Spider Habitats

Web Habitat

• Webbing certainly is a vital part to many spiders' lives and it is the perfect spider habitat. By using a web, the spider can create shelter, catch food and even collect water to drink. Web spiders represent the largest number of species, and even some ground spiders utilize webbing to survive. Orb weavers, black widows and garden spiders are good examples of spiders that use their webs as habitats.

Ground spiders

• Ground spiders often use webs, but they build their webs on the ground. Wolf spiders and trap-door spiders are good examples of this, as they lie in wait and attack as food happens by. The spiders' retreats are also ideal to keep them out of the weather. Some spiders in this group, such as tarantulas and jumping spiders, wander for food . Ground spiders use leaf litter, abandoned buildings and even trees to create their habitats.

Inside your home

• While outside is a better choice for most homeowners, spiders living in your home are not really detrimental most of the time. Unless you have dangerous spiders in your area such as the brown recluse, house spiders are good to have. They eat annoying insects and keep to themselves overall. House spiders can be anything from cobweb spiders to the potentially lethal brown recluse spiders.

Tree Spiders

• Some spiders are all about trees and with good reason. Living in a tree automatically eliminates some natural enemies that stay on the ground; trees also provide great hunting grounds with little competition. Trees are great natural habitats for spiders and offer them a safe place to hunt and live.

Desert spiders

• It is hard to imagine a spider living in the desert, but a great many do. Tarantulas live there and are able to go long periods without food or water. This amazing ability to survive is one way that spiders have adapted to harsher habitats. The legendary "camel spider" that gained fame during the Gulf War is not actually a spider. It is an arachnid, but not a spider.