A recent Facebook post from the Virginia Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners Program page clarified a viral post claiming that wolf spiders hunt and eat black widow and brown recluse spiders. Wolf spiders eat other spiders, but they don’t deliberately select those species for prey.
We don’t always see them, but over 100 species of spiders live in our homes on any given day. Some enter through unsealed cracks in door or window frames; others enter on clothing or shoes or on a pet’s coat. Spiders also live in our garages, sheds, and gardens where their diet consists primarily of insects, making them beneficial helpers to humans rather than the deadly predators of Hollywood films.
As comforting as this information is, what kinds of spiders live in our homes? The good news is that most spiders are harmless, although all species of spiders produce venom to disable or kill their prey. Most will bite only when disturbed or handled. Spider venom has minimal effects on most people, except fo...