1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,480 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey 2 00:00:06,519 --> 00:00:10,320 Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren bog Obam. Here. Some people are afraid 3 00:00:10,360 --> 00:00:14,000 Speaker 1: of spiders, maybe even you. It's not uncommon, and some 4 00:00:14,120 --> 00:00:16,759 Speaker 1: research suggests so. The fear of these creatures may be 5 00:00:16,880 --> 00:00:21,520 Speaker 1: genetically hardwired into our brains. But whether that anxiety is 6 00:00:21,640 --> 00:00:24,200 Speaker 1: learned or innate. When you hop in the shower and 7 00:00:24,239 --> 00:00:28,120 Speaker 1: are immediately confronted with the spindle spread of eight hairy legs, 8 00:00:28,400 --> 00:00:30,560 Speaker 1: it's hard not to give a hop right back out. 9 00:00:31,840 --> 00:00:34,640 Speaker 1: And sometimes when you bring somebody into the bathroom to 10 00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:37,879 Speaker 1: help remove said spider, they'll say, oh, it's just a 11 00:00:37,880 --> 00:00:41,960 Speaker 1: wolf spider, nothing to freak out about. Or else they'll say, oh, no, 12 00:00:42,080 --> 00:00:44,640 Speaker 1: it's a wolf spider. Let's both commence the freaking out. 13 00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:49,080 Speaker 1: Either way, it's entirely possible your friend is right about 14 00:00:49,080 --> 00:00:51,760 Speaker 1: it being a wolf spider, because in many parts of 15 00:00:51,800 --> 00:00:54,200 Speaker 1: the world, in the center of the ven diagram of 16 00:00:54,280 --> 00:00:57,600 Speaker 1: spiders that are large and occasionally in your shower you'll 17 00:00:57,640 --> 00:01:02,120 Speaker 1: find this majestic creature. Of course, saying something is a 18 00:01:02,120 --> 00:01:05,320 Speaker 1: wolf spider isn't all that specific. There are a hundred 19 00:01:05,360 --> 00:01:08,560 Speaker 1: genera or families and over twenty three d species of 20 00:01:08,600 --> 00:01:11,200 Speaker 1: wolf spiders in the world over two hundred and thirty 21 00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:13,680 Speaker 1: eight of which occupied different habitats and regions of the 22 00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:18,720 Speaker 1: United States. They're usually well camouflaged, dark colored, with a 23 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:22,399 Speaker 1: usually striped or banded pattern of black, brown, gray, or 24 00:01:22,440 --> 00:01:26,240 Speaker 1: tan markings on their backs and legs. Depending on the species, 25 00:01:26,319 --> 00:01:28,759 Speaker 1: they can range in size from what would call reasonable 26 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:31,040 Speaker 1: something like a quarter of an inch that's six and 27 00:01:31,080 --> 00:01:34,680 Speaker 1: a half millimeters long, to what some would call unreasonable 28 00:01:34,800 --> 00:01:38,520 Speaker 1: that is over an inch or three centimeters. The females 29 00:01:38,560 --> 00:01:40,960 Speaker 1: are always larger than the males and carry their egg 30 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:43,560 Speaker 1: sacs around with them to protect the unborn babies from 31 00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:47,559 Speaker 1: parasites and predators. Once the spiderlings emerge, they ride around 32 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:49,720 Speaker 1: on their mom's back until they're large enough to make 33 00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:53,800 Speaker 1: it on their own. While these robust spiders can be 34 00:01:53,880 --> 00:01:57,280 Speaker 1: alarming house guests, none of the thousands of species are 35 00:01:57,360 --> 00:02:01,840 Speaker 1: dangerous to humans. We spoke with Nancy Heinkel, a professor 36 00:02:01,880 --> 00:02:04,600 Speaker 1: in the Department of Entomology at the University of Georgia. 37 00:02:05,200 --> 00:02:09,400 Speaker 1: She said wolf spiders are harmless and indeed provide valuable 38 00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:12,040 Speaker 1: pest control around our homes and yards because they eat 39 00:02:12,160 --> 00:02:15,400 Speaker 1: pest insects. As might be guessed from their name. Wolf 40 00:02:15,440 --> 00:02:18,919 Speaker 1: spiders are hunters and stalk their prey. They have large eyes, 41 00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:21,880 Speaker 1: giving them exceptional vision and allowing them to spy prey 42 00:02:21,960 --> 00:02:26,880 Speaker 1: and successfully pursue it. These sporty spiders are such strong 43 00:02:26,960 --> 00:02:28,960 Speaker 1: hunters that they don't even need to build webs in 44 00:02:29,040 --> 00:02:31,840 Speaker 1: order to snag a meal. They spend their nights stalking 45 00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:35,240 Speaker 1: around after their quarry and occasionally find their way into 46 00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:39,760 Speaker 1: your house. Hankle said, because spiders feed on insects, they 47 00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:43,160 Speaker 1: seek out places where insects congregate. Think about the numbers 48 00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:45,920 Speaker 1: of insects that show up at your porch light. Spider's 49 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:48,440 Speaker 1: view this as a buffet. To reduce the chance of 50 00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:51,480 Speaker 1: spiders slipping under your door, turn off the porchlight to 51 00:02:51,520 --> 00:02:56,560 Speaker 1: avoid luring insects to your door. Outside, wolf spiders build 52 00:02:56,560 --> 00:02:59,119 Speaker 1: holes or tunnels in the ground, or live in protected 53 00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:02,400 Speaker 1: areas between box in cracks and old stumps, wherever it 54 00:03:02,400 --> 00:03:05,440 Speaker 1: looks safe and dry. According to Hankel, if you find 55 00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:08,480 Speaker 1: a large spider inside your house, there's almost certainly some 56 00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:11,040 Speaker 1: opening large enough for a spider to squeeze in through 57 00:03:11,360 --> 00:03:13,919 Speaker 1: a space under a door, a pipe chase, hole in 58 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:15,960 Speaker 1: the wall where a cable line enters the floor from 59 00:03:15,960 --> 00:03:19,680 Speaker 1: a crawl space. Hankel said, if a spider is big 60 00:03:19,760 --> 00:03:22,240 Speaker 1: enough to enter, it's likely a lot of heated or 61 00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:25,200 Speaker 1: air conditioned air is escaping through the same hole. If 62 00:03:25,240 --> 00:03:27,240 Speaker 1: you're finding a lot of spiders in your home, it's 63 00:03:27,240 --> 00:03:30,040 Speaker 1: probably worth using your detective skills to locate any cracks 64 00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:33,840 Speaker 1: or gaps, seal them up, and save energy while excluding spiders. 65 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:37,600 Speaker 1: But if you do find a wolf spider in your house, 66 00:03:37,840 --> 00:03:39,800 Speaker 1: the best idea is to take a deep breath and 67 00:03:39,880 --> 00:03:43,000 Speaker 1: remember this arachnets on your team riding your house of 68 00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:47,000 Speaker 1: unwanted insects. There's virtually no chance the spider will come 69 00:03:47,040 --> 00:03:49,800 Speaker 1: at you. They will bite if handled or trapped next 70 00:03:49,840 --> 00:03:52,280 Speaker 1: to your skin, but it's unlikely you'd have much for 71 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:55,760 Speaker 1: a reaction to the bite. And remember they will always 72 00:03:55,840 --> 00:03:58,600 Speaker 1: choose to retreat from a human where thousands of times 73 00:03:58,680 --> 00:04:01,280 Speaker 1: larger than them and have opposable thumbs that help us 74 00:04:01,320 --> 00:04:05,920 Speaker 1: wheel flip flops and rolled up newspapers. Ankle said, because 75 00:04:05,960 --> 00:04:08,240 Speaker 1: they are harmless to humans, spiders found in the home 76 00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:11,400 Speaker 1: should be relocated outdoors. To do this, place a jar 77 00:04:11,520 --> 00:04:14,000 Speaker 1: over the spider, slide a stiff piece of paper under 78 00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:22,360 Speaker 1: the jar, and carefully carry it outside for release. Today's 79 00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:25,120 Speaker 1: episode was written by Jesselin Shields and produced by Tyler Clang. 80 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:27,640 Speaker 1: Brain Stuff is a production of I Heart Radio's How 81 00:04:27,680 --> 00:04:29,839 Speaker 1: Stuff Works. For more on this and lots of other 82 00:04:29,920 --> 00:04:33,000 Speaker 1: mostly harmless topics, visit our home planet, how stuff Works 83 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:35,719 Speaker 1: dot com. And for more podcasts for my heart Radio, 84 00:04:35,880 --> 00:04:38,480 Speaker 1: visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 85 00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:39,760 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.