A Brief History of Spiders

There are over 40,000 species of spiders throughout the world, with many more still unnamed.  The oldest “true” spiders are about 300 million years.

These early spiders had spinnerets (organ for spinning silk) under the middle of their abdomens; modern spiders’ spinnerets are at the end of their abdomens.

Initially, spinning silk webs was done to cover the spider eggs but over time, web-building spiders began creating elaborate webs for catching prey.

By the Jurassic Period, the sophisticated webs of orb-weaving spiders had developed to take advantage of the many insects.  In recent years, a spider web found in amber tested out to be around 110 million years old!

A spider in amber; the bubbles indicate that the spider was alive when it got trapped.

Spider Spinnerets are Used for Spinning Webs

The fact of the matter is that spiders have been around for eons, and they will not be going away any time soon…..webs will continue to be built, and humans will continue to swat them down.

However, there are various solutions to controlling the population of spiders in and near the home. Please read the page on Pest Management and Spider Prevention: Spiders

Call today at 1-800-986-1006 for help with a spider infestation. You’re also welcome to complete the form below and a caring Hearts Pest Management representative will contact you shortly.