Spiders eat ants and also mosquitoes, flies and crickets, wasps, and grasshoppers. Spiders are carnivorous and enjoy eating a variety of insects. The spider is beneficial to humans cause they defend our home and campsite from pests.
Most spiders will look for insects cause that is what they prefer to feed on. There are just some variations depending on the type of spider. Some spiders will feed on rodents, birds, grasshoppers, crickets, among others.
The good thing about the most common spiders that we encounter is they act as pest control as they eliminate most of the insects from our homes.
If you don’t want to see spiders in your house, you can seal off entry points found in doorways, wall gaps, or windows so there will be no way for other pests to enter your house.
As long as there is a food source, there will be a presence of spiders as well.
What do they eat?
Spiders love to feed on moths, mosquitoes, flies, knats, roaches, earwigs, ants, and other insects and bugs available. Since spiders are skilled predators, they have a programmed way of killing their prey.
Their two small mouthpart appendages called pedipalps hold their prey in place in time to bite them. It is also the most opportune time to inject the digestive enzyme that will liquefy the insides of their prey. The process helps the spider feed on their prey that has liquified and empty everything till only the skeletons remain.
Larger spiders feast on worms, snails, small birds, bats, and even frogs. Other spider species will include different plant types in their diets, such as plant sap, leaf tissue, pollen, seeds, and honeydew.
Ants are a favorite food for common house spiders cause they are nutritious, and spiders will first devour on some portions where they can have their ration of protein, found on the front ends of the ants. Spiders will then go to the other parts to finish their meal.
Some spider species that eat ants include:
- Ant spiders
- False widows
- Lynx spiders
- Jumping spiders
- Wall spiders
- Daddy long legs
Why other spider species don’t seek ants?
Since there are larger spiders, they will also require prey where they will get more nutritional value. Ants are small, and it will take a lot of ants to suffice for these spiders, and they do not hunt ants but look for food elsewhere.
Smaller spiders feed on ants, and it is also their primary food source.
How much they eat
Spiders will eat as many insects as long as it is available. They can eat over four times a day even.
They can live without food for weeks and will still survive. Water is also necessary for spiders and needs their water source, particularly when there are no insects to feed on. They will usually get near any water source, knowing their prey will also require water.
You will find cobwebs around the house, and most of the cobwebs have availability of water sources nearby. It is also where spiders catch their prey and trap them till the time they can devour them.
What eats ants?
It is not just spiders that ants should be wary of because other insects prey on them, such as flies, caterpillars, beetles, anteaters, birds, snakes, snails, lizards, fish, and ants that eat their own kind.
Fire ants are an example of ants that attack each other, while army ants live off the larvae of other ant species. Even humans eat ants in countries where ants are exotic food.
Ants are a favorite meal because of their high protein value.
Getting rid of both
If you want to get rid of spiders, you need to eliminate other insects lurking in your house. Some critters are more harmful than others, but it is just right to remove all of them from your home.
There is a natural way of getting rid of insects, but first, ensure that your surroundings are clean.
Some eco-friendly materials you can use is peppermint which is a natural insect repellent, vinegar may be used as a deterrent, cinnamon causes suffocation in ants, so leaving some on the ant trail can hinder them as well.
Spiders abhor the smell of peppermint or spearmint, so this may be used as a mixture for your home spray.
Although there are also products that can be purchased, they are considered harmful to health.
