Are you also afraid of spiders at home? Let's learn about the Hobo Spider!

When you see a spider in a corner of your house, in a bathroom, or in a room with old stuff, you get a little scared, don't you? Many of us are a little afraid of spiders. The reason for this is the scary stories we have heard since childhood. Sometimes we also hear about dangerous spiders in foreign countries. Today, we are talking about a type of spider that has scared many people, but there is really no reason for that fear. That is the Hobo Spider. Although this spider is not in Sri Lanka, we can learn a lot about spiders from the story surrounding this spider.

Who is this Hobo Spider?

Simply put, this spider is actually a species of spider that came to America from Europe in the early 1900s. They are most commonly seen in states like Washington and Oregon in the United States. They are said to have gotten their name from the fact that they spread from city to city along the railroad tracks.

For a long time, there was a great fear of these spiders. People thought that when this spider bit them, the wound would become a severe wound (necrosis) that would "melt the flesh". But this has now been scientifically proven to be completely wrong. Therefore, this spider is not as scary as we think.

Is it easy to accurately identify a spider?

Although all spiders look the same, it can be difficult to identify them. Hobo spiders are very similar to other brown spiders. They belong to the Agelenidae family of spiders that build funnel-shaped webs. They have brown bodies, long legs, and can run fast.

To identify a spider 100% accurately, you have to look at it under a microscope. Here are some of the characteristics used to identify a Hobo spider.

Do you understand? It takes so many subtle things to identify a spider. So it's wrong to look at every spider we see at home and decide, "This is a dangerous one."

Is spider venom really dangerous?

The fear of hobo spiders was caused by the fact that these spiders were once wrongly blamed for the flesh-melting wounds inflicted on humans. However, later research proved that this was completely false.

There are very few confirmed cases of hobo spider bites. In one case, a person experienced only mild redness, pain, and a tingling sensation on their leg for about 12 hours. After that, it completely healed.

In our Sri Lankan context, the small spiders that we usually see in our homes are not harmful at all. However, if you bite a large spider like a tarantula, the pain is a little more severe. However, it is very rare to be fatal. The biggest risk is the severe allergic reactions that some people have to spider venom.

Why do spiders come to our houses?

Spiders are actually a helpful species. They help balance the environment by eating other insects like mosquitoes and cockroaches in the house. There are three main reasons why they come into homes:

1. Finding a mate: During the breeding season, they come looking for mates.

2. Looking for food: If there are a lot of insects like mosquitoes and flies in your house, spiders may come to eat them.

3. Because it's easy to get in: If there are holes in the doors and windows of your home or cracks in the walls, they can easily get in.

They usually like to stay in the lower floors of houses, in basements, in closets, and behind cupboards. Outside the house, they make their webs in piles of wood, piles of rocks, cracks in walls, and grassy areas.

How to control spiders at home?

Although spiders are useful, they can be a nuisance when they are everywhere. You can do these simple things to keep them away from your home.

• Seal your doors well: Use door sweeps to seal gaps under doors. Apply weather stripping around windows.
• Seal cracks: Seal cracks in walls and foundations with something like silicone sealant.
• Keep your house clean: Vacuum your house regularly, especially in areas like under cabinets.
• Reduce unnecessary clutter: Reduce unnecessary clutter inside and outside the home. Things like old newspapers and boxes are good hiding places for spiders.
• Keep firewood piles away: If you use firewood at home, do not keep firewood piles leaning against the wall of the house.
• Consider outdoor lighting: Instead of lights that attract insects, use things like sodium vapor lights. This will reduce the number of insects, and therefore reduce the number of spiders that come to eat them.