Many people are afraid of spiders, but others find them fascinating. No matter what you think of them, you certainly don’t want them to invade your house. If you find a spider in your home once in awhile, there is no need to be alarmed. Most common house spiders eat bugs, and other annoying pests.

To prevent spiders from getting settled in your home, be sure to keep it clean and free of food crumbs, debris, and dust. Spiders eat bugs and small pests, so if there are none of them in your house, they will go look for food someplace else.

If you notice a spider web, remove it while there is no spider in it. Try not to leave boxes, shoes, pieces of clothing, or blankets on the floor, as spiders might hide in them. You should also be sure to caulk your windows and doors, to repair damaged window screens, and to seal any crack or crevice that could allow bugs and spiders to enter your home.

If spiders seem to inhabit every corner, every crevice, every closet, and every box in your house, you will need professional help. It’s time to use a professional pest control service like Quality Affordable Pest Control Markham to help you get rid of these common house spiders.

Let’s learn more about the five common house spiders found in Canada, and about how we can prevent them from invading our homes:

1. House spiders

There are different species of house spiders in Canada, so if you have some in your house, they could be white, brown, black, or any colour in between. They can have some markings on their body, and their first pair of legs is longer than the others.

These common house spiders build their webs under furniture, and in dark corners of your house where they are hoping to catch bugs. They eat different types of insects, and they can even eat other spiders.

House spiders are generally harmless, but if they feel startled and threatened, they can bite. However, their bite is not dangerous and will only cause a red mark with some irritation.

2. Cellar spiders

Cellar spiders like to live in cellars, basements, and crawl spaces, but they can also build their webs in your home. They like darkness and humidity.

They are also called daddy longlegs because their legs can be five or six times longer than the length of their body. Depending on the species, they can be pale tan, yellow, or grey. Just like house spiders, they eat bugs, but also other spiders. Instead of attaching their egg sacs to their webs, they carry them in their mouth until they are ready to hatch.

Cellar spiders are not dangerous, but their long legs can make them particularly creepy for people who have arachnophobia.

3. Wolf spiders

Wolf spiders are hairy spiders that can be a mix of brown, grey, black, and orange. They prefer living outside, but when the temperature starts to drop in the fall, these common house spiders look for some warmth inside our homes.

Wolf spiders are predatory spiders, which means that instead of building webs to catch bugs, they hunt their preys at night. They are solitary, which means it’s very rare to spot more than one of them at a time.

They don’t attack humans, but they can bite if they are being handled or feeling threatened, or if they are trapped next to human skin. Their bite feels like a bee sting.

4. Fishing spiders

Fishing spiders look like wolf spiders, but their eyes are different, and they are usually much larger. In fact, they are one of the largest species of spiders that are native to Canada.

Fishing spiders usually live around bodies of water, so if you have a swimming pool, or if you live near a lake, you are more likely to spot them in your house. They have water resistant legs that allow them to walk on water, and they are able to hunt for small fish, tadpoles, and frogs.

Large fishing spiders can be terrifying, but like most spiders, they only bite if they feel threatened or if they are trapped.

5. Black widow spiders

Even though they prefer warmer climates, a few species of black widow spiders can be found in Canada, especially in the southern portions of the provinces. They are easy to recognize because of the red hourglass-shaped marking on the underside of their shiny black body.

These common house spiders build their webs in dark places, and they like to live in basements, under furniture, and in cluttered rooms. They eat different types of bugs, and other spiders.

Black widows are dangerous because of their venom, which is a neurotoxin that can affect the nervous system. However, they are not aggressive, and they only bite when they feel threatened and need to defend themselves.