Jumping spiders galore!

20 years ago

Hubby & I had to sidestep about 6-ft off the front sidewalk to avoid having a thumbnail size jumping spider (black with white stripes & green jaws/fangs) land on us as it came from the roof above the garage. It eventually made its way inside & I captured it & put it back outside.

There's another one about 3/4 its size that also made its way inside & was captured & put back outside.

Son & I were out front in the same area as the green-fanged jumper & saw two gray jumpers "greeting & playing hide & seek" with each other. It was funny to watch & reminded us of the crabs on Finding Nemo! They were approx 1/3 the size of the first spider.

Then today I was watering a potted plant on my patio out back & from the lobelia comes another, about 1/2 the size of the first. And in the same pot was a different one the size of the first or slightly bigger (grayish-black with one white dot on its rounded abdomen).

I left both alone, but the big one seemed to follow me around on the patio as I backed away from it, jumping from the pot I found it in, to a patio chair, to another chair closest to me. Rather than have it land on me I went inside.

Then after coming in I saw a gray one dangling from the stovetop!

I'm finding more & more of these jumpers, giants & babies, gray, & black & white, inside & outside the house.

Why after two years of finding only a few baby jumpers & teasing/playing with them, am I seeing grand-daddy jumpers?! Did they grow that quickly since then?

They're the only spider I like, but their sheer numbers all of a sudden & them making their way inside quite often are starting to creep me out!

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Comments (6)

rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
20 years ago
There are many species of jumping spiders, from the very teensy to quite large. The first one you mentioned is called the Bold Jumping Spider. ;-)

Why so many this year? Their ancestors from previous years sent off telegrams before they went to spider heaven telling ALL of the aunts and uncles that your home ROCKS!

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1168252}}
LibbyLiz
Original Author
20 years ago
That's the biggest (& second & third largest) I mentioned. They're quite pretty!

I helped a friend in Arkansas catch one for her terrarium from a very tall monstera at the nursery where she worked. M C Hammer's dance was mild compared to what we were seen doing when it jumped on us! LOL

Now if I could only find pics of the grand daddy/mamma that was following me on the patio & the little gray ones!
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LibbyLiz
Original Author
20 years ago
Question, will they kill black widows? We get those in areas on our patio, in front of our house & in our garage.

And contrary to popular belief, we get them inside. They come into our downstairs bathroom, which is right off the front door entrance. It has a gap at the bottom & on the latching side that allows all sorts of critters to come in. They've been in corners at floor level, on the window ledge, on the above-toilet shelving unit where we reach in to get cologne/perfume, cotton balls & swabs, etc., & on the floor behind the toilet.

I've killed several inside & out, & know they're widows because I had them identified by medical personnel.
organicrepublican
20 years ago
Watch the jumpers - I've never been terribly cautious of spiders figuring they eat plenty of bad bugs - til one got those fangs in my finger last summer. Some of the jumpers have a very powerful and painful chomp!
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
20 years ago
Have no idea regarding the watch dog tendencies of jumping spiders. They seem fairly fearless, however. I'm not real sure if I would want to 'employ' a pack of them, however. ;-)

Is it possible for you to install some weather stripping or other device to seal your home from critters? Something else that I will highly recommend is aerosol boric acid applied as a barrier (nearly invisible) across the threshold. You could spray it in any location where those spiders lurk (not near food prep areas). It is not a chemical product, but plain boric acid and a bit of sticker delivered in aerosol form. It works GREAT! I had regular visitors coming in from my garage (spiders and house centipedes) until I began using that stuff across the threshold. Let me see if I can find the name of it......hold on.

Okay, it's called PermaDust. I can't suggest where you might be able to find it locally, but you could order it on line. Of course, boric acid dust is readily found in the market place.

Here is a link that might be useful:
LibbyLiz
Original Author
20 years ago
organicrep,

I refer to them as mini tarantulas! LOL So maybe I wasn't so wrong after all, now that you mention their bite!

rhizo,

I used sticky boards (folds into a triangle or leave flat) before & it caught a lot of bugs, but others were smart or just lucky & didn't get trapped, so they didn't work but maybe 50%. They were ugly too, a fake wood grain & just sitting there on the carpet drawing attention from whomever visited.

I also tried Bayer 9-month control spray & that didn't stop them from entering.

I may have to look into the boric acid stuff 'cause our rental authority's maint man wouldn't do anything about the gaps around our door. Either he was lazy & lying or it really is a permanent threshold & can't be fixed & some gaps are necessary for air flow.

Thanks for the rec!