Laundry duty…it is a daunting task and one of the most disliked chores in most households. Laundry rooms are generally dark, damp and messy. Perfect breeding group for some of the most disliked and misunderstood critters…spiders.
Our family has been very busy lately and laundry has gone unattended to for quite some time. There was a heaping pile of laundry in the laundry room as well as each of our bedrooms. I decided to tackle this task today to get a grip on it. The piles were getting out of hand and kid #2 was out of socks. So, I jumped in with both feet!
I unloaded laundry load #3 and was ready to load it back up when I saw a spider larger than a quarter. His body was the diameter of a quarter so the legs, if stretched out, would have been much bigger than that. I have gotten very familiar with the different types of spiders that have taken up residence with us. This particular spider was a common house spider which posses no long term threat to us.
I don’t know about you but it is really hard for me to see those big ole house spiders and not want to smash them. However, when I saw this big guy today in the laundry room, I just couldn’t bring myself to kill him. Not just because I didn’t have shoes on but because I kept thinking about how many unwanted bugs he may be taking care of for us. He, being a big spider, could probably consume a good number of insects, crickets, etc.
I was very careful when picking up each piece of clothing to go into the wash. Though I allowed him to live, I did not particularly want him crawling on or near me. He quickly realized his sleeping spot was disturbed and he scurried on his way.
I did a little research on house spiders and how much they actually consume in a day and I was amazed at what I learned. Many sources alluded to spiders having the ability to consume 1-3 million insects a day. Yes, you read that right. Up to 3 million insects a DAY! Many of these insects potentially carry diseases that could be harmful to humans and pets. That one large spider I let scurry away today, could rid our house of 3 million insects in just one day!
How would you have reacted had you found a big ole spider like him? Would you have let him scurry on his way or would you have smashed him into the ground? Now that you know how many insects they could potentially take care of, are you thinking differently?