WEBVTT - Should You Be Afraid of Wolf Spiders?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff, Lauren bog Obam. Here. Some people are afraid

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<v Speaker 1>of spiders, maybe even you. It's not uncommon, and some

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<v Speaker 1>research suggests so. The fear of these creatures may be

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<v Speaker 1>genetically hardwired into our brains. But whether that anxiety is

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<v Speaker 1>learned or innate. When you hop in the shower and

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<v Speaker 1>are immediately confronted with the spindle spread of eight hairy legs,

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<v Speaker 1>it's hard not to give a hop right back out.

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<v Speaker 1>And sometimes when you bring somebody into the bathroom to

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<v Speaker 1>help remove said spider, they'll say, oh, it's just a

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<v Speaker 1>wolf spider, nothing to freak out about. Or else they'll say, oh, no,

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<v Speaker 1>it's a wolf spider. Let's both commence the freaking out.

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<v Speaker 1>Either way, it's entirely possible your friend is right about

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<v Speaker 1>it being a wolf spider, because in many parts of

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<v Speaker 1>the world, in the center of the ven diagram of

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<v Speaker 1>spiders that are large and occasionally in your shower you'll

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<v Speaker 1>find this majestic creature. Of course, saying something is a

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<v Speaker 1>wolf spider isn't all that specific. There are a hundred

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<v Speaker 1>genera or families and over twenty three d species of

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<v Speaker 1>wolf spiders in the world over two hundred and thirty

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<v Speaker 1>eight of which occupied different habitats and regions of the

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<v Speaker 1>United States. They're usually well camouflaged, dark colored, with a

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<v Speaker 1>usually striped or banded pattern of black, brown, gray, or

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<v Speaker 1>tan markings on their backs and legs. Depending on the species,

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<v Speaker 1>they can range in size from what would call reasonable

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<v Speaker 1>something like a quarter of an inch that's six and

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<v Speaker 1>a half millimeters long, to what some would call unreasonable

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<v Speaker 1>that is over an inch or three centimeters. The females

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<v Speaker 1>are always larger than the males and carry their egg

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<v Speaker 1>sacs around with them to protect the unborn babies from

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<v Speaker 1>parasites and predators. Once the spiderlings emerge, they ride around

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<v Speaker 1>on their mom's back until they're large enough to make

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<v Speaker 1>it on their own. While these robust spiders can be

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<v Speaker 1>alarming house guests, none of the thousands of species are

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<v Speaker 1>dangerous to humans. We spoke with Nancy Heinkel, a professor

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<v Speaker 1>in the Department of Entomology at the University of Georgia.

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<v Speaker 1>She said wolf spiders are harmless and indeed provide valuable

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<v Speaker 1>pest control around our homes and yards because they eat

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<v Speaker 1>pest insects. As might be guessed from their name. Wolf

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<v Speaker 1>spiders are hunters and stalk their prey. They have large eyes,

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<v Speaker 1>giving them exceptional vision and allowing them to spy prey

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<v Speaker 1>and successfully pursue it. These sporty spiders are such strong

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<v Speaker 1>hunters that they don't even need to build webs in

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<v Speaker 1>order to snag a meal. They spend their nights stalking

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<v Speaker 1>around after their quarry and occasionally find their way into

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<v Speaker 1>your house. Hankle said, because spiders feed on insects, they

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<v Speaker 1>seek out places where insects congregate. Think about the numbers

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<v Speaker 1>of insects that show up at your porch light. Spider's

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<v Speaker 1>view this as a buffet. To reduce the chance of

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<v Speaker 1>spiders slipping under your door, turn off the porchlight to

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<v Speaker 1>avoid luring insects to your door. Outside, wolf spiders build

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<v Speaker 1>holes or tunnels in the ground, or live in protected

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<v Speaker 1>areas between box in cracks and old stumps, wherever it

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<v Speaker 1>looks safe and dry. According to Hankel, if you find

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<v Speaker 1>a large spider inside your house, there's almost certainly some

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<v Speaker 1>opening large enough for a spider to squeeze in through

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<v Speaker 1>a space under a door, a pipe chase, hole in

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<v Speaker 1>the wall where a cable line enters the floor from

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<v Speaker 1>a crawl space. Hankel said, if a spider is big

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<v Speaker 1>enough to enter, it's likely a lot of heated or

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<v Speaker 1>air conditioned air is escaping through the same hole. If

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<v Speaker 1>you're finding a lot of spiders in your home, it's

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<v Speaker 1>probably worth using your detective skills to locate any cracks

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<v Speaker 1>or gaps, seal them up, and save energy while excluding spiders.

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<v Speaker 1>But if you do find a wolf spider in your house,

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<v Speaker 1>the best idea is to take a deep breath and

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<v Speaker 1>remember this arachnets on your team riding your house of

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<v Speaker 1>unwanted insects. There's virtually no chance the spider will come

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<v Speaker 1>at you. They will bite if handled or trapped next

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<v Speaker 1>to your skin, but it's unlikely you'd have much for

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<v Speaker 1>a reaction to the bite. And remember they will always

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<v Speaker 1>choose to retreat from a human where thousands of times

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<v Speaker 1>larger than them and have opposable thumbs that help us

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<v Speaker 1>wheel flip flops and rolled up newspapers. Ankle said, because

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<v Speaker 1>they are harmless to humans, spiders found in the home

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<v Speaker 1>should be relocated outdoors. To do this, place a jar

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<v Speaker 1>over the spider, slide a stiff piece of paper under

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<v Speaker 1>the jar, and carefully carry it outside for release. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>episode was written by Jesselin Shields and produced by Tyler Clang.

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<v Speaker 1>Brain Stuff is a production of I Heart Radio's How

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff Works. For more on this and lots of other

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<v Speaker 1>mostly harmless topics, visit our home planet, how stuff Works

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