Spiders live in almost every habitat on earth. The only places where there are no spiders are the polar regions, the highest mountains and the oceans.
Iceland, however, is an island in the lower Arctic or higher Boreal region, where very big spiders are not found naturally.
In Australia they are only found in the southeastern part of the country, from South Australia to Queensland via Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania. You won't find them in the dry and arid zones. On the other hand, huntsman and wolf-spiders are found all over the country.
North Dakota has the fewest Spiders on record with only six. Internationally Spiders live in countries from A to Z. Eighteen spiders live in Australia, although only one lives in Zambia.
Humans need spiders to survive. It is important to remember that spiders and other invertebrates – animals without spines – make up 98% of animal species. They are vital to the functioning of ecosystems; without them, the remaining 2% of vertebrates, including humans, could not survive.
“If spiders disappeared, we would face famine,” says Norman Platnick, who studies arachnids at New York's American Museum of Natural History. “Spiders are primary controllers of insects. Without spiders, all of our crops would be consumed by those pests.”
The vast majority of spiders are harmless and serve a critical purpose: controlling insect populations that could otherwise devastate crops. Without spiders to eat pests harmful to agriculture, it's thought that our food supply would be put at risk.
Spiders live in almost every habitat on earth. The only places where there are no spiders are the polar regions, the highest mountains and the oceans.
Spiders love to hide in the dark, debris-filled cracks away from humans. Be sure to give the space under your bed a lot of attention while you're cleaning. Since it tends to be dark and dusty under beds, they're an ideal place for spiders to hide away.
Spider-Free Locations
Among these areas are the world's oceans (though some spiders have adapted to life on shorelines and shallow bodies of freshwater), polar regions, like the arctic and Antarctica, and at extreme altitudes of tall mountains.
Stay in the cities.
I went to Sydney, Brisbane and Cairns in October. I saw no spiders. I was concerned about Cairns. I saw no spiders in Cairns.
Traralgon in eastern Victoria has been swamped by vast, other worldly sheets of web as spiders climb to higher ground following the disruption of heavy rain.
That is quite the sight, but picture this — millions of tiny spiders raining from the sky. While it can sound like something out of a horror movie, in Australia the transition from late summer to fall can trigger what is known to the locals as spider season.
Spiders can grow to enormous sizes when they live in warm areas of the world. Scientists have shown that all cold-blooded insects can thrive in warm weather. What is this? The warmer and more humid the climate, the more spiders you will see.
Are spiders afraid of humans? Yes. This is why spiders are most commonly encountered in seldom used areas such as garages, attics, basements, closets, or guest rooms. Spiders are antisocial and try their best to avoid human contact.
Africa. Millions upon millions of wildlife species call Africa home, and it is no different with spiders. Comprising of different climates and landscapes, just like Australia (except 3x larger), Africa sees some of the world's most venomous spiders.
The stinky smell of sweaty socks might repulse humans, but scientists now find it enthralls mosquitoes and spiders. The odor apparently helps the creatures hunt down their victims — the mosquitoes want to feed on people, while the spiders prefer to devour the mosquitoes.
Often, a combination of counseling and medication may be used to treat arachnophobia. Relaxation techniques such as meditation also can be helpful in the treatment of arachnophobia. As with other phobias, arachnophobia can be treated with exposure therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
White Vinegar
In a spray bottle, mix white vinegar and water in equal parts. Then, get ready to spray whenever you see a spider—the acidic nature of the vinegar will kill the spider on contact.
Thoroughly sealing up your house helps to keep spiders out. Caulk around windows, doors, plumbing, and other places where spiders might enter your home. Window screens with holes or slices should also be repaired in order to keep spiders out (as well as keeping out other insects that may act as their food sources).
We found that perceived fear and disgust of spiders were triggered predominantly by enlarged chelicerae, enlarged abdomen, and the presence of body hair. Longer legs were associated with perceived fear as well; however, the presence of two eyes did not produce any statistical significance in terms of fear.
So is his tagline “friendly neighborhood”, because spiders are not friendly, well that is in terms of socializing, of course. They are isolated. They do not go out of their way to greet us, even if they are squatters in our homes. At best, they are indifferent, minding their own business and never wanting attention.
Arachnids from all over the world could be at risk of extinction because of the exotic pet trade. Researchers have warned that spiders, scorpions and their relatives are at risk from uncontrolled collecting from the wild, and that some species might go extinct before they are scientifically described.
Spiders probably evolved about 400 million years ago from thick-waisted arachnid ancestors that were not long emerged from life in water. The first definite spiders, thin-waisted arachnids with abdominal segmentation and silk producing spinnerets, are known from fossils like Attercopus fimbriungus.
"We conclude that fear of snakes and spiders is of evolutionary origin. Similar to primates, mechanisms in our brains enable us to identify objects as 'spider' or 'snake' and to react to them very fast. This obviously inherited stress reaction in turn predisposes us to learn these animals as dangerous or disgusting.