Spiders

Spiders commonly found in Canadian homes include house spiders, wolf spiders, cellar spiders, fishing spiders and, much more infrequently, the black widow. They are usually found in corners of rooms, closets, boxes, dark crevices, basements, garages, and gardens. The spider has an unsegmented body with two main divisions and four pairs of walking legs. It also has organs for producing silk, which is used for making nests, webs to catch prey or cocoons for its eggs. Spiders can have up to eight eyes. With so many eyes, it is surprising that most are near-sighted. Most spiders prey on insects, many of them pests.

Once the prey becomes tangled in the web, the spider immobilizes it by wrapping it in more silk and then injecting venom to paralyze it. Later, the spider injects a predigestive liquid and sucks out all the nutrients from its prey. Not all spiders are web spinners, and there are many types of spiders that use different strategies to catch their food. Most are nocturnal, shy, and avoid confrontation by running away. They will only bite if they feel threatened, for example being squeezed or held.