Protect spiders in your garden because they prey on insects and other pests. Most spiders observed in the open during the day are not likely to bite or cause lasting harm if they do bite you. Spiders whose bites might require you to seek medical attention spend most of their time hidden.
Spiders are arachnids, not insects. They have 8 legs and 2 body parts—an abdomen and a combined head and thorax. They lack wings and antennae. Spider families vary by body shape, web type, hunting or other behavior, and the arrangement and relative size of their eyes.
Orb weaver or garden spiders, such as this western spotted orb weaver (left), are often large and colorful and wait in their webs or nearby for prey to become entangled. Cellar spiders (right) have long, skinny legs and hang upside down in dark corners, often indoors, sometimes bouncing when disturbed. The marbled cellar spider is shown here. Credit: Jack Kelly Clark, UC IPM (left) and Richard S. Vetter, UC Riverside (right)
Funnel weavers (left) spin thick, flattened webs and sit at the center of a silken hole, or funnel, running out to capture prey that contact the web. Dwarf spiders (right) are tiny, hunt during the day, and produce sheetlike or irregular crisscross webs on surfaces. Credit: Jack Kelly Clark, UC IPM
Jumping spiders (left), shown eating a house fly, hunt during the day, stalking and pouncing on prey. They are hairy, sometimes iridescent, and don’t spin webs. Wolf spiders (right) have long hairy legs and are often found running along the ground. They don’t build webs to capture prey but can have a silken retreat. Females carry young on their backs. Credit: Jack Kelly Clark, UC IPM
Read more about Spiders. See also Biological Control Resources.
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