For all you arachnophobes out there, this article is for you! We’re aware that one of the worst times for you is the time of the year when our eight-legged friends seem to decide to squat in our houses and flats.
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Studying their habits
And this isn’t just a sensation since it has just been recently studied in the United Kingdom. Researchers from the University of Gloucestershire created an app on your smartphone for the general public to report when they see a spider in their homes.
Brits have been getting very involved in this study by indicating the date, time, GPS coordinates, the room of the house, whereabouts in the room and for experienced entomologists, the gender of the spider when they are spotted.
Males… on the prowl
Results from these observations suggest that the majority of spiders coming into houses are… males. But why are so many eight-legged males coming into our houses?
It is very simple. The end of the summer and the start of autumn is the perfect time for spiders to breed. It is therefore up to males to go looking for females, especially the more discreet and less adventurous females that stay hidden in dark and quiet corners such as in attics, door frames or basements.
Females… punctual
But the strangest and funniest thing about this study is the habits of female spiders. Females seem to be spotted more inside the house around 19h35. But what does this precise time actually mean? Is it a characteristic of their species? Maybe…
But the explanation could also be down to one of our own human habits. In other words, 7.35 pm is about the time that we come home at the end of the day and take some time to chill and relax… and therefore is when we are more likely to notice spiders.
