Pest or Best No. 6: The Spider
Last week, the Daily Mail ran a half-page
report on a spider infestation at a house in Australia that generated over
20,000 shares across social media and over 500 comments! Such is the notoriety
of the spider, that a household pest problem can be reported as international
news with the power to make readers worldwide quake in their boots! However,
what do we know about this eight-legged creature, and does it really merit the
title of ‘pest’…or should we rather begin to recognise the spider as one of the
‘best’ insects we have the fortune to live alongside.
So what are the facts? Well, there are
more than 35,000 species of spider across the world and roughly only 1000 of
these are found in the UK. Amongst UK arachnids, very few members pose a threat
to humans, with their bites rarely prompting an adverse reaction. In
exceptional cases, skin rashes and nausea can develop as a short-term side
effect to a UK spider bite – however the risks in this country are certainly
minimal!
In the UK, it can be argued that where
spiders really pose a threat is to the mental health of some individuals. For while
spiders prompt little or no reaction from the majority of the public, the mere
sight of a spider can reduce others to queasiness, tears and even panic
attacks!
However, surely this is the product of
social conditioning rather than a reasonable reaction to the dangers posed by spider
- and love them or hate them, spiders play an essential role in the functioning
of our ecosystem….
For indeed spiders are, in essence,
nature’s pest controllers – consuming all the pests which would otherwise
overrun our food sources that keep us from famine. Predators such as the spider
form the dual weapon against insects overrunning our crops, along with chemical
pesticides (the latter of which can often pose harmful effects to the wider
environment if used inappropriately). In the absence of pesticides, such as in
organic farming, spiders prove essential to the effective management of pests.
What’s more, even the spider’s bite
(the most feared aspect of the arachnid) can be more beneficial than we think. A
spider’s venom contains thousands of toxins which university studies have
suggested could hold the key to curing a range of debilitating diseases, from
Muscular Dystrophy to Epilepsy. Meanwhile,
the Washington Post reports that spider silk has a higher strength-to-density
ratio than steel, and could therefore have promising application in the design
of new architectural structures, airplanes and even bullet proof vests!
So all things considered, the spider is
more ‘best’ than ‘pest’ in our eyes, and rightly merits our gratitude! There
will of course be times when the odd spider sighting in our home can turn into
an infestation, and in such occasions it’s always best to call a member of
Pestforce to swiftly remove the problem. But otherwise, next time you see a
spider, spare a thought to what good it does in the world before you squish it!