing things about spiders.

1. Males Often Get Eaten After Mating

Male spiders are often smaller than females and run the risk of becoming the female’s dinner. Females are voracious predators and do not give male spiders much time to impress during courtship. 

The male spiders approach the edges of a female’s web cautiously and gently to let her know he is there. If the female doesn’t immediately attack, the male will move toward the center of the web to greet her. Once there, the male has about 20 seconds to impress. If he fails, he’s dinner. If he overstays his welcome, he’s dinner. If he happens to make one wrong move, he’s dinner.

2. Daddy Long Legs Are Not Classified as Spiders

Residential pest control services often hear from homeowners who are concerned about the number of daddy long legs in their homes. They fear these arachnids like other spiders, but there is no need. Daddy long legs or Harvestmen are members of the arachnid class, but they are not spiders. While they have eight legs, they only have one body part and two eyes. Also, they do not have venom or possess a delivery system for venom. They are harmless.

3. Spiders Cannot Eat Solid Foods

Spiders cannot eat solid food despite some species having relatively large and powerful fangs. Their fangs are only delivery mechanisms for their venom. The venom contains enzymes that essentially turn the insides of prey into liquid, allowing the spider to drink its victims. That’s why you will often see the remaining husks of spider prey discarded.

4. Not All Spiders Make Webs

One fascinating trait of spiders is that all of them produce silk, but not all of them use it to make webs. Some spiders are more nomadic and hunt on the move, like the boldly coloured jumping spider. Jumping spiders use their silk as a sort of safety line for when they leap onto their prey. If they miss, they don’t risk injury or death.

Spiders may also use their silk for other things. Some of the ways spiders use their silk include:

• • Bundling eggs
  • Ballooning
  • Web creation
  • Prey containment
  • Sleeping hammocks
  • Area traversal 

Hire Truly Nolen for Spider Control Services

If you have a spider problem in your home or on your property, you need to contact a home pest control service. Truly Nolen has been in business since 1938 and has a healthy reputation in the Toronto area. If you need assistance with spider control, contact Truly Nolen Canada and schedule a property inspection. The company will send a team of qualified technicians to assess your problem and determine the correct course of action. You can also hire Truly Nolen for its four-season pest control service.