# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2021, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-kill-a-wolf-spider/949988/21 "2021-09-02T17:50:02Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > 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) Years ago a mama wolf spider startled me when I switched on the garage lights. I reflexively stomped on it (no disintegrator gun or explosive space modulator was handy) and I had a swarm of baby wolf spiders scurrying around their now late mother. I could just imagine them crying “Mama, wake up!” in teeny tine voices. I still feel guilty about it. ---
**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, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-kill-a-wolf-spider/949988/22 "2021-09-02T17:56:16Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > That’s right! Let it bite you first, then it’s justifiable self defense. Almost anything that has the means to do so will bite in self defense. Still doesn’t mean you should kill it. I hate threads like this, with the KILL THEM ALL BECAUSE WE CAN people who feel so justified, glorying in the death of the harmless. ---
**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, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-kill-a-wolf-spider/949988/23 "2021-09-02T17:58:09Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > Don’t kill harmless beings for the sole reason that you are afraid of them. It’s immoral. That’s my reasoning as well. Even though I have a phobia of the hideous monsters, I’ve escorted many of them to the great outdoors. And YET…just a few weeks ago, one tried to climb my leg while I was in the shower. 😱 That one died. I survived that particular encounter, but still have recurring PTSD. ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2021, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-kill-a-wolf-spider/949988/24 "2021-09-02T18:02:57Z")
The fact that it’s hiding in a crack means it wants to get away from you and be left alone, not hunt you down. Leave it alone. ---
**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:** [September 2, 2021, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-kill-a-wolf-spider/949988/25 "2021-09-02T18:04:07Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > When I lived in the Pacific Northwest, we were instructed to welcome wolf spiders because they chase the venomous hobo spiders away. I think you’re thinking of **giant house spiders**. I don’t know if it’s true they prey on hobo spiders, but that’s what everyone says. This page shows the difference between hobo spiders, giant house spiders, and wolf spiders. [Friendly Neighborhood Spider | Green Plate Special](https://greenplatespecial.org/blog/183466) > [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Even though I have a phobia of the hideous monsters, I’ve escorted many of them to the great outdoors. My wife has gotten used to some spiders. She’ll capture daddy long-legs in the penalty jar and let them go outside. She used to scream and call for me when she saw one. She’ll even occasionally catch-and-release the ‘big black spiders that want to eat my face’. She says I’m the only person she knows who catches spiders in the house and lets them go outside. > [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > And YET…just a few weeks ago, one tried to climb my leg while I was in the shower. A giant house spider crawled across my foot as I was brushing my teeth one morning. He hung around until I finished, and then I put him in the penalty jar until I took him outside. ---
**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, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-kill-a-wolf-spider/949988/26 "2021-09-02T18:14:48Z")
> [@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. Totally–that’s why I don’t kill the far-more-nightmarish house centipedes. I figure if they’re around, it’s because food is around; and if I kill them, their prey will thank me by going forth and multiplying. ---
**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:** [September 2, 2021, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-kill-a-wolf-spider/949988/27 "2021-09-02T18:19:37Z")
I know there are [false black widows](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steatoda_grossa) in the house, but I never see them unless I move furniture. I’m OK with that… but I haven’t mentioned it to the Missus. 😉 ---
**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, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-kill-a-wolf-spider/949988/28 "2021-09-02T18:27:15Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > God’s work is eating bugs? Blssed be the bug eaters. One of the least known phrases from the Sermon on the Mount. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2021, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-kill-a-wolf-spider/949988/29 "2021-09-02T18:28:33Z")
I would strongly consider just giving the spider a **stern** talking to, and then letting both of you go about your respective merry ways. ---
**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:** [September 2, 2021, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-kill-a-wolf-spider/949988/30 "2021-09-02T18:32:37Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > I survived that particular encounter, but still have recurring PTSD Post Traumatic Spider Disorder? Another vote for the cup/paper capture and release method, although one time I released a spider outside and was horrified when another spider shot out from a hiding place and pounced on it. I had escorted the spider to it’s doom. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2021, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-kill-a-wolf-spider/949988/31 "2021-09-02T18:33:22Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Blssed be the bug eaters. One of the least known phrases from the Sermon on the Mount. Well obviously it’s not meant to be taken literally. It refers to the ingestion of any type of arthropod. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2021, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-kill-a-wolf-spider/949988/32 "2021-09-02T18:33:45Z")
**How do you kill it ASAP.** Well, you can’t kill it now! A forensic examination of your computer and internet search history will give you away. Even an attempt to clear your history is not effective, you will be found out. There are no perfect crimes when you start involving the internet. If you kill it, 10,000 offspring will take care of you. And they will come at night. They come at night, mostly. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2021, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-kill-a-wolf-spider/949988/33 "2021-09-02T18:42:53Z")
God’s work, like many of us programmers who never really considered the UX, UI, or even the user needs, is indeed squashing bugs. The “great programmer” is, like all of us, falliable, and we don’t have enough test coverage. ---
**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, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-kill-a-wolf-spider/949988/34 "2021-09-02T19:07:31Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Blssed be the bug eaters. One of the least known phrases from the Sermon on the Mount. Sermon on the Tuffet. ---
**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, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-kill-a-wolf-spider/949988/35 "2021-09-02T19:10:33Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Blssed be the bug eaters. One of the least known phrases from the Sermon on the Mount. Also the only way to defeat the anty christ. ---
**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, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-kill-a-wolf-spider/949988/36 "2021-09-02T19:17:38Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Also the only way to defeat the anty christ. You’re going to smoke a turd in purgatory for that. ---
**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, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-kill-a-wolf-spider/949988/37 "2021-09-02T19:18:45Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Sermon on the Tuffet. That’s whey too silly. ---
**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, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-kill-a-wolf-spider/949988/38 "2021-09-02T19:26:31Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > > [@Pleonast](#): > > > > That’s right! Let it bite you first, then it’s justifiable self defense. > > Almost anything that has the means to do so will bite in self defense. Still doesn’t mean you should kill it. But it’s good advice–people most likely to kill a bug out of fear are least likely to chase it with their hand or foot. ---
**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, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-kill-a-wolf-spider/949988/39 "2021-09-02T19:27:34Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > I hate threads like this, with the KILL THEM ALL BECAUSE WE CAN people who feel so justified, glorying in the death of the harmless. This, 100x. So many people are like, “I kill it because I don’t like how it looks.” They’d freak out in rage if someone else killed a puppy, hamster or butterfly (I’m sure there are a few people in the world that have an odd phobia of those; my cousin is afraid of butterflies, for instance.) But a wolf spider is no more harmful than those. If it were a brown recluse or black widow, I could understand. But 99% of spiders are harmless. ---
**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, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-kill-a-wolf-spider/949988/40 "2021-09-02T19:51:37Z")
Personally, I don’t escort spiders out of the house. I leave them right where they are. Unless right where they are is someplace that’s likely to get squished or otherwise damaged accidentally; then I’ll escort it to a nice safe corner. One of the many gifts Mom gave me was a complete and utter lack of arachnophobia. (now, house centipedes, those I used to be phobic of, and only recently overcame it, but even then, I try not to squish them) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-kill-a-wolf-spider/949988.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-kill-a-wolf-spider/949988.md?page=3)