Defending the wolf spider: Stories and comments from our arachnid-loving readers

For example, I should not have hit the huge wolf spider on my house with a weed wacker. In case you’re curious, it exploded. And my wife should not have sprayed a running wolf spider with Windex to slow it down and make it easier to catch. One reader noted that its eight little eyes probably burned. I know, that was not cool.

Going forward, I promise not to use a weed wacker on a spider, and I will always wear eye protection. Wolf spider chunks spraying into my face taught me that lesson. And wolf spider guts in the eye are much better than a sharp stone, as one reader pointed out. In addition, my wife has vowed to stop using Windex on spiders.

All the wolf spider commentary and controversy got me thinking. To make up for my insensitivity, I’ve compiled some reader comments that offer praise and information about our eight-legged friends. Where copy and pasted here, a person’s screen name is in bold, followed by their comment.

Mobsters Are Governing America: Aw, these guys are great! They catch all the smaller pests we don’t want. They are harmless to humans, and can be very friendly, as our sons found out — they had some pet spiders for a while — they are as curious about humans as we are about them. Extremely beneficial creatures — wish there had been more written about their benefits here. :)

CC: Thank goodness for spiders...nature’s pest control and amazing creatures. I refuse to kill them...just catch and release.

mojo1957: I saw a wolf spider once relaxing on our reclining chair here in Connecticut. It was so big it looked like it was about to ask me for a bottle of beer. Hairy as hell. It scared the life out of me because I had a 3-year-old at the time. I captured it and called the University of Connecticut, just down the road from me, and a professor there confirmed it was a wolf spider. He said they ate mice!!

Dirty Rat: Spiders are great. They eat bad bugs. If you find a spiderbro in your house, put it outside.

O brother where art thou: Jumping spiders are the cutest! I once had one on my finger and as I was checking it out I SWEAR he/she was also checking me out....and after a few moments it hopped onto my nose. Those spiders are adorable with their big eyes and furry little bodies!!!

Les Bock: This article is ridiculous. You wasted your time writing this. You don’t have anything better to do. For god’s sake, why not just pick up the harmless spider and put it outside.

justbecauseIcan: I’ve seen one in my basement . Generally I call it by name, ‘Sammy Spider’, wish it well and proceed with doing the laundry.

Majoram: Husband and I were also lucky enough to see a mama once. At first, we thought she was covered with parasites, but they got off and moved away from her. As we watched quietly, she evidently decided we weren’t a threat and signaled them to come back. The tiny young ones came back and climbed onto her back. It was enchanting!

JenJenocon: Can we take a breath and calm down? Spiders want to AVOID you. They instinctively know contact with humans is a death sentence. Let 'em live! Glass over them, cardboard slid underneath, and outside they go.

Kevin J. Sullivan: Kill a spider, kill a friend.

WonderfulWorld: One of the coolest things about spiders is that they have no musculature. They move by pumping fluid from one part of their bodies to the part that needs to move. It’s one reason why people are freaked out...because they move so differently than we do. Same with the 8-legged thing. But the more we study our fellow creatures, the more we realize just how wide-ranging ‘life’ can be.

Countrykenrs: I used to set my friends in to near apoplectic seizures when I would pet the spiders in my barn (yes bare handed) and I forbid anyone to purposefully kill spiders or remove webs in my old farm house. As the old adage says “the enemy of my enemies is my friend”; I do not cotton to mosquitoes and other biting critters although I am rather fond of bees, wasps, hornets ....

Vordivan: They are super cute! I was enjoying watching one the other day at the park. It walked across the picnic table and then leapt down onto my leg. I simply stayed as still as possible, and — not finding anything of interest on my leg — it finally jumped to the ground. Fascinating to see it maintain a silk drag line while moving, stopping occasionally to anchor the line as it went.

stillshakingmyheadno: Yes, a good time is sitting on the candle-lit back porch with a mint julep while watching the spiders weave their webs. I am getting old.

drpickerel: I’ve never seen one bigger than maybe a quarter, didn’t know they got so big. They’re fun to play with using a long piece of grass, they raise their front legs, move back and forth bit, then usually jump out of sight. They can really jump! The only spiders the kids don’t creep out at!

I should have also included in my previous article that I released the spiders outside, a great distance from my home. I didn’t want them getting back inside. And it’s been years since I squished a wolf spider. That makes a big mess and can release dozens of baby spiders that scurry off in all directions.

So with this feedback and information from our readers, I hope we all have a greater appreciation of spiders, including the wolf spider. But not the poisonous brown recluse or black widow spiders. I’ll still squish them if found in the house.