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, especially the ones that live in houses, can be found year-round. These creatures don't venture inside just because it's cold out. They stay there all year.
Spiders are much more noticeable in the fall. That doesn't mean there are more of them. It's really about the fact that since some spiders lay eggs in the spring, they have had a few months to grow up – and grow bigger.
Funnel web spider habitat extends primarily along the east coast of Australia, with summer being peak activity season. Sometimes these spiders are found in swimming pools.
In fact, house spiders tend to be most visible in the late summer and early autumn, when males come out to mate. Though it often appears that they are coming in at that time because the summer warmth is going away, they are in fact more visible because they are scurrying around to try and find a female.
Victoria state generally sees this natural phenomenon during the winter, when it receives most of its rain. When this happens, spiders, which can produce a wide variety of silks, produce this kind of web which is very thin and delicate, and allows them to fly away with the breeze, sometimes as far as 100 km.
Most spiders' breeding seasons coincide with the transition from summer to fall. If you see more spiders than usual around your home during these months, chances are they're mature males wandering far and wide in search of a mate.
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.
Spiders don't like the smells of strong odours such as cinnamon, eucalyptus oil and citrus. Use cinnamon candles and spray eucalyptus and lemon/orange oil in areas where you often see webs.
Heavy rains can send ground dwelling spiders to “high ground”, which may bring them onto the foundation and siding of your home or send them indoors if they find an opening (including areas damaged by storms). Spiders may also hide behind window shutters, rain gutters, and other protected areas.
Spiders typically start their invasion of homes from September through to October each year. Thankfully, those who are afraid of the creatures won't have to put up with the unwelcome intruders for long, as they tend to be spotted less often indoors by the first week of October.
Spiders are not attracted to heat and can live quite comfortably in a wide temperature range. Most spiders prefer temperatures hovering around 70 degrees.
People aren't usually overjoyed to see a spider crawling around inside their home. But Matt Bertone, an entomologist at North Carolina State University, says spiders are an important part of our indoor ecosystem and rarely a danger to humans — so it's best to just leave them alone.
The Australian funnel-web spiders are among the deadliest spiders in the world in the effect their bites have on humans and our primate relations (although the bite has little effect on dogs and cats). There are many species of funnel-web spiders in Australia but only male Sydney Funnel-webs have caused human deaths.
Despite looking like one of our planet's deadliest spiders, Trapdoor spiders are actually relatively harmless – their bites generally only cause local pain and swelling.
The results found that there was a peak in spider activity around 7:35pm. They also found that there was a peak between 6AM and 8AM, suggesting the creepy crawlies are hiding from you in drains and sinks overnight.
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.
The average house spider lifespan can be anything from 1-2 years, which is quite a long time for a spider to be in your home. As well as this fact, we looked at others that many of our customers didn't know.
It's mating season.
Spider mating season starts in the late summer and early fall when many spiders will leave their web searching for a mate. Some of them may move inside, and once there, they'll mate and nest in comfortable spots.
Leaving lights on when it's dark: Just like a bear that is attracted to a flowing river filled with jumping fish, spiders are attracted to bright lights, surrounded by flying insects. Any place that is near an insect-attracting light is prime real estate for spiders.
Several years. They can live for months without food and water, so prepare yourself for a long residency in the downstairs loo. Seriously though, it'll be more scared of you than you are of it, so ignore it. Besides, it'll keep the flies (and other nasties) away.
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.