What Do Spiders Eat? Other Spiders, You Say? Yikes!

Garden spiders and other arachnid species attract insects and capture them in a sticky web. Catherine Falls Commercial / Getty Images

Many people are scared of spiders. But spiders help us keep pests under control by feeding on other insects that might spread diseases or attack our gardens.

What do spiders eat? Most spider species are carnivorous and eat other insects. Let's take a closer look at what types of bugs spiders typically dine on.

Contents

What Does A Spider's Diet Typically Look Like?
How Spiders Catch Their Prey
External Digestion: Eating from the Outside In
Spiders That Eat Other Spiders
Preventing Spiders in the Home

What Does A Spider's Diet Typically Look Like?

Most spiders aren’t picky and will eat almost any insect they can catch.

Spiders eat flying insects, including houseflies, fruit flies, mosquitoes, moths, bees and wasps. They also eat crawling insects, including ants, beetles, cockroaches, crickets, grasshoppers and earwigs.

If it's small and gets caught in a web, then it's on the spider menu.

How Spiders Catch Their Prey

Most spiders use silk to spin webs, creating intricate traps to catch their next meal.

Common house spiders are known for this technique. They patiently wait for insects to get stuck in their sticky threads. Once a spider detects movement, it rushes in to immobilize its prey with venom.

But not all spiders rely on webs. Crab spiders and other passive hunters sit motionless in flowers or on tree bark, waiting for unsuspecting insects to land nearby.

Instead of trapping their prey, these spiders strike with lightning speed when a food source gets too close.

External Digestion: Eating from the Outside In

Unlike humans, spiders don’t chew their food. Instead, they use a process called external digestion. After injecting venom into their prey, spiders release digestive enzymes that break down the insides of their meal into a liquid form. Then, they slurp it up like a smoothie.

This method allows spiders to consume prey much larger than themselves. Some larger species, such as tarantulas, can even tackle small amphibians or reptiles.

Spiders That Eat Other Spiders

Many spiders actually eat spiders! Stealth hunters like jumping spiders actively seek out smaller arachnids, while web-building spiders may accidentally trap and consume members of their own kind.

This cannibalistic behavior helps control spider populations in crowded areas.

Some female spiders even eat their mates after reproduction, ensuring a good meal to support their offspring. The lore of the sparklemuffin peacock spider is that females will eat male spiders if they are unimpressed by their courtship dance.

Preventing Spiders in the Home

While most spiders are harmless, many people still hate having spiders in their homes. One way to prevent spiders from coming indoors is by reducing food scraps and sealing cracks where insects enter. These attract bugs that house spiders rely on for food.

However, having a few common house spiders around can act as an all-natural pest control. They're an important part of nature’s balance.

We created this article in conjunction with AI technology, then made sure it was fact-checked and edited by a HowStuffWorks editor.