Does light attract spiders? Is it effective in luring and trapping them? Find out more in this guide.
A lot of questions have been asked about the attraction of spiders to light sources.
Here, we’re talking about artificial lights which are mostly put on at night. Are they attracted to lights? If they do, does that mean they never find time to rest?
Can such attraction be leveraged to control their presence?
All these are salient points that need to be considered as they enable you to arrive at a concrete answer. So, do you have spider issues at home and suspect your lighting to be responsible for such?
All we’ve got here are answers. Such answers are much more than a “yes,” “no.”
Do Spiders Like Light?
As mentioned above, the answer is much more than a yes or no.
Indeed, spiders are attracted to light and there’s a reason why. So, does that mean these arachnids never sleep?
This is a fair question to ask because spiders are spotted moving about both at night and during the day.
The reality is, there are nocturnal as well as diurnal spiders. The spiders you see around your home (whether at night or during the day) belong to these two groups.
In other words, certain spider species are more active, hence more common during the day. The reverse is true for other spider species.
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Why the Focus on Nocturnal Spiders?
The name alone speaks volumes.
By their nature, nocturnal spiders are most active at night. This is the time when the lights are turned on. Remember, the question being asked seeks to find out whether spiders are attracted to light.
For species most busy during the day (diurnal spiders), they’re more accustomed to natural lighting. Such spiders go about their business during the daytime while their nocturnal counterparts rest through the day to hunt prey at night.
The last paragraph ended with a tip on what attracts spiders at night.
However, that will shortly be discussed as a subtopic. For now, let’s go further to identify these nocturnal spiders being mentioned.
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Some Nocturnal Spider Species
Before we progress further, it will be necessary to make mention of some spider species known to be more active at night. Of course, these are the spiders most attracted to light.
They include wolf spiders, common house spiders, orb weavers, brown recluse, jumping spiders, and cellar spiders.
Others are grass spider, pholcus phalangioides, sac spiders, huntsman spider, Australian funnel-web spider, barn funnel weaver, yellow sac spider, and trapdoor spiders.
These species will mostly hunt for prey at night but stay away during the day.
Spider’s Attraction to Light
Spiders aren’t attracted to light for nothing.
In other words, there’s a reason why they get attracted to artificial lighting at night. It doesn’t matter where such lighting is. Now, it’s common knowledge that insects and bugs get attracted to light.
This is a perfect avenue for spiders to prey on such insects. These arachnids are known hunters who track down prey using a wide range of techniques.
Spiders patiently lie in wait for these insects to get stuck in their intricately woven web. There are actually those (spiders) who don’t weave webs but ambush their prey.
The outdoors is where lots of these tiny insects (prey) swarm. Spiders will flock to such locations. A lot of them will spin their webs close to the light source(s) to make for easy trapping of prey.
Where Spiders Live
You’ll find spiders in pretty much all areas of a home especially when you don’t frequently remove them.
Such areas include basements, bathrooms, attics & cellars, garages, behind furniture and appliances, closets, corners of buildings, and swimming pools.
Other areas include inside vehicles and also fruit. Most nocturnal spiders will be inactive during the day and stick to their dwellings until when it’s ripe to move out.
This is made even more attractive by when there’s light.
Will Putting off Light Help Keep Spiders Away?
We’ve seen that the attraction of spiders to light is mostly driven by their need to hunt down prey. While this is true, it gives an idea of how to combat their presence.
One thing is certain; most homeowners consider spiders as a nuisance and rightfully so.
As a measure to combat their presence, you might want to consider turning off your lights at night to keep bugs from coming around. With bug absence, spiders are unlikely to come around.
However, we must state that this is only a temporary measure.
When these arachnids come around, they weave webs around your home, thus defacing your surroundings.
Apart from their bites which can be poisonous (some species are poisonous), spiders you’ll need to remove webs more frequently than you think. These pests spin new webs whenever the old gets removed.
Putting off your Lights won’t be of much Help
On finding out that spiders get attracted to light to feed on prey, most people will consider putting off their lights to solve the problem.
But the reality is, you’ll have to stop putting on your lights altogether as it will always attract spiders.
The best approach will be to carry out treatment to eliminate them. One of them involves calling a pest control service. This is the most comprehensive approach as treatment is administered by seasoned professionals.
Also, consider using DIY techniques such as sprays and spider traps.
You’ll want to go for over-the-counter insecticides containing pyrethroids. Speaking of spider traps, you’ll need to go for non-toxic variants. These help keep your kids and pets safe.
We recommend you go for natural spider repellents as these are environmentally safe for use around kids and pets.
Focus on the Cause
The cause for spider presence in your home isn’t due to the lights you turn on. Rather, it’s mainly to prey on smaller bugs flying around such lights.
The bugs are attracted to the lights while spiders seek to prey on them.
You can begin by eliminating such bugs from your surroundings. The use of an insecticide will suffice. When carried out, your home is free of these pests. Also, seal up cracks and install window screens and door sweeps.
Such will keep spiders out of your home.
Lights attract insects which in turn attract predators such as spiders. This is a summary of what goes on when you find spiders around lit areas.