# Inhaling floating spiders?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inhaling-floating-spiders/187157>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [July 9, 2003, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inhaling-floating-spiders/187157 "2003-07-09T03:30:22Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![dogbutler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogbutler/32/428_2.png) [@dogbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogbutler)\
**Post date:** [July 9, 2003, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inhaling-floating-spiders/187157/1 "2003-07-09T03:30:22Z")

</div>

In Doug’s [column](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mspiderballoon.html), he mentions an “aerial plankton” of spiders flying about. Do we inhale these guys? Is Doug wrong in this [column](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mspidereat.html),and do [these](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=174503) [people](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=188778) not know the half of it?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\
**Post date:** [July 9, 2003, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inhaling-floating-spiders/187157/2 "2003-07-09T04:19:39Z")

</div>

I’m sure some get inhaled occasionally, no harm done.

But not all small spiders can travel by flying web. I’ll bet that almost all the spiders in high-rise buildings were carried up there in people’s groceries, bunches of flowers, and suchlike. Those that made their way out the windows and set up shop would survive on the bugs that surround all buildings, attracted by the lights.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\
**Post date:** [July 9, 2003, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inhaling-floating-spiders/187157/3 "2003-07-09T16:00:38Z")

</div>

♫There was an old lady who swallowed a spider  
that wriggled and wriggled and tickled insider

She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.  
I don’t know why she swallowed the fly…  
I guess she’ll die.♫

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**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:** [July 9, 2003, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inhaling-floating-spiders/187157/4 "2003-07-09T17:59:05Z")

</div>

Your link to the original column is broken. [Try this instead](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mspiderballoon.html).

And I’m guessing that the density of such creepy-crawlie current coasters is low enough that they have a negligible nutritional contribution.