The benefits of spiders for humans: interesting information

Spider silk

The glands of spiders can secrete webs, the properties of which have long been of interest to scientists. It is stronger than steel and Kevlar, is not rejected by the human body and has bactericidal properties.

Multiple developments of a synthesized substance similar in composition are underway. Although at the moment it has not yet been produced, it is quite possible in the foreseeable future. Thanks to spiders, a person has the opportunity to obtain a material that is unique in its properties.

You shouldn't judge creatures by their appearance. Although spiders look scary to many, only a few species pose a danger to humans. The benefit they bring largely outweighs the harm caused.

People's attitude towards spiders is ambiguous. Some are afraid and try to destroy these eight-legged creatures, others simply do not like them and avoid them, while others consider them cute. But there are those who understand that they bring tangible benefits. Crop protection Gardens with fruit and berry crops or vegetable gardens are subject to invasions of harmful insects. Many of them are hunted by spiders, which […]

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The most effective methods of fighting spiders.

First, do a general, complete cleaning of your home. Using a broom and vacuum cleaner, remove cobwebs from all corners, walls, and ceilings. Try to remove not only the cobwebs, but also the spider eggs, otherwise you risk seeing new ones soon. Also close all ventilation passages with a dense mesh. It is worth noting that mechanical house cleaning is only effective if you have very few spiders.
When you are at your dacha or in a private house, do not forget to turn off the lights at night, which attract a large number of flies, mosquitoes and moths. Spiders will immediately come running there to feast on them, because this is their favorite diet.
It is necessary to deprive arthropods of food sources. As we said above, they eat small insects. If you get rid of midges and bugs, then the spiders will have nothing to eat and they will go elsewhere in search of food.
Repellers can be used. Today there are two types of repellers on the market - ultrasonic and electromagnetic. The emitted waves frighten the spiders very much and they rush to leave this place. Using the repeller is quite simple, it works from the mains, you only need to plug it into an outlet. Before use, be sure to read the instructions that come with the kit. Such waves will not harm a person in a short time, but it is not recommended to sleep with the device turned on.
Try using glue-based traps. They are placed in places where spiders can walk - behind furniture, under and on cabinets, in the corners of rooms. Such traps are effective against ground spiders; they do not work against those that live on the ceiling. Another disadvantage is that it is impossible to get rid of spider eggs using such a trap, so this method is not 100% effective.

Top most effective spider repellents.

Raid against cockroaches and ants. The spray will definitely kill the insect if, when spraying, you direct the stream of aerosol strictly at the spider, ant or cockroach. An important advantage of Reid can be considered the absence of a nuclear smell, which makes it difficult to breathe and stay in the room where it was used. The aerosol lasts about a month. Recommended for use indoors, away from children.
Aerosol Joker Ban. A very effective remedy, but there are a number of limitations and recommendations. Cannot be used in catering premises - cafes, restaurants, canteens. Designed for processing skirting boards, doors, windows. Contact between spiders and this product will instantly lead to their death.
Spray Raptor. The drug has a bright minty smell, which is already bad for spiders; it helps not only against spiders, it can poison many other pests. One can can treat a room of 50-60 square meters, and the spray lasts up to three months.
Spray Bros. Suitable for residential buildings, apartments, and also for open verandas. After spraying, the insect dies instantly. Validity up to 3 months.

Methods and methods for getting rid of spiders at home

Today, people know many ways to get rid of such unwanted neighbors; the most common and effective options will be discussed below.

Traps

Traps are not so common today, but they often show pretty good results; they can be purchased in a store or made with your own hands.

The option below is suitable for people who have a fear of these arthropods, as it is designed to kill them:

Cut out a rectangle from thick cardboard, suitable dimensions are 10x7 cm.
Double-sided tape or glue must be applied to one side of the cardboard. In both cases, it is important to choose options that do not dry out for a long time, otherwise no one will fall into the trap.
It is recommended to add a small amount of natural honey or peanut butter to the applied glue. These components will add aromas that are likely to attract the attention of unwanted neighbors.
The prepared trap will most likely catch not only spiders, but also various types of insects. After it is completely filled or the adhesive base has dried, the device can be disposed of.

There is also an alternative option designed to catch live spiders, for example, if you need to identify a specific species or simply do not want to harm it.

Such a trap is prepared as follows:

To carry out the procedure, it is recommended to wear gloves if you want to minimize the likelihood of direct contact with the spider, especially if you are not sure that it belongs to a safe species.
A sheet of thick cardboard is placed under the discovered web , and a glass jar is slowly brought to its owner.
It is necessary to cover it so that it is inside the jar along with part of the web, and then quickly lean it against a sheet of cardboard with its hole.
After this, you can place the container on any surface , remove the sheet from it and screw on the lid.

Insecticides

Various chemicals are much more popular, but before using them, the following nuances must be taken into account:

Before using any insecticide, you must carefully study the instructions that come with it. Some substances are highly toxic and, if used carelessly, pose a risk of poisoning or harm to pets.
Most insecticides only pose a lethal threat to spiders if they come into direct contact with them. If he avoids such contact, the remedy will not produce any effect.
Considering what was written above, sometimes it is a more rational option to exterminate the insects that form the basis of the spider’s diet. You can understand who exactly he eats by studying the contents of his web.
One of the most effective insecticides for killing arthropods is pyrethroid. It is a natural substance that is extracted from certain plants belonging to the chrysanthemum family. At its core, it is a complex chemical compound containing cyfluthrin, permethrin, tetramethrin and other components.

Folk remedies

There are also a large number of folk remedies designed to combat spiders. The most effective and popular of them are discussed below:

Horse chestnut is one of the most famous methods of repelling; it is enough to place it in the corners of the room, behind furniture and in close proximity to cobwebs, so that the uninvited guests will soon disappear. In some cases, it can be replaced with various citrus fruits or walnuts, but their effectiveness is somewhat lower.
Peppermint is often grown in vegetable gardens to repel spiders from the garden beds, since they cannot stand its smell. To combat them inside the house, you can use essential oils with an extract of this plant. To do this, you need to dilute only 15-20 drops with water, then treat all surfaces in the house, spraying the substance with a spray bottle.
White vinegar is an equally effective remedy, which is diluted with water in equal proportions, and then used in the same way as an essential oil solution. You can spray not only the room, but also any arthropods you encounter, since contact even with diluted vinegar is fatal to them. If the smell of this liquid does not cause any unpleasant sensations, then you can simply place containers with it in the apartment, especially in its dark places, this will also produce a deterrent effect. In some cases, vinegar can be replaced with citric acid, which has the same characteristics.

Calling professionals

You can also get rid of spiders by seeking help from specialists working in the relevant services. Such measures are usually taken if there are too many arthropods and a person cannot cope with them on his own.

The following features of this option can be highlighted:

Most services not only destroy spiders, but also provide a guarantee against their reappearance. The terms of protection from them are usually prescribed in the concluded contract.
Calling a specialized service is one of the most expensive options. The cost of the service depends on many factors: the pricing policy of a particular organization, the area of the premises being treated, the insecticides used and the distance of the house from the city limits, if the procedure will be carried out in the country.
If pets or small children live in the house , then specialists can use the safest toxic substances to eliminate the risk of possible poisoning.
Experts select insecticides based on the specific species they have been asked to destroy. This is important because some chemicals that are effective against insects have no effect on spiders.

Bottom line

Spiders are unpleasant creatures, but completely harmless; in addition, their presence in a person’s home brings with it exceptional benefits. Arthropods hunt mosquitoes, midges and flies, saving you from annoying insects that can harm the health of people living in the apartment. Decide for yourself how to treat spiders, but do not forget to take into account the following arguments:

most folk signs speak of the presence of spiders in the house as a blessing; by their behavior and place of residence you can determine your future fate;
accidentally killing a spider will go “with impunity” if you sincerely apologize to your careless victim;
If the presence of a spider in your house is unpleasant and undesirable for you, carefully catch it and release it into the wild.

In any case, there is no need to offend or kill spiders.
Even if you don’t believe in folk superstitions, think about the fact that arthropods living in our latitudes are absolutely safe for humans, and according to scientists, their presence in houses and apartments is of exceptional benefit to humans. When using materials from thebestvideo.ru, a link to the source is required.

Spiders are ubiquitous

Spiders are spread all over the globe, but most of them are found in warm regions. And almost all of them are terrestrial animals. Only the silverback spider lives in water. Most spiders are nocturnal. They are all predators that primarily eat insects and catch them using webs.

Spiders kill caught prey with poison by injecting digestive juices into it. After some time (usually several hours), the spiders suck out the resulting nutrient solution.

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The most poisonous snake in Russia is the viper

In total, about 90 species of snakes live in Russia.
There are about 16 species of them that are poisonous. The most dangerous and widespread poisonous snake in central Russia is, of course, the viper. It lives in both forests and steppes. The viper is not a very long snake (up to 75 cm in length). Its color varies from gray to red-brown. Vipers are characterized by a dark line along their spine, as well as an X-shaped pattern on their head. All vipers are already born poisonous. When meeting a viper, you should not make sudden movements, so as not to provoke the snake to defend itself. It is worth noting that viper bites cause quite severe pain. Swelling appears at the site of the bite. The most dangerous bites are those on the face and neck.

Spiders

This order belongs to the predators. Some catch prey using a sticky net, while others build cone-shaped traps from the web.

The cross spider is a typical representative of the class. It catches its prey using a stretched web. It is built like this:

first, the animal pulls non-adhesive threads in the form of an irregular polygon;
draws radii from the same threads;
then, using an adhesive thread, a spiral is wound in a circle.

Further actions depend on what insects get caught in the net. For example, he will kill a fly immediately, but he will wrap larger prey in a web, turning it into a cocoon.

Side-walking spiders are similar to crabs - they move sideways with the help of widely spaced legs. Representatives of this family do not catch prey using a web, but calmly wait for the victim. Their external coloring helps them to camouflage themselves well, so that the prey does not see it.

Another species that hunts without a web is the hobo spider. His delicacy is bedbugs that live next to humans.

Tarantula is one of the largest representatives of spiders in our country. It lives in the forest-steppe zone near rivers, where there are sandy soils. He lives in a small burrow, which he makes in the soil. It hunts mainly at night, without moving far from its shelter.

Karakurt lives in the steppe zone and semi-deserts. Considered dangerous to humans. Its external features: it is black in color, with red spots on the bottom of its abdomen. A bite from this poke can even lead to death.

The tarantula is a spider that, contrary to its name, feeds not only on small birds. They hunt without a web, attacking from ambush. This species can often be found among exotic pets. Prefers the warm, humid climate of equatorial forests. In Europe they can be found in the south of Spain, Italy, and Portugal.

Fig.2. Tarantula spider

Signs

First, let's look at the signs, of which, by the way, there are many. Popular wisdom about spiders says the following:

a white spider in the house means good news, and a black one means quarrels, illnesses and losses;
if the “neighbor” is hanging from the ceiling - expect good news, crawling along the floor - there will be pleasant changes, sitting on the threshold - get ready for unexpected expenses, met in the kitchen - there will be a quarrel;
a spider in the bathroom warns of stagnation in business, and one hiding near the toilet warns of failure in business;
A spider falling into a sink or bathroom represents unsuccessful efforts that will end in zero results.

Our ancestors were wary of crosses: their appearance in homes was considered a bad omen, promising illness and death of one of the household members. To avoid problems, the uninvited guest should have been carefully taken outside and released away from the house.

Are spiders dangerous to humans?

The vast majority of Russian spider species are completely safe for humans. The amount of poison they use is designed for insects, and for a person such a dose is like pellets for an elephant. In addition, spiders will not attack creatures much larger than themselves; they will try to run away and hide. This applies to all spiders, including poisonous karakurts and painfully biting tarantulas. The spider will actively defend itself only in hopeless situations: if it was pinned down, for example, or they tried to take away the cocoon with eggs from the female. Then, of course, the spider may well grab it with its chelicerae. True, only large species of spiders can pierce the skin and inject venom; small ones are not strong enough.

The most poisonous spider in our open spaces is the karakurt from the genus of black widows. The bite causes a burning pain that quickly spreads throughout the body. No deaths from bites have been recorded for many years, although they bite regularly and cause a lot of trouble. Karakurt has a characteristic color - its abdomen is black with bright orange spots; fully grown individuals become glossy black. They live mainly in the southern steppe and forest-steppe regions, also in the south of the Urals and Siberia. Although global warming has already moved their habitats to the borders of the Moscow and Vladimir regions.

It is also better not to grab tarantulas with your hands: their poison is not as terrible as that of karakurts, but the bite is painful and causes local swelling. The habitat is approximately the same as that of the karakurt, even a little to the north, plus Belarus and Transbaikalia. They live in burrows dug in the ground in dry places and hunt at night.

Still, the best way to interact with spiders outside your home is to watch from the side as they actively eat garden vermin and each other. Keep out.

The purpose of spiders in nature

Surely in childhood, each of us felt a pang of pity, watching how a moth desperately fought in a tenacious web, and wondered why spiders are needed and what benefit they could have.

Even in the famous fairy tale “The Cluttering Fly,” the spider is presented as a notorious villain, and the fly as an innocent, unfortunate victim. However, in nature everything is much more complicated.

Beautiful, white butterflies with black dots that flutter over the beds in summer are cabbage butterflies that infect the cruciferous crop.

A cute light-colored moth, a whitefly, damages plant leaves and lays numerous offspring . These and many other harmful insects could have multiplied many times over if their numbers had not been controlled by spiders.

In fact, even a fly is not nearly as harmless as it might seem at first glance. Scientists have discovered several tens of thousands of pathogenic microbes on its paws.

And this insect reproduces at cosmic speed. The fly lives for about a month, during which time one female manages to lay about 3,000 eggs, which can bring new offspring within a few days.

It is easy to imagine the benefits spiders bring by controlling the number of flies in nature.

This predator spreads its web daily in the grass, as well as between tree branches. There are cases where several hundred insects got into the net every day.

However, even if you do not take into account such records, the benefits of spiders are obvious. Let not a hundred, but only 2-3 flies fall into one web. Then a hundred predators will destroy about 10 thousand harmful insects in a month.

In fact, there are many more spiders. According to scientists, more than 1 million individuals can live in an area of 1 hectare.

The benefits of these predators are enormous. Every day a spider is able to eat as much as it weighs. The diet of an adult consists not only of flies, but also of other parasites that can cause damage to fields, forests, and meadows.

The most dangerous arachnids - interesting facts

Poisonous arachnid creatures are awake at night; at this time of day they hunt, getting their food. Many species of these predators can easily survive without water or food for several months in a row.

There are a number of other features of poisonous spiders:

In nature there are spiders of enormous size. Galiath can grow up to 33 centimeters in length.
The wandering or banana spider is considered the most aggressive and dangerous to people.
According to statistics, it is from this predator from the arachnid family that people suffer the most.
According to researchers, spiders cause fear in 4.6-6.2 percent of the earth's population.
Poisonous predators of almost all species are not averse to feasting on insects, even the smallest representatives of the fauna.
Giant tarantulas love “food” more satisfying than small insects. The name alone makes it clear what they eat; in addition to birds, they love rodents, snakes, etc.

Bright tarantula spider

It is noteworthy that the natural web of an animal is considered one of the strongest materials. If you weave a thread from spider web hairs as thick as a pencil, it will withstand any load. According to researchers, a high-speed Boeing at full speed will not be able to break it. The multilayer webs that the predator spider Darwin weaves have a high density. If it were possible to stack them several centimeters thick tightly next to each other, then even a bulletproof vest would not compare with them in strength. In research laboratories, scientists are trying to reproduce a sample of the material, but unfortunately nothing has worked out so far.

As you can see, despite the fact that many species of arachnids pose a great danger to people, there is still something to learn from these animals. Take care of yourself!