Will a very large house spider live in a conservatory?

[SJANSELL]

Hi weird question I know, but we have a really big house spider walking round our living room ceiling - has been perambulating for a week. We often get them and I think they live mainly in a crack by the fireplace, but we just moved a grand daughter clock which had a large thick web in it so maybe it came from there.

Given our (quite small) conservatory has an enormous number of insects both dead and alive in it (especially a huge number of hoverflies this year) could we move Boris into it? Not that I'm that keen....worried he will suddenly run over my foot and scare me!

Or do they prefer drier cracks etc? It's quite humid in the conservatory.

I don't know much about spiders and can never fathom out what they eat or drink in the house. And should it be Boris or Borisina? Are they more likely to be female?

I have noticed on the (very rare) occasions I dust, that they leave a long strand of web all round the top of the wall. Does this collect insects?

Many thanks,

Sarah

[wizzo]

Well we have a conservatory and I'd say that 90% (or more) of all out large spiders enter from that area. It's the gap around the polycarbonate roofing. It's a perfect entrance for them! Wizzo

[John_M]

Originally Posted by SJANSELL

Hi weird question I know, but we have a really big house spider walking round our living room ceiling - has been perambulating for a week. We often get them and I think they live mainly in a crack by the fireplace, but we just moved a grand daughter clock which had a large thick web in it so maybe it came from there.

Given our (quite small) conservatory has an enormous number of insects both dead and alive in it (especially a huge number of hoverflies this year) could we move Boris into it? Not that I'm that keen....worried he will suddenly run over my foot and scare me!

Or do they prefer drier cracks etc? It's quite humid in the conservatory.

I don't know much about spiders and can never fathom out what they eat or drink in the house. And should it be Boris or Borisina? Are they more likely to be female?

I have noticed on the (very rare) occasions I dust, that they leave a long strand of web all round the top of the wall. Does this collect insects?

Many thanks,

Sarah

I assume by house spider you mean a Tegenaria sp?
If the spider is wandering, it's more likely to be male. If you get a close look, look at the palps (the appendages between the jaws and the first pair of legs); mature male spiders have enlarged ends, they look a bit like boxing gloves. The abdomen on males is usually smaller, and they are leggier looking.
I would just let it go in the conservatory, it'll find somewhere to live. If it is a male, they die after mating, but females can live several years.
I don't think humidity is a problem.
The long strand of web does indeed catch insects.
They build their webs in corners or between things. It's a sort of sheet shape usually with a tube shaped bit at one corner. (funnel web!) They eat invertebrates, so will help to keep your conservatory relatively fly free. As far as I know, they get their moisture from their prey, so don't drink.
Soon one of the experts will be on and tell you that I've just said a load of rubbish...

[whaleomeloette]

as long as the concervatory has a plentiful food supply he would be fine in there, but hes more than likely just having a wander, as said above they come in and look for a mate so he wont stay in one place (if it is a male that is)
when it comes to spider season here they just run all over the place rather than setting up shop

[SJANSELL]

Hi, thanks for the comments and info. Must say I just spent some time reading past spider threads (!!) - never realised the topic was so amusing! I loved the ones on whether conkers keep spiders away and the arachnaphoia comments! I would really like to know if Saggy's spider did turn out to be a tarantula.

Boris is just hanging in the corner atm, all crunched up and looking over my shoulder as I type. I did a bit more research and it does appear he may be a wandering male, but can't get up there to check the physical details.

Wikipedia was quite helpful if not very detailed and I liked the bit about their speed: 'With speeds clocked at 1.73 ft/s (0.53 m/s), the giant house spider held the Guinness Book of World Records for top spider speed until 1987 when it was displaced by sun spiders (solfugids) although the latter are not true spiders as they belong to a different order.' They certainly seem fast on the floor!

I am going to try out a couple of insect catchers - to get rid of hoverflies and assorted insects in the conservatory roof so may have a go with Boris and then donate the best one to my arachnaphobe daughter.

Sarah

[No.9 Spider]

A photo would be useful as it's unlikely that a mature male Tegenaria would be 'up' in a web. The messy web left higher up on walls is usually just web they trail behind them as they wander the walls, this can become dusty and messy looking. The web used to catch the prey is usually in the form of a sheet web on which Tegenaria will sit. As for the conkers theory I've seen spiders webbed up on a bucket of conkers.




No.9 Spider