18/05/2026
I always come across the odd creepy crawly... this little fella definitely had the mindset of my kids when they were little and just tucked his little head in!! To be fair to her (most likely a her right... all the kids had been eaten and no male in sight) I'd just completely destroyed her home so she was probably sulking!!
SPIDER FACTS!!!!
1. Some UK spiders use electricity to fly!!!!! This sounds made up, but it’s real. Small spiders can “balloon” by releasing silk threads that catch electric fields in the atmosphere, helping them drift through the air. Scientists have observed this behaviour in British species too.
2. Most UK spiders are harmless! Despite how dramatic they can look sprinting across the carpet, the vast majority of spiders in the UK can’t do any real harm to people. We’ve got around 650 species in Britain, and only a tiny handful can even bite through human skin. The one people usually talk about is the False Widow Spider. Their bite can be unpleasant for some people, but serious reactions are very rare.
3. House spiders can run surprisingly fast. The big hairy ones you see charging across the floor in autumn are usually Giant House Spider. They can run at around half a metre per second. That’s why they seem to appear out of nowhere when you’re making a cup of tea at night.
4. Spiders help keep UK homes and gardens pest-free. Spiders are basically free pest control. They eat flies, mosquitoes, moths, and other insects you probably don’t want indoors. Garden spiders are especially useful around sheds, garages, and outdoor lights where insects gather in the evening.
5. A common British species is the European Garden Spider — the classic one with the beautiful circular web and white cross marking. “Money spiders” gave rise to an old British superstition. Tiny little spiders called Money Spider are linked to an old UK belief that if one crawls on you, money is coming your way. That’s probably why older relatives sometimes tell kids not to squash them.
6. The UK’s largest spider isn’t actually the scariest! The Cardinal Spider is one of Britain’s largest spiders by leg span. They’re rare and mostly found in old buildings in southern England. Big, yes. Dangerous, no.
7. Spider season in the UK peaks around September. That annual “why are there spiders everywhere?” feeling in late summer is real. Male house spiders wander indoors looking for mates around August to October, which is why UK homes suddenly seem full of them during that time.
8. There’s even a spider linked to the London Underground! The Tube Web Spider is often found around cracks in walls and urban areas in southern England, including London. It has shiny dark colouring and metallic green fangs, which look far more intimidating than they really are.
