Ask a Pest Pro: Where Do Spiders Really Go During the Winter Months?
When the weather is warm, you can spot a spider just about anywhere: creeping through the grass, crawling across the floor, joining you for a shower, and making itself at home in your shoe, in a closet, or in the corner of the wall. But when the temperatures drop, those spider sightings get fewer and farther between.
While that may be a relief, where exactly do spiders go in the winter? Do they die? If not, how do the eight-legged critters survive the colder months? We asked pest control experts to weigh in, and they had some interesting answers.
What happens to spiders in the winter?
Some spiders find their way indoors, but not every species wants to shack up in your home, says Marc Potzler, a board-certified entomologist for Ehrlich Pest Control.
“Spiders have evolved to survive the winter, with many being able to withstand subfreezing temperatures,” he says. “If spiders are exposed to gradual cooling temperatures, they can build up ‘antifreeze’ in their tissues.” (Yes, really.)
Those protective compounds “lower the temperature that crystals would form in and keeps them from freezing,” Potzler explains. As long as ice and frost doesn’t build up on the arachnid, it’ll get through the holidays just fine.
It depends on the species, however, says Akito Kawahara, Ph.D., assistant professor and curator of the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida. “Many spiders, like big orb weavers, usually die in the late fall,” he says. “They mate earlier in the fall, and they don’t make it after that.”
The egg sacs that the females lay, though, can survive through the winter, eventually hatching in the springtime. “A spider that is laying eggs will protect them from the elements and will spend the winter on the egg sacs to keep them warm,” Potzler says. “Many species only live for a year or so, but large ones, like tarantulas can live for more than a decade.”
Where do spiders survive in the winter?
Anywhere they want, really. Many spiders look for shelter where they can hunker down for the winter. That may include piles of rocks, leaves, or wood, Potzler says.
Once they find a cozy spot, they’ll go into a state called diapause, where their bodies slow down and basically go dormant, says explains Ben Hottel, Ph.D., technical services manager at Orkin, LLC. It’s not exactly like hibernation, though, as spiders may come out on warmer days to hunt for food.
Of course, if spiders find shelter indoors where it’s warm and there’s moisture and food, they can “continue to survive and thrive inside,” Potzler says.
When do spiders re-emerge after the winter?
When the temperatures start to warm up, spiders start to “thaw out and come back to their active life,” Potzler says. “Spiders typically re-emerge when the temperature is consistently around 40 degrees.” In general, spiders start to come out again when other insects do. “They need something to eat after all,” Hottel says.
Dealing with too many for your liking? Spiders are inherently helpful because they keep other pest populations under control. But if they truly bother you, read up on how to get rid of spiders in your home.
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