Spiders

Question from Cynthia:
Our yard seems to be over populated with spiders of all shapes and sizes including black widows. Webs cover the creeping fig on the walls and spring up over night on the play equipment. We have a two year old granddaughter. I don’t want to spray for both her sake and the sake of the bees and other beneficials. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Answer from Pat:
Some of the spiders you describe may not be true spiders but rather spider mites, but first lets discuss spiders. In organic gardens where no poisons are used, spiders are among the most beneficial of creatures, catching more bad bugs and pests than almost any other. Spiders are arachnids, not insects and they are terrestrial predators, catching and eating tons of pests annually. Reading between the lines of your question I feel that you agree with me it’s tragic and misguided to spray with poisons that kill these most helpful of creatures that help mankind worldwide grow pest-free crops without the use of poisons. Some experts are of the opinion that spiders do more good than any other class of beneficials. They also catch and kill insects such as mosquitos that cause disease.

I deplored a recent TV ad in which a little boy’s mother asks him, “if you see a bid bad spider what will you do? He says he’d call out, “Mother!” “And what will mother do?” she asks, and the poor little boy (squirming because he doesn’t like this a bit!) says, “Get rid of it!” She gives him a lecture about calling a pesticide company to “Get Rid of Bad Bugs!” and the little boy who knows far better than his mother asks plaintively, “Are we done yet?”

I told the TV station to “Get Rid of That Ad!” because they ought to know better. Spiders are not bad bugs but good and highly beneficial arachnids and we should not be teaching lies to children. Finally, the ad disappeared and a much better one appeared with cockroaches starring in the roll of the bad bug. This makes more sense.

Spiders are most plentiful in late summer and fall but, though all spiders are highly beneficial and all of them have poisonous bites, an expert on spiders once told me that very few have the capability of biting human beings. Most spiders do not have mouth parts strong enough to pierce human skin and therefore often when people think they got a spider bite or even if a doctor says they did, it probably was not one, since few house spiders are capable of biting humans.

That said there are some spiders that can bite and harm humans, though the bite if treated is almost never fatal. Black widows and brown recluse spiders (often called violin spiders) are among those that one does not want to have in one’s garden. Even black widows are beneficial but we don’t want our children or ourselves to be bitten by them. So I have no compunctions about killing black widows and getting rid of their messy webs. Though violin spiders do not proliferate in my garden, I would kill them also if I saw them, but I would not use spray.

The best defense against harmful spiders is to keep a clean garden. In the garden, black widows can be found most frequently in dry hidden places such as lidded wooden boxes, dry irrigation boxes, wooden furniture that’s under cover, woodpiles, planks, empty flower pots, inside dry garden ceramic ornaments, and under patio furniture cushions. Brown recluse spiders are fewer here than in the Deep South and Kentucky. They are only found inland in Southern California. Bites are infrequent but should be treated. These spiders also hide in cracks and crevasses. Before my great-grandchildren visit my garden or if I’m expecting guests I put on a pair of disposable or leather gloves and brush and check over my garden furniture and cushions. My favorite dusting method is to hit the pillows on a table. I also brush under wooden tables benches and chairs with a broom. If I find any black widows I squash or step on them. I sometimes find lizards under my pillows also and have even found tree frogs, though we have few these days. God forbid anyone should sit on these beneficial creatures! I have gotten rid of any wood piles or similar things that would attract black widows.

Also, long ago I designated a special out-of-the way spot for keeping empty flower pots. Smaller ones are arranged on shelves on the outer wall of my garden shed, under the eaves. Larger ones are neatly arranged on a platform out of sight behind the shed. I insist on having all empty pots kept upside down so water cannot collect inside them bringing mosquitos. If I ever notice an empty flower pot in my garden of any size I tell my gardener to put it where it goes. My trash area also is fenced off and it is in a special place by the road, with an arbor overhead but it has never attracted my grandchildren or great grandchildren to explore it. They love wandering around on the paths but since we keep a clean garden, all the spiders there are beneficial ones.

The webs you are seeing on creeping fig may not be the webs of spiders. They may be spider mites, little red spider-like arachnids that can suck the juice out of plants and turn leaves white, stippled or colorless. If I were you I would wash off your creeping fig with water from the hose before your granddaughter’s visits. I would also brush it daily with the broom, thus getting rid of the webs. Try to keep your creeping fig cut back so that you will have the juvenile foliage that sticks tight to the wall and not the rank stuff that takes over and grows massive. Additionally, I would brush off your outdoor furniture and the play equipment with a broom as I have described. You might be able to find an old wisk broom or have the fun of making one out of strong twigs and a light old broom handle. This kind works best. A long-handled feather duster can also work. After use, wash off the duster or wisk broom with water from the hose to make sure no spiders are caught inside.

Here are additional suggestions: Purchase a good handbook on spiders so that you can easily recognize the good and the bad. I will mention here a couple of good kinds I would never harm if I were you. I once taught my children and grandchildren and now teach my great grandchildren to respect and love the many good, beautiful and fascinating spiders. It is a good idea to show them which are the bad kinds too. Two years of age is not too young to begin but without instilling fear, only knowledge and fascination. Among my favorites among the harmless and beneficial spiders are the orb weaver spiders of which there are many types and species and also the wolf spiders. The orb weavers make huge webs that are particularly lovely when dew gathers on them. These spiders and their webs become ever larger in autumn. I break these webs if they cross my entryway walk but otherwise I leave them undisturbed and enjoy watching and marveling at the great works and lovely colors of these enterprising creatures and their gorgeous webs that catch flying insect pests on the wing.

The wolf spider is the one who inhabits garden flowers. It makes no web but instead hides inside a zinnia flower, for example, then leaps out and catches pests, such as aphids when and if they appear. Inside a red zinnia the wolf spider will be red and inside a yellow flower the wolf spider will turn yellow. I find these very beautiful. A third fascinating spider is the trap-door spider that makes holes in the ground with a camouflaged trapdoor at the bottom of a slippery cone-shaped entryway that unwary pests slide down into so they can be quickly caught be this effective predator.