“Ah! Spiders! Burn everything! Run away! Why did it have to be spiders??!!”

There is a lot of stigma against spiders across social media and modern culture, but we rarely stop to ask if they deserve this persecution. I remember when I was growing up, my oldest brother seemed fearless, unstoppable, or immortal unless he was faced with spiders. My siblings and I would be playing games when suddenly, a little eight-legged creature begins to descend from the ceiling to land in our midst. Such an arrival was usually followed by panic and questions of: “Where did it go!”, “Did it bite you?”, and “How big did you say it was?” After these enlightened topics were discussed thoroughly, we would proceed to the ceremonial stomping or trapping within a tissue. As you could imagine, I saw spiders as terrifying beings of evil intent; besides, if everyone else was freaked out by them, shouldn’t I be too?

Times change. After a cold war that lasted several years, I started to appreciate the fact that spiders eat other pests like, flies, mosquitoes, and earwigs in a clean, efficient manner. Seeing spiders at work is a morbidly fascinating affair. As you know, there is a brief period in which captured prey struggles in the silky net. Then the spider wraps them up and bites them. End of story. No need for insecticides, repellents, or traps; the spiders (if allowed) will take care of the majority of other pests in your home, even other spiders.

And if that isn’t enough to win you over, spider webs have healing properties. What? I know, it sounds crazy, but it’s true. Back in ancient times, spider webs were used as bandages, and in today’s modern world we are seeing the reasons for it. According to research by Penn State University spider webs contain preservatives that act as antibacterial and anti-fungal compounds. That, combined with the fact that clean spider webs are considered sterile means that spider webs can make excellent emergency bandages! Additionally, researchers at MIT are designing bandages based off of the spider web’s simultaneously adhesive and non-adhesive characteristics.

However, the fact remains that some spiders are poisonous. Spiders like the Black Widow and the Brown Recluse have venom sometimes fatal to humans. This is an important thing to remember, but overall most common spiders are harmless to humans. As with many small creatures, spiders will not attack a human unless provoked (grabbed, flicked, poked repeatedly, etc…). And in all honesty, some spiders are really cute.

So please, next time you see a spider and somebody starts freaking out about it; remember that the spiders are not evil monsters. They are a part of this world too; whether we like it or not is up to us. Spiders do a lot of good. If one is bothering you, please take the time to put it outside or somewhere else. Not every crawly thing deserves to be smashed.