# How long can a spiderweb stay inhabited and maintained? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 18, 2023, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-can-a-spiderweb-stay-inhabited-and-maintained/990287 "2023-09-18T00:24:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2023, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-can-a-spiderweb-stay-inhabited-and-maintained/990287/1 "2023-09-18T00:24:21Z")
I ask because there’s a spider who’s been in residence in my kitchen for nearly two months now. Every so often, I see a captured bug on it, and multiple times I’ve seen the web enlarged and upgraded. Today, I thought at first that there were two spiders on it, before realizing that one of them must be a molt. So business is going well. I’m happy for her. But while, as of right now, the web’s location is only slightly inconvenient, it’s going to get more so eventually. You see, at the end of last cold season, I left my heavy jacket hanging on the side of a chair, and it’s to that coat that the spider has anchored her web. I don’t think it’d be possible to re-anchor the web, and so when I retrieve that jacket, I’m going to be destroying a valuable piece of real estate. If the spider is still there. But will she be? If you had asked me a year ago, I’d have said that no spiderweb would ever last that long, still in use. But, well, I wouldn’t have anticipated a spiderweb lasting six weeks, either. So how long could it be? And yes, I’m sure that it varies by species. Unfortunately, all I can tell you is that it’s a brown orb-weaver native to Northeast Ohio, and that I’ve seen many similar brown spiders around here. ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2023, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-can-a-spiderweb-stay-inhabited-and-maintained/990287/2 "2023-09-18T04:49:41Z")
From what I’ve observed of the spiders in and around my house and garden, they’re constantly repairing and refreshing their webs, even the ones that seem like they’ve been in use a while. But they don’t tend to move the web to a new position until it’s disrupted or accumulates so much dust and other extraneous material that it’s not sticky anymore. That varies with placement and conditions, of course. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2023, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-can-a-spiderweb-stay-inhabited-and-maintained/990287/3 "2023-09-18T09:25:21Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > brown orb-weaver Most orb-weavers tend to be in the group that re-weave their webs every day. Usually in the same spot, but if you photograph the pattern, you can tell if it changes slightly day-by-day. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2023, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-can-a-spiderweb-stay-inhabited-and-maintained/990287/4 "2023-09-18T10:52:30Z")
I did, one morning, find the web in a state of construction. It looked like the top and bottom anchor strands were still the same, but only a few of the radials were still in place. Even if the spider is continually maintaining or rebuilding it, though, eventually there’d have to come a limit from its lifespan. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2023, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-can-a-spiderweb-stay-inhabited-and-maintained/990287/5 "2023-09-18T10:56:08Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I left my heavy jacket hanging on the side of a chair, and it’s to that coat that the spider has anchored her web. I don’t think it’d be possible to re-anchor the web, and so when I retrieve that jacket, I’m going to be destroying a valuable piece of real estate. Can I just say that made me smile? I’m glad to see someone take a spider’s well-being into account. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2023, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-can-a-spiderweb-stay-inhabited-and-maintained/990287/6 "2023-09-18T11:35:54Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I don’t think it’d be possible to re-anchor the web, and so when I retrieve that jacket, I’m going to be destroying a valuable piece of real estate. If the spider is still there. Spiders re-do their webs constantly. If you gently retrieve your jacket without harming the spider she’ll weave a new web in place of the one that’s no longer there. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2023, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-can-a-spiderweb-stay-inhabited-and-maintained/990287/7 "2023-09-18T12:05:58Z")
First off - love this thread and the attitude! I always worry when a spider takes up residence in my house, because I’m worried that there isn’t enough food for it. Given the constant construction, I wonder if you’d be able to get away with moving some of the anchor lines on the jacket, leaving the rest in place, and seeing if the spider can rebuild to the chair. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2023, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-can-a-spiderweb-stay-inhabited-and-maintained/990287/8 "2023-09-18T18:11:08Z")
Here in Chester UK, I have seen several spiders set up webs at a corner of our window. On the outside, and it’s double-glazed. So of course they are completely harmless and it is interesting to watch them. Haven’t really kept track of how long they persist… I would guess it is a month or two? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2023, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-can-a-spiderweb-stay-inhabited-and-maintained/990287/9 "2023-09-18T19:14:17Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > I’m glad to see someone take a spider’s well-being into account. That’s what the Elves said at first about little Shelob. ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2023, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-can-a-spiderweb-stay-inhabited-and-maintained/990287/10 "2023-09-18T19:20:53Z")
> [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](#): > > I always worry when a spider takes up residence in my house, because I’m worried that there isn’t enough food for it. I wonder this all the time when i see spiders in odd corners of my basement. Surely you aren’t getting much action in that dusty nook by the dryer vent! My boat, on the other hand, a smorgasbord for spiders with all the gnats constantly around. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2023, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-can-a-spiderweb-stay-inhabited-and-maintained/990287/11 "2023-09-18T20:58:20Z")
You’re gonna have to buy a new coat. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2023, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-can-a-spiderweb-stay-inhabited-and-maintained/990287/12 "2023-09-18T20:58:58Z")
When winter comes, we stop having any flies around at all. So I would assume that any web will not longer function by then. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2023, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-can-a-spiderweb-stay-inhabited-and-maintained/990287/13 "2023-09-18T21:26:30Z")
> [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](#): > > I always worry when a spider takes up residence in my house, because I’m worried that there isn’t enough food for it. I have sort of wondered about this. I haven’t seen any live insects in my apartment. I guess there are a few, though, that I’m just not noticing, and enough of them are blundering into the web. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2023, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-can-a-spiderweb-stay-inhabited-and-maintained/990287/14 "2023-09-19T13:02:16Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I haven’t seen any live insects in my apartment. I guess there are a few, though, that I’m just not noticing, and enough of them are blundering into the web. Allow me to set your mind at rest! (That will be your reaction to learning that actually [there are probably over a hundred different macroscopic arthropod species resident in your home at any given time,](https://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-bugs-in-homes-20160805-snap-story.html) right?) > [@](#): > > The average home contains more than 100 different species of flies, spiders, beetles, ants and other bugs — with an even greater variety inside houses in wealthier neighborhoods, according to a new [2016] study in Biology Letters. […] > > Most of the bugs in our dwellings are not destructive or disease-carrying critters such as termites, ticks and cockroaches. Instead of pests, the survey found mostly benign species that are often so small that people rarely notice them. […] > > To get an idea of the kinds of bugs that co-habitate with humans, entomologists at North Carolina State University and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences surveyed the homes of 50 volunteers in the Raleigh area. […] > > In total, the bug census included 10,000 specimens, which took scientists two years to categorize. Isn’t that nice? There are probably at least a few hundred bugs in your home for your spider to eat! 🥰 ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2023, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-can-a-spiderweb-stay-inhabited-and-maintained/990287/15 "2023-09-22T06:36:54Z")
I have no problem at all with bugs in my house that are too small to notice and don’t destroy anything! I’m happy to share the space and feed the spiders. There was a biggish jumping spider on my fence this afternoon, and it very obviously noticed me noticing it as I was sitting on a bench. They’re so cute!