It’s spider time again, and that’s not bad at all | Science and the planet

Autumn is also called spider season. But perhaps “web season” is a better name, says van Helsdingen. “Spiders are there all year round, but now they are more prominent.”

There are more than 600 species of spiders in our country and some of them do not make webs. “Think about jumping spiders. These things are less noticeable, which makes it seem as if there are fewer spiders in May and June. It’s the big web spiders that attract attention now.” Such as the cross spider and window strip spiders. Whereas While the garden spider builds its web mainly in plants in the garden, the window strip spider does so in window frames. When they hatched from the eggs last spring, they were not yet noticeable. “They’re grown up now and you can find them everywhere. In your home, in the garden, in the woods and along the water. There’s a good chance you won’t be able to avoid both types this season. This is a good thing, says van Helsdingen.

“Spiders are of great benefit,” says the expert. “There are many insects that bother us, just think of flies and mosquitoes. There are fewer of those because of spiders. It is very wise to consider spiders as a friend in pest prevention, and this is especially useful at this time, because the nuisance caused by mosquitoes has increased dramatically since the middle of August.

However, many people have a great fear of spiders. There is no need for that, says the expert. “I think fear may be an inherited instinct that we have acquired. But fear is absolutely meaningless, because there is no spider in our area that poses a danger to humans. According to him, spiders provide balance and balance in nature. “We must not disrupt all this. Let them eat!

A species you will also often find indoors is the common and large house spider. “Autumn is the mating period for these species of spiders,” Wim Weragetert, an invertebrate expert at Natuurpunt, previously explained to our editors. “The females live a hidden presence in the hidden corners of your house. But in the fall they release scent pheromones to attract males. These males fall in love and start wandering around when they smell the females. They seek them out and stand out more.”

House spiders feed on mosquitoes, fruit flies, and other critters that you barely see, but that can be very annoying. “In this way we also immediately point out their usefulness for humans,” Verragert also stressed.