May 29, 2019 • 4 mins
Short answer: Nope! Although wolf spiders may sound (and look) fearsome, they're excellent helpers around your house, getting rid of more bothersome pests. Learn about wolf spiders in this episode of BrainStuff.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey
brain Stuff, Lauren bog Obam. Here. Some people are afraid
of spiders, maybe even you. It's not uncommon, and some
research suggests so. The fear of these creatures may be
genetically hardwired into our brains. But whether that anxiety is
learned or innate. When you hop in the shower and
(00:24):
are immediately confronted with the spindle spread of eight hairy legs,
it's hard not to give a hop right back out.
And sometimes when you bring somebody into the bathroom to
help remove said spider, they'll say, oh, it's just a
wolf spider, nothing to freak out about. Or else they'll say, oh, no,
it's a wolf spider. Let's both commence the freaking out.
(00:45):
Either way, it's entirely possible your friend is right about
it being a wolf spider, because in many parts of
the world, in the center of the ven diagram of
spiders that are large and occasionally in your shower you'll
find this majestic creature. Of course, saying something is a
wolf spider isn't all that specific. There are a hundred
genera or families and over twenty three d species of
(01:08):
wolf spiders in the world over two hundred and thirty
eight of which occupied different habitats and regions of the
United States. They're usually well camouflaged, dark colored, with a
usually striped or banded pattern of black, brown, gray, or
tan markings on their backs and legs. Depending on the species,
they can range in size from what would call reasonable
(01:29):
something like a quarter of an inch that's six and
a half millimeters long, to what some would call unreasonable
that is over an inch or three centimeters. The females
are always larger than the males and carry their egg
sacs around with them to protect the unborn babies from
parasites and predators. Once the spiderlings emerge, they ride around
on their mom's back until they're large enough to make
(01:49):
it on their own. While these robust spiders can be
alarming house guests, none of the thousands of species are
dangerous to humans. We spoke with Nancy Heinkel, a professor
in the Department of Entomology at the University of Georgia.
She said wolf spiders are harmless and indeed provide valuable
pest control around our homes and yards because they eat
(02:12):
pest insects. As might be guessed from their name. Wolf
spiders are hunters and stalk their prey. They have large eyes,
giving them exceptional vision and allowing them to spy prey
and successfully pursue it. These sporty spiders are such strong
hunters that they don't even need to build webs in
order to snag a meal. They spend their nights stalking
around after their quarry and occasionally find their way into
(02:35):
your house. Hankle said, because spiders feed on insects, they
seek out places where insects congregate. Think about the numbers
of insects that show up at your porch light. Spider's
view this as a buffet. To reduce the chance of
spiders slipping under your door, turn off the porchlight to
avoid luring insects to your door. Outside, wolf spiders build
(02:56):
holes or tunnels in the ground, or live in protected
areas between box in cracks and old stumps, wherever it
looks safe and dry. According to Hankel, if you find
a large spider inside your house, there's almost certainly some
opening large enough for a spider to squeeze in through
a space under a door, a pipe chase, hole in
the wall where a cable line enters the floor from
a crawl space. Hankel said, if a spider is big
(03:19):
enough to enter, it's likely a lot of heated or
air conditioned air is escaping through the same hole. If
you're finding a lot of spiders in your home, it's
probably worth using your detective skills to locate any cracks
or gaps, seal them up, and save energy while excluding spiders.
But if you do find a wolf spider in your house,
the best idea is to take a deep breath and
(03:39):
remember this arachnets on your team riding your house of
unwanted insects. There's virtually no chance the spider will come
at you. They will bite if handled or trapped next
to your skin, but it's unlikely you'd have much for
a reaction to the bite. And remember they will always
choose to retreat from a human where thousands of times
larger than them and have opposable thumbs that help us
(04:01):
wheel flip flops and rolled up newspapers. Ankle said, because
they are harmless to humans, spiders found in the home
should be relocated outdoors. To do this, place a jar
over the spider, slide a stiff piece of paper under
the jar, and carefully carry it outside for release. Today's
(04:22):
episode was written by Jesselin Shields and produced by Tyler Clang.
Brain Stuff is a production of I Heart Radio's How
Stuff Works. For more on this and lots of other
mostly harmless topics, visit our home planet, how stuff Works
dot com. And for more podcasts for my heart Radio,
visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you listen to your favorite shows.
Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey
brain Stuff, Lauren bog Obam. Here. Some people are afraid
of spiders, maybe even you. It's not uncommon, and some
research suggests so. The fear of these creatures may be
genetically hardwired into our brains. But whether that anxiety is
learned or innate. When you hop in the shower and
(00:24):
are immediately confronted with the spindle spread of eight hairy legs,
it's hard not to give a hop right back out.
And sometimes when you bring somebody into the bathroom to
help remove said spider, they'll say, oh, it's just a
wolf spider, nothing to freak out about. Or else they'll say, oh, no,
it's a wolf spider. Let's both commence the freaking out.
(00:45):
Either way, it's entirely possible your friend is right about
it being a wolf spider, because in many parts of
the world, in the center of the ven diagram of
spiders that are large and occasionally in your shower you'll
find this majestic creature. Of course, saying something is a
wolf spider isn't all that specific. There are a hundred
genera or families and over twenty three d species of
(01:08):
wolf spiders in the world over two hundred and thirty
eight of which occupied different habitats and regions of the
United States. They're usually well camouflaged, dark colored, with a
usually striped or banded pattern of black, brown, gray, or
tan markings on their backs and legs. Depending on the species,
they can range in size from what would call reasonable
(01:29):
something like a quarter of an inch that's six and
a half millimeters long, to what some would call unreasonable
that is over an inch or three centimeters. The females
are always larger than the males and carry their egg
sacs around with them to protect the unborn babies from
parasites and predators. Once the spiderlings emerge, they ride around
on their mom's back until they're large enough to make
(01:49):
it on their own. While these robust spiders can be
alarming house guests, none of the thousands of species are
dangerous to humans. We spoke with Nancy Heinkel, a professor
in the Department of Entomology at the University of Georgia.
She said wolf spiders are harmless and indeed provide valuable
pest control around our homes and yards because they eat
(02:12):
pest insects. As might be guessed from their name. Wolf
spiders are hunters and stalk their prey. They have large eyes,
giving them exceptional vision and allowing them to spy prey
and successfully pursue it. These sporty spiders are such strong
hunters that they don't even need to build webs in
order to snag a meal. They spend their nights stalking
around after their quarry and occasionally find their way into
(02:35):
your house. Hankle said, because spiders feed on insects, they
seek out places where insects congregate. Think about the numbers
of insects that show up at your porch light. Spider's
view this as a buffet. To reduce the chance of
spiders slipping under your door, turn off the porchlight to
avoid luring insects to your door. Outside, wolf spiders build
(02:56):
holes or tunnels in the ground, or live in protected
areas between box in cracks and old stumps, wherever it
looks safe and dry. According to Hankel, if you find
a large spider inside your house, there's almost certainly some
opening large enough for a spider to squeeze in through
a space under a door, a pipe chase, hole in
the wall where a cable line enters the floor from
a crawl space. Hankel said, if a spider is big
(03:19):
enough to enter, it's likely a lot of heated or
air conditioned air is escaping through the same hole. If
you're finding a lot of spiders in your home, it's
probably worth using your detective skills to locate any cracks
or gaps, seal them up, and save energy while excluding spiders.
But if you do find a wolf spider in your house,
the best idea is to take a deep breath and
(03:39):
remember this arachnets on your team riding your house of
unwanted insects. There's virtually no chance the spider will come
at you. They will bite if handled or trapped next
to your skin, but it's unlikely you'd have much for
a reaction to the bite. And remember they will always
choose to retreat from a human where thousands of times
larger than them and have opposable thumbs that help us
(04:01):
wheel flip flops and rolled up newspapers. Ankle said, because
they are harmless to humans, spiders found in the home
should be relocated outdoors. To do this, place a jar
over the spider, slide a stiff piece of paper under
the jar, and carefully carry it outside for release. Today's
(04:22):
episode was written by Jesselin Shields and produced by Tyler Clang.
Brain Stuff is a production of I Heart Radio's How
Stuff Works. For more on this and lots of other
mostly harmless topics, visit our home planet, how stuff Works
dot com. And for more podcasts for my heart Radio,
visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you listen to your favorite shows.
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