# So, releasing spiders outside kills them? **URL:** \ **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:** 7
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184/121 "2026-05-21T19:57:41Z")
It’s going to vary by region, but the spiders I get in my house in England include: House spiders (Eratigena app) - habitats include houses, but also outbuildings, wood piles, hollow trees, dense vegetation. Crab spiders (Misumena vatia) - I sometimes find these on my houseplants; they live on flowering plants and would probably prefer to be outside. Cellar spiders (Pholcus phalangioides) - these probably don’t do well outdoors as they are not native - originating in the tropics. Zebra jumping spiders (Salticus scenicus) - these live on the walls outside but sometimes find their way inside. They probably don’t survive long if they get stuck INdoors. Probably a dozen other species and maybe a few of them are only really capable of surviving inside a house, but it’s not the general case - but “Some of the spiders you put outside probably died” isn’t so clickable as “Every spider you put outside…”. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184/122 "2026-05-21T20:01:42Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > former(?) poster Lynne42 Last visited in 2022. At least while logged on as herself. So decent bet she’s moved on for good. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184/123 "2026-05-21T20:57:10Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > So decent bet she’s moved on for good. Or someone set her outside and she perished. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184/124 "2026-05-21T21:24:57Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > Or someone set her outside and she perished. Yowza! ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184/125 "2026-05-21T21:51:17Z")
Our default bug and spider control mechanism: [![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5h36J2rfQkmfZnbO7gD3c8SsuZ0iUak16Xqpbl8xmtirfJGXhAETsEbu1UYdR3hLNHH7b86rQNMm0vT7XkB-TXLZ59efmfpaEVHktGeyjgWUE2RJwAx3jcfA-_-qrChgJzYghG1TFTINB2vks0OLLIYgdPhBzegyVUSiiM4o_yiLTI0fDI58XKMP8Zjs/s4000/1000017505.jpg) ](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5h36J2rfQkmfZnbO7gD3c8SsuZ0iUak16Xqpbl8xmtirfJGXhAETsEbu1UYdR3hLNHH7b86rQNMm0vT7XkB-TXLZ59efmfpaEVHktGeyjgWUE2RJwAx3jcfA-_-qrChgJzYghG1TFTINB2vks0OLLIYgdPhBzegyVUSiiM4o_yiLTI0fDI58XKMP8Zjs/s4000/1000017505.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184/126 "2026-05-21T22:55:02Z")
That’s a huge bug! I hope you disposed of it properly. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184/127 "2026-05-21T23:05:00Z")
No, no, the chiton-creature disposal device is the bitey bits, not the stompin’ parts. ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184/128 "2026-05-21T23:24:55Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > They got more than I wanted to give by being pushed outside. I’ve caught and released 3 spiders since this thread started and it’s not a trivial task. They better be appreciative. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2026, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184/129 "2026-05-22T15:49:45Z")
> [@dougrb](#): > > They better be appreciative. I’m sure that’s the last thought that went through their little doomed minds. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2026, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184/130 "2026-05-22T21:00:01Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Accepted that the species “house spider” - which is smallish spider that stays near its web usually - is synanthropic, evolved to live with us in shelters. What fraction of spiders that I see routinely in my house are that species vs other spiders just wandering through? This is why you should Know Your Spiders so you can recognize the outdoor ones when you find them in your kitchen. While I typically ignore any eight-legged crawlies on my walls, I assume that a grass spider in my kitchen isn’t having a great time of it without its giant messy web and silk tunnel. And I can’t really let that sort of spider construction occur in the pantry without a permit (…from my wife) ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2026, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184/131 "2026-05-23T18:48:14Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Know Your Spiders Out of curiosity, there is an app. Picture Insect: Bug Identifier ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2026, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184/132 "2026-05-25T23:29:08Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Two words: Eyelash mites. 🤪 Three Words: [Operation Gross Eye](https://youtu.be/hpVI7_xqZOw?si=xwjQY61W1QPtq4sU&t=89) ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2026, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184/133 "2026-06-01T16:20:12Z")
I usually tolerate spiders if they keep their distance, as they are beneficial to flying pests. One time (USA) I saw this gold thing that had 15 pairs up legs swishing its way up the wall. I grabbed a small USPS box and trapped it, then slid a manila envelope between the box and the wall to make a top and let that thing outside and it swished its way directly away from the house. Back to my computer, I identified it as a House Centipede which are very beneficial in killing other crawling pests like cockroaches, silverfish. Still, there was a lot of “nope, nope!” in my initial reaction. In the UK, there was one year where every summer night fire-brats (close relative of silverfish) would enter the house and crawl all over. I’d find where they clustered during the day, like under doormats, bucket them and dump them at least 100 feet away. Same number every night would return. The best stuff to block them was Diatomaceous earth, which at their size is like crawling through a field of barbed wire. That helped, yet you can’t put it on walls so they’d go that way. Borax (Boric Acid) for that. Still some would make it in the house. We’d sweep them into a pan and toss them far enough away. Fewer and fewer and eventually they disappeared. I was ready for them the next year, yet they must have found another home. I don’t care if they all died or only emerge every few years like Cicada’s. We’re out of that house after two more summers of no brats. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184/134 "2026-06-02T17:08:33Z")
> [@Coriolanus](#): > > One time (USA) I saw this gold thing that had 15 pairs up legs swishing its way up the wall. I grabbed a small USPS box and trapped it, then slid a manila envelope between the box and the wall to make a top and let that thing outside and it swished its way directly away from the house. I let house centipedes do their thing in the basement, but if they venture upstairs i remove them from the house. They do look creepy. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184/135 "2026-06-02T22:15:40Z")
In SoFL we often see reddish brown centipedes (millipedes?) indoors. 1 to 1-1/4" long, not even 1/8" diameter body. Insane numbers of legs. They seem to die indoors more than they thrive. I see 20 dessicated curled-up corpses per live mover inside. And the opposite outside. They’re actually fun to watch moving, with their waves of synchronized legs moving forward on their body (visually backwards) as they propel themselves forward. Damned good thing they’re not the size of pythons; that’d be nightmare fuel. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2026, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184/136 "2026-06-24T08:48:09Z")
Reminds me of a joke where a centipede passes by an ant who asks, “How to you move all those legs? I have enough trouble with just six.” “Why, it’s easy. First I move this one, then this one on the other side, then this-- no, that’s not right. _This_ one, then this other one… crap.” When he thought about it he’d get all tangled up. ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2026, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184/137 "2026-08-21T21:00:37Z")
[https://www.patreon.com/TheOtherEnd/posts/get-that-spider-167139103](https://www.patreon.com/TheOtherEnd/posts/get-that-spider-167139103) ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2026, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184/138 "2026-08-21T21:46:37Z")
I’m a softie, I don’t like to kill critters just because. On the other hand, they need to stay the hell out of my living quarters. So they get evicted, and sometimes even spared being run down the shower drain. I did notice Spiders seem to show an interest in guitar music, I swear, but apparently only the spacey sounding alternate tunings. Arachnids like DADGAD, who knew? I’ve got an audience! No matter, they _still_ get evicted. I figured they would do OK in the attached garage. ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2026, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184/139 "2026-08-22T17:58:51Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > House spiders (Eratigena app) - > Cellar spiders (Pholcus phalangioides) > Zebra jumping spiders (Salticus scenicus) I have all these (the zebra spiders are particularly intelligent) and also a few garden spiders ( _Araneus_) that sometimes colonise the inside of the french windows, because they are open nearly all the time in the current UK serial heatwaves. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2026, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184/140 "2026-08-29T16:17:21Z")
Not counting Ohio, animals tend only to live where they have a chance to thrive. Any time I’ve noticed mice, spiders, ants, etc. in my home, they have showed up in response to an opportunity I accidentally created for them. Making them go away has been as simple as removing the opportunity. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-releasing-spiders-outside-kills-them/1030184.md?page=8)