Spiders – Very Hungry Hunters!

Spiders are a very successful group of arthropods that are found everywhere from deserts to grasslands to forests to Arctic tundra.  There are more than 45,000 species identified worldwide and that number is growing with new discoveries. It has been estimated that there are around 130 spiders occupying every 10 square feet of land on the earth and the combined weight of all spiders is around 30 million tons.
Collectively, spiders kill between 400 million to 800 million tons of prey annually. Their prey consists of insects and springtails (small insect like arthropods), with larger spider species consuming birds, fish, frogs, lizards, and small mammals.
Compare this to what humans consume, which is estimated at 400 million tons of meat and fish yearly.
According to researchers, spiders are not only important predators, but also find themselves on the menu of thousands of other animals. Between 8,000 and 10,000 other predators, parasitoids and parasites feed only on spiders, while spiders at the same time make up an important part of the diet of an estimated 3,000 to 5,000 bird species.
While it’s a bit creepy to think about so many spiders eating so many creatures, year-in and year-out, it’s important to realize that this is just part of the world’s natural food chain .
The only other group of arthropods that can compete with spiders, pound-for-pound, are ants, but ants are not overwhelmingly carnivorous like spiders.
Even though spiders may be out there eating their weight in gold, or insects. They are still not welcome in our homes and businesses.  In fact, they’re persona non grata, just about everywhere people live, play or congregate.  This may have something to do with their creepy, eyes, eight to be exact, and their ability to crawl, run and jump on eight multi-jointed legs. Oh, and they’re hairy, they bite and inject venom, and they build sticky webs.
Keeping spiders out of our living spaces is a never-ending battle for most of us.  So, when we get tired of swatting at, stomping on, or hunting for spiders, calling a professional pest control company is next on the agenda.
Spider control is best left to the experts.  They know where they live, they know why they’re there, and they know how to get rid of them.  Corky’s Pest Control has been successfully controlling spiders on customers properties for over 50 years in Southern California.  Their Ultimate Pest Control Service is a uniquely developed system that combines, physically removing webs, using state approved materials for the elimination of spiders and consistently applying these measures in a timely manner. Most important, is a consistent, and sustainable, treatment plan, for without one, spiders are sure to re-infest, since they crawl and float in (known as ballooning), from neighboring properties.

Fun Fact: 
Spiders consume approximately 10 percent of their body weight in food per day. That’s equivalent to a 200-pound man eating 20 pounds of meat each day or, 2000 pounds of spiders consuming a 200-pound man, in 1 day.
Very Hungry Hunters, Indeed!