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Do Spiders Make Holes in the Yard?
Do Spiders Make Holes in the Yard?. While spiders are well known for constructing large webs to capture prey, several species are strictly terrestrial and spend their entire life on the ground. Many of these terrestrial spiders excavate small holes in the ground for shelter by day and as a base to hunt down passing insect prey at night. Spiders...
While spiders are well known for constructing large webs to capture prey, several species are strictly terrestrial and spend their entire life on the ground. Many of these terrestrial spiders excavate small holes in the ground for shelter by day and as a base to hunt down passing insect prey at night. Spiders that construct holes in your yard are not dangerous to humans and help control common insect pests in home landscapes.
Wolf Spiders
Wolf spiders are one of the largest types of spiders in North America. There are 13 genera of wolf spiders in North America, and most are large, hairy spiders that usually have brown, black and tan coloration; the Carolina wolf spider (Hogna carolinensis) is one of the largest species and can grow up to 1 1/2 inches long. Wolf spiders do not construct webs but excavate or occupy small holes in the ground in sunny locations. The spiders take shelter in the holes through the day and emerge at night to hunt down insect prey.
Trapdoor Spiders
Trapdoor spiders are stout-bodied spiders that construct specialized burrows in home landscapes. As their common name suggests, trapdoor spiders excavate small holes in the ground and cover the entrance with a silk cover. When insects walk over the entrance, the spider rushes out of its burrow, attacks the prey and then drags it back underground. Trapdoor spiders are closely related to tarantulas and can live more than six years in home landscapes.
Identification
Spider holes in your yard are easy to identify. While wolf spiders do not spin webs, they can still produce silk, which they often accumulate around the edge of their burrows as they walk around the entrance. Some species, such as the rabid wolf spider (Rabidosa rabida), pile up small debris around the entrance to their hole. Trapdoor spider holes are easy to identify by the conspicuous mass of silk used to construct the hinged entrance to the burrow.
Significance
While the presence of a spider hole in the yard may be unsettling to some, spiders play an important role in maintaining insect populations around home gardens. Place a small surveying flag near the entrance to avoid any unpleasant surprises from spiders rushing out of a hole when working in your garden. Both wolf spiders and trapdoor spiders are harmless to humans and will bite only if persistently provoked.
