# What is the best way to kill a wolf spider? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 2, 2021, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-kill-a-wolf-spider/949988 "2021-09-02T15:20:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cathy967](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@Cathy967](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cathy967)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2021, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-kill-a-wolf-spider/949988/1 "2021-09-02T15:20:34Z")
Hey y’all there’s a huge one in the basement right underneath the stairs. Almost 2 inches long. How do you kill it ASAP ---
**Author:** ![Kimera757](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kimera757/32/3765_2.png) [@Kimera757](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimera757)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2021, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-kill-a-wolf-spider/949988/2 "2021-09-02T15:21:39Z")
Why would you? It’s not harmful to humans. Fish it out with a piece of paper and dump it outside. It’s probably still warm outside. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2021, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-kill-a-wolf-spider/949988/3 "2021-09-02T15:23:05Z")
Don’t kill it. They’re perfectly harmless, one of my favorite kinds. ---
**Author:** ![Cathy967](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@Cathy967](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cathy967)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2021, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-kill-a-wolf-spider/949988/4 "2021-09-02T15:24:18Z")
Ok I’ll try ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2021, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-kill-a-wolf-spider/949988/5 "2021-09-02T15:24:32Z")
I hate those terrifying bastards…but yeah. Drop a cup over the top of it, slide a postcard underneath, and then pitch the whole thing into the yard! ---
**Author:** ![Cathy967](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@Cathy967](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cathy967)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2021, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-kill-a-wolf-spider/949988/6 "2021-09-02T15:24:36Z")
Ok haha ---
**Author:** ![Cathy967](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@Cathy967](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cathy967)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2021, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-kill-a-wolf-spider/949988/7 "2021-09-02T15:26:18Z")
What if it’s deep inside a crack in wooden flooring? Will any specific chemicals kill it fast? I sprayed bleach on spiders before… they don’t die… ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2021, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-kill-a-wolf-spider/949988/8 "2021-09-02T15:27:17Z")
hairspray. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2021, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-kill-a-wolf-spider/949988/9 "2021-09-02T15:27:24Z")
No, they don’t, but I drowned a cockroach in ammonia last week if it’s any help. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2021, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-kill-a-wolf-spider/949988/10 "2021-09-02T15:33:16Z")
There must be 50 ways to kill your spider. > **[50 Ways To Kill A Spider](https://www.theodysseyonline.com/50-ways-kill-spider)** > > Some methods may be more practical than others ---
**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:** [September 2, 2021, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-kill-a-wolf-spider/949988/11 "2021-09-02T15:44:48Z")
Take off and nuke it from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure. (another vote here for glass and postcard, or leave it alone) ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2021, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-kill-a-wolf-spider/949988/12 "2021-09-02T16:03:03Z")
Since I’m a fan of irony, I’d use a wolf. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2021, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-kill-a-wolf-spider/949988/13 "2021-09-02T16:14:39Z")
Jesus, let it live, they’re awesome. But look closely, because if you’re very lucky, maybe you’ll get to see a mama. [![](https://www.kidzone.ws/lw/spiders/images/wolfspiderlings.jpg) ](https://www.kidzone.ws/lw/spiders/images/wolfspiderlings.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2021, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-kill-a-wolf-spider/949988/14 "2021-09-02T16:18:03Z")
Don’t kill harmless beings for the sole reason that you are afraid of them. It’s immoral. ---
**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:** [September 2, 2021, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-kill-a-wolf-spider/949988/15 "2021-09-02T16:21:59Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > Don’t kill harmless beings for the sole reason that you are afraid of them. That’s right! Let it bite you first, then it’s justifiable self defense. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2021, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-kill-a-wolf-spider/949988/16 "2021-09-02T16:33:16Z")
Many years ago, I visited someone out in California. I slept on the floor, and before going to sleep, I lay reading, as is my custom. It was the Dover paperback edition of **The Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee** (Robert H. Van Gulik’s translation of the original 18th century novel, rather than one of his original contributions about the man), a moderately hefty trade paperback. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a blur of gray, multi-legged motion and shrewdly realized that it was a spider the size of the palm of my hand. My host helpfully identified it as a Wolf Spider the next morning. I knew I’d get no sleep that night, knowing what I shared the floor with, so, with a ingle swift and sure motion, I converted my book into a spider-swatter. That is one way to kill a wolf spider. I spent the next several minutes cleaning the spider guts off the fortunately slick book cover. The next morning, besides identifying the creature (they didn’t have to see the mangled remains – they knew well enough what was running around their house), they suggested that all I had to do was leave it alone and their german shepherd would have dealt with it. I tried not to think of all its cousins that might have been swarming around the floor. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2021, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-kill-a-wolf-spider/949988/17 "2021-09-02T16:39:09Z")
The thing with house spiders though, is that they eat a lot of the other bugs in your home, including some that are either damaging or carry disease or bite. So if you can get over your fear of spiders (not easy, I know), leave them alone. They’re doing God’s work. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2021, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-kill-a-wolf-spider/949988/18 "2021-09-02T16:44:08Z")
When I lived in the Pacific Northwest, we were instructed to welcome wolf spiders because they chase the venomous hobo spiders away. ---
**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 2, 2021, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-kill-a-wolf-spider/949988/19 "2021-09-02T16:57:02Z")
By old age. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2021, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-kill-a-wolf-spider/949988/20 "2021-09-02T17:17:11Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > The thing with house spiders though, is that they eat a lot of the other bugs in your home, including some that are either damaging or carry disease or bite. So if you can get over your fear of spiders (not easy, I know), leave them alone. They’re doing God’s work. God’s work is eating bugs? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-kill-a-wolf-spider/949988.md?page=2)