# How many spiders do you figure the average North American house has in it? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 8, 2010, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-spiders-do-you-figure-the-average-north-american-house-has-in-it/524170 "2010-01-08T16:07:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-spiders-do-you-figure-the-average-north-american-house-has-in-it/524170/21 "2010-01-10T22:59:52Z")
When I first moved into my last apartment, we had to deal with a lot of spiders. Actually by we, I mean I, because I was the least arachnophobic (my sister will freak about a little tiny one smaller than a pencil eraser.) I’m of a live and let live philosophy - if it’s far enough way that it’s not bothering me, it may live. If not, I’m finding the vacuum. That distance depends a great deal on it’s size. I’m sure a large part of why we had so many (and many of them were big) was that when the apartments were between tenants the windows and door were left open. My theory is that when there aren’t human occupants to disturb things the bugs (and by bugs I mean anything smaller than me with too many legs) spread out. Naturally once you move back in they have to disappear or get killed / disturbed / kill it with fire! ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-spiders-do-you-figure-the-average-north-american-house-has-in-it/524170/22 "2010-01-10T23:42:56Z")
> [@arachnologus](#): > > Here’s the spider specialist’s answer. (Sorry I didn’t spot this thread sooner). Counting the crawlspace and wall voids, several hundred spiders at least in a typical house. They would belong to anywhere from 5 to 25 different species, depending on how rich a spider habitat your house is (i.e. how many insects and how much moisture is available). I “read somewhere” that you’re seldom more than about six feet from a spider. Seems plausible to me. How say you? > [@arachnologus](#): > > I once did a comparative census of _Tegenaria_ (European house spiders) in Seattle houses, enumerating the first 50 I found in each house. I never had any trouble finding 50 just of this particular genus, and this was without tearing apart any walls or moving the washing machine. Is this the spider that’s so big it’ll flip you off while it carries away your dog? Seriously- how common have they gotten to be in Seattle? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-spiders-do-you-figure-the-average-north-american-house-has-in-it/524170/23 "2010-01-10T23:57:19Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > And if they get eaten outside? Well, then a bird or another spider gets fed. I once “escorted” a house spider out to the front porch; the moment it touched the ground, another spider came out from a crevice, pounced on it and carried it away.:eek: I felt horrible. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2010, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-spiders-do-you-figure-the-average-north-american-house-has-in-it/524170/24 "2010-01-11T00:03:13Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > I “read somewhere” that you’re seldom more than about six feet from a spider. Seems plausible to me. How say you? From the [Spider Myths](http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/spidermyth/myths/3feet.html) page: > [@](#): > > How close the nearest spider may be does, in fact, depend on where you are. If you’re standing on a lush green lawn, you can expect small spiders directly under your shoes, and others within 3 centimeters on all sides. If you’re in the middle of a parking lot, the nearest spider could be 30, 50 or even 100 meters away. If you’re an airplane passenger, the only nearby spiders might be airborne ballooners, and spiders don’t balloon at night, so on a night flight you could be several kilometers from the nearest one. > > Most human situations will be somewhere between these extremes. So, is three feet (or 7-8 feet, or “a few yards”) your average distance from a spider? Nobody knows, because nobody’s done the intricate calculations to find the average distance between a human and a spider. Besides, the mythical statements in these books and articles don’t even call it an average. They’re just a case of how one man’s unguarded statement becomes apocryphal “common knowledge.” > [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > Seriously- how common have they gotten to be in Seattle? I normally find two a year in my house 110 miles north of Seattle. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2010, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-spiders-do-you-figure-the-average-north-american-house-has-in-it/524170/25 "2010-01-11T00:04:15Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > I once “escorted” a house spider out to the front porch; the moment it touched the ground, another spider came out from a crevice, pounced on it and carried it away.:eek: > > I felt horrible. ☹ As my dad used to say: Them’s the breaks of Naval warfare. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Cat\_Z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Little\_Cat\_Z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Cat_Z)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2010, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-spiders-do-you-figure-the-average-north-american-house-has-in-it/524170/26 "2010-01-11T00:05:00Z")
I am not reading this thread. I’m sorry I even saw the title. I don’t want to know. I don’t. La la la la… ---
**Author:** ![arachnologus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dc4da7/32.png) [@arachnologus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/arachnologus)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2010, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-spiders-do-you-figure-the-average-north-american-house-has-in-it/524170/27 "2010-01-11T02:58:42Z")
> [@Is\_it\_safe](#): > > Not sure in total but I manage to remove one-two hobo spiders a month from the place. My wife has been bitten once by one. Whether you might actually be seeing hobo spiders depends on where you are (I found no locality info in your profile.) See the distribution map [here](http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/spidermyth/myths/hobo.html) (click small map to enlarge). Also, as explained on that page, hobo spiders look exactly like maybe 200 harmless relatives to the naked eye. In the city of Seattle, they are almost vanishingly rare compared to their successful competitor the (harmless) giant house spider. As for your wife’s bite – did anyone see that spider? If not, it was probably a misdiagnosis and not a real spider bite. > [@](#): > > Originally posted by **TreacherousCretin** > I “read somewhere” that you’re seldom more than about six feet from a spider. Seems plausible to me. How say you? As already pointed out by Johnny L.A., this one is also [debunked](http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/spidermyth/myths/3feet.html) on my site, in its original “three feet” form. > [@](#): > > Originally posted by **TreacherousCretin** > Is this [_Tegenaria_] the spider that’s so big it’ll flip you off while it carries away your dog? Seriously- how common have they gotten to be in Seattle? Seattle boasts 3 species of _Tegenaria_ (European house spiders) which, like the Three Bears, are small, middle-sized and large. The large one (“giant house spider”) is the most conspicuous because of its size. The ones people actually see are the mature males that wander in search of mates in late summer. They may be totally absent from a few houses but most probably have 25-100 of them in secluded spots. The detailed architecture of the building will determine how many of these end up running across the living room; in some cases the males have little opportunity to reach the human-occupied spaces (probably to the mutual satisfaction of the spiders and humans :)). These spiders don’t know you exist; if you’re scared of them that’s your problem. In reality they are so docile that I use them as hands-on demonstrators for school children. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2010, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-spiders-do-you-figure-the-average-north-american-house-has-in-it/524170/28 "2010-01-11T03:48:45Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > In my experience, there are some questions it it better not to know the answer to. In that category are whether your parents truly loved you or only the idea of you; whatever happened to that girl you kissed on the last day of 8th grade and were passionately in love with but never saw again; and the exact number of spiders in your house. I’m starting to get that. Small, medium, and large European house spiders? Large? I don’t think I want to know. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2010, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-spiders-do-you-figure-the-average-north-american-house-has-in-it/524170/29 "2010-01-11T04:01:26Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Large? I don’t think I want to know. [Here’s one I caught](http://www.flickr.com/photos/27492458@N05/4265083826/) a year or two ago. Sorry for the poor quality. There’s a smaller spider in there too, and there’s a disposable lighter for scale. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2010, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-spiders-do-you-figure-the-average-north-american-house-has-in-it/524170/30 "2010-01-11T04:03:33Z")
Gah. I understand spiders are necessary and do good things, but why do they have to be so goddamned _creepy_? ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2010, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-spiders-do-you-figure-the-average-north-american-house-has-in-it/524170/31 "2010-01-11T04:47:23Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > [Here’s one I caught](http://www.flickr.com/photos/27492458@N05/4265083826/) a year or two ago. Sorry for the poor quality. There’s a smaller spider in there too, and there’s a disposable lighter for scale. **arachnologus** , we have these in the northeast too, right? Because they look like the hoards in the basement. They don’t bite people, do they? Besides the upsetting habit of drowning themselves even after an attempt to redirect them away from the path of the showerhead, I have no problem with them. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2010, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-spiders-do-you-figure-the-average-north-american-house-has-in-it/524170/32 "2010-01-11T05:16:33Z")
I read a study in a Missouri town found 80 % of the houses had Brown Recluses. ---
**Author:** ![arachnologus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dc4da7/32.png) [@arachnologus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/arachnologus)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2010, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-spiders-do-you-figure-the-average-north-american-house-has-in-it/524170/33 "2010-01-11T05:34:50Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > **arachnologus** , we have these in the northeast too, right? Because they look like the hoards in the basement. They don’t bite people, do they? Nope, giant house spiders (native to England) have been found in the USA only in the Pacific NW. But there are numerous other species that look similar to the naked eye. Real spider ID requires a microscope. In any case, no spiders (even the small minority of more toxic ones) go out of their way to bite people. For a bite to occur, the spider has to (1) be standing on the person’s skin, and (2) become trapped there. The idea that spiders crawl into people’s beds and bite them is strictly an urban legend. > [@](#): > > Originally posted by **gonzomax** > I read a study in a Missouri town found 80 % of the houses had Brown Recluses. Could even be higher than 80%. Missouri is the center of that species’ distribution. But (as per another study), even in a house with a brown recluse population of over 2000, actual human bites never happened! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2010, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-spiders-do-you-figure-the-average-north-american-house-has-in-it/524170/34 "2010-01-11T05:44:33Z")
> [@arachnologus](#): > > The idea that spiders crawl into people’s beds and bite them is strictly an urban legend. I had a ‘spot’ on both inner calves at about the same position on each one. They were about 10 mm in diameter, and persisted for about a year. You can barely see them now, but they are surrounded by a ring of pale (practically white) skin. I’d assumed that a spider or an insect had become trapped between my calves and bit me. I never had it checked out; and as I said, they’ve pretty much disappeared. So I’m not going to worry about them. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2010, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-spiders-do-you-figure-the-average-north-american-house-has-in-it/524170/35 "2010-01-11T06:47:32Z")
> [@arachnologus](#): > > As already pointed out by Johnny L.A., this one is also [debunked](http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/spidermyth/myths/3feet.html) on my site, in its original “three feet” form. I should have mentioned that I didn’t wonder if it was literally true (24/7 no matter where you are), but in a vague, “generally speaking” sense. But it’s still silly, I now admit. . ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-spiders-do-you-figure-the-average-north-american-house-has-in-it/524170/36 "2010-01-13T21:24:16Z")
I’m not finding this thread reassuring, but thank you **arachnologus** for the interesting information. Just keep them away from me. =^.^= ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-spiders-do-you-figure-the-average-north-american-house-has-in-it/524170/37 "2010-01-13T21:27:48Z")
> [@Silver Tyger Girl](#): > > I’m not finding this thread reassuring, but thank you **arachnologus** for the interesting information. Just keep them away from me. =^.^= I have directed the spiders under my command to leave you be so long as it is reasonably practical. Unfortuantely that still leaves eleventy quadrillion gunning for you. And some of them are Vulcans. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-spiders-do-you-figure-the-average-north-american-house-has-in-it/524170/38 "2010-01-13T21:32:21Z")
**Arachnologus** , You might enjoy this thread where the “spider question” is being hashed out in the context of evolutionary psychology - particularly, why do many people have spider phobias? (My position is that spiders would never have been a major threat to people and so an evolutionary explaination is unlikely): [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=11989223#post11989223](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=11989223#post11989223) ---
**Author:** ![arachnologus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dc4da7/32.png) [@arachnologus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/arachnologus)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-spiders-do-you-figure-the-average-north-american-house-has-in-it/524170/39 "2010-01-14T06:31:56Z")
> [@Silver Tyger Girl](#): > > Just keep them away from me. =^.^= What sort of compensation are you offering for a full-time spider-keeper-awayer? 🙂 Incidentally, I’ve added a post to the evolutionary psych thread Malthus referenced above. ---
**Author:** ![GoodOmens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@GoodOmens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodOmens)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-spiders-do-you-figure-the-average-north-american-house-has-in-it/524170/40 "2010-01-14T15:43:55Z")
I have a significant fear of the little creepers but I’m starting to get more used to them now that I own a house. As long as they don’t make themselves a nuisance, they can hang around; live and let live, you know? Even if they do bug/scare me, I almost never squish one (that’s bad luck). Instead they usually get a free ride outside on the Index Card Express. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-spiders-do-you-figure-the-average-north-american-house-has-in-it/524170.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-spiders-do-you-figure-the-average-north-american-house-has-in-it/524170.md?page=3)