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How to Find Spiders

Spiders live in nearly every type of habitat, including inside your home. They range in size from the very tiny to the very large; in the United States, the tarantula can grow to a leg span of more than 6 inches. Common myths about spiders include that they all spin the circular, geometric characteristic web; not all spiders spin webs and most species that do, do not build these type of webs. When looking for a spider, you shouldn't have to go too far; they're probably hiding out in your house, yard, shrubs, basement or wood pile.

Instructions

Indoors
- 1
  Search in corners of windows and up high in corners of ceilings for signs of the American house spider. These spiders build the webs that attract dust and become "cobwebs." They are fairly small, with bulbous abdomens streaked with brown, black and white.
- 2
  
  A dark, damp basement is the ideal spot to find several species.
  
  Search in your basement or crawlspace for cellar spiders. Cellar spiders have elongated, thin abdomens and long, thin legs. They often hang upside down in their webs.
- 3
  Search behind large pieces of furniture or along baseboards at night. Wolf spiders and the dangerous brown recluse prefer these hiding places in your home and are primarily nocturnal.
- 4
  
  Jumping spiders are skilled hunters with excellent eyesight.
  
  Look in window sills for jumping spiders. These spiders prefer the outdoors, but come inside to catch flies and other insects that fly into your window sills.
Outside
- 5
  
  Most of these orb weavers spin a new web every night.
  
  Go out on your porch or deck in the summer. Look for webs at night on railings, rafters or connecting your eaves to your house. You might see a garden spider or related orb weaver -- large, hairy spiders that do build the characteristic, circular geometric webs.
- 6
  Turn over any large rocks near a rock pile. Several species hide here during the day, including various species of wolf spiders, brown recluses and others.
- 7
  
  A lot of species live in the grass and catch harmful pests.
  
  Lay down on your grass and look across the top of the grass. You may see sheet webs or grass spiders running around, hiding in their webs or eating prey.
- 8
  
  Black and yellow argiopes often build large nests between tall bushes.
  
  Study your ornamental plants. You might be lucky enough to spot a crab spider or other species cautiously waiting to capture its next meal.
- 9
  Walk around the edge of streams, ponds or other bodies of water and patiently wait to see a fishing spider. These large spiders sometimes run across the water's surface in fright, or they inhabit the banks and catch water insects, small fish and tadpoles.
- 10
  Walk through the woods and look carefully for spider webs in between trees or branches. Spiders such as the micrathenas -- small to medium-sized spiders that have bright markings and odd, arrow-shaped abdomens -- enjoy the woodland edges for web sites.

Nature