# So, releasing spiders outside kills them?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [May 18, 2026, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184 "2026-05-18T16:56:42Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 4
### Author:  [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)
#### Post date: [May 18, 2026, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184/61 "2026-05-18T21:56:28Z")
And they have jobs.
Theyre web designers.
---
### Author:  [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)
#### Post date: [May 18, 2026, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184/62 "2026-05-18T22:21:52Z")
There are no wild silkworms either. But to the best of my knowledge, silkworms rarely infest houses.
---
### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [May 18, 2026, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184/63 "2026-05-18T23:03:00Z")
> [@DSeid](#):
>
> My momma raised me that killing spiders was bad luck,
Same here (Polish folklore). I ain’t got no beef with spiders. They don’t bother me none.
---
### Author:  [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)
#### Post date: [May 18, 2026, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184/64 "2026-05-18T23:10:17Z")
> [@markn\_1](#):
>
> There are no wild silkworms either. But to the best of my knowledge, silkworms rarely infest houses.
According to AI (FWIW):
> [@](#):
>
> There are over 500 species of wild silk-producing moths globally (such as the _Bombyx mandarina_ or the Polyphemus moth). These relatives are fully capable of surviving, flying, and reproducing in natural habitats.
---
### Author:  [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)
#### Post date: [May 18, 2026, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184/65 "2026-05-18T23:16:02Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#):
>
> That was my point as well. How do spiders that supposedly only live indoors, get into newly built houses?
They start out by saving for a down payment…
---
### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [May 18, 2026, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184/66 "2026-05-18T23:16:22Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#):
>
> Most spiders live fast and die young anyway. That’s why they make so many in **[one sitting](https://imgur.com/0MuC6OP)**.
Some of them. There are some spiders that only lay one egg at a time.
> [@Palooka](#):
>
> Give up your house to them?
No matter how much I try to encourage them, I can never seem to get more than two or three in my apartment. Still plenty of room for me.
---
### Author:  [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)
#### Post date: [May 18, 2026, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184/67 "2026-05-18T23:57:13Z")
> [@Odesio](#):
>
> They start out by saving for a down payment…
[Ba dum bump](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRs0OqV4uSc)
---
### Author:  [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2026, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184/68 "2026-05-19T00:05:15Z")
Huh, i looked at the photos of all the spiders in this article
> **[House spider](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_spider)**
>
> The name house spider is a generic term for 11 different spiders commonly found around human dwellings, and may refer to their common name:
And only a couple might be ones I’ve seen in my house. I’ve seen more of them in garages and other “sheltered but outdoors” places. Which makes sense, there’s more food there.
The last spider i saw in my house was a jumping spider.
> **[Jumping spider](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumping_spider)**
>
> See List of Salticidae genera.
> Jumping spiders are spiders in the family Salticidae, with almost 700 genera and around 7,000 described species, making it the largest family of spiders – comprising 13% of spider species. Jumping spiders have some of the best vision among arthropods — being capable of stereoptic color vision — and use sight in courtship, hunting, and navigation.
> Although they normally move unobtrusively and fairly slowly, most species are capable of very agile jumps, notably w...
It crawled out of my folded pillowcase that had been left overnight in the basement laundry room. I gently removed it from my bed and carried it to my bathroom, and wished it good hunting.
I think they mostly live outdoors, but i was too lazy to actually carry it outside. One way or another, it found a place to hide and i haven’t seen it since.
---
### Author:  [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2026, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184/69 "2026-05-19T00:13:57Z")
The last inside spider (other than tiny whispy ones) was a black widow in the garage. Those get squished.
---
### Author:  [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2026, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184/70 "2026-05-19T00:27:34Z")
Gotta agree with black widows going SQUISH. They are a safety hazard to humans and pets.
---
### Author:  [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2026, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184/71 "2026-05-19T00:30:12Z")
And black widows are an excellent reason not to squish other spiders. If you have enough harmless spiders, the dangerous ones have less to eat and a harder time getting established.
---
### Author:  [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2026, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184/72 "2026-05-19T00:40:51Z")
You didn’t have to Google. That decision is on you. 😉
---
### Author:  [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2026, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184/73 "2026-05-19T00:44:53Z")
Have I mentioned the raging Brown Recluse infestation in my lake house?
Not being from their region, neither wife nor I recognized them as anything worrisome. In that insect-heavy environment we thought mo spidah mo bettah.
The first semi-annual visit from the exterminator was … interesting. I’d never seen a grown man have a cow quite like that.
---
### Author:  [@Palooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palooka)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2026, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184/74 "2026-05-19T00:54:36Z")
> [@Chronos](#):
>
> No matter how much I try to encourage them, I can never seem to get more than two or three in my apartment. Still plenty of room for me.
Perhaps the solution we seek is to mail them to you.
---
### Author:  [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2026, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184/75 "2026-05-19T00:56:11Z")
The first annual SDMB spider exchange is sure to be a big hit.
---
### Author:  [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2026, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184/76 "2026-05-19T01:13:38Z")
The only spiders I relocate outside are the Huntsmans that clearly don’t belong on my ceiling. The rest I tend to leave alone, as they remove pests. As long as they’re not in my line of sight, it’s all good.
---
### Author:  [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2026, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184/77 "2026-05-19T09:53:34Z")
I like spiders. Very few are dangerous to humans; I live in an area where malaria-carrying mosquitos exist. Spiders help with that problem.
If I am asked to remove, say, a Huntsman Spider, a large (aka scary) spider, I will catch it humanely and release it into the nearby dog park where it has plenty of trees (and flies… pick up your dog shit, folks) to survive.
I have no issue with spiders, they are looking after me.
Geckos, on the other hand… yes they also eat mosquitos, but their shit adheres to walls. I prefer spiders to geckos.
---
### Author:  [@Apodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apodder)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2026, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184/78 "2026-05-19T13:54:25Z")
Tbh, they’re not doing a good enough job around here…
---
### Author:  [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2026, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184/79 "2026-05-19T15:16:02Z")
Loafing spiders?
---
### Author:  [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2026, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184/80 "2026-05-19T15:28:24Z")
You need more spiders then…
[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184.md?page=3)
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184.md?page=5)