this post was submitted on 12 Jan 2026
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Science Memes

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[–] bebabalula@feddit.dk 63 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Birds also only eat spiders they see. Not sure how that’s any different

[–] The_Che_Banana@beehaw.org 44 points 1 month ago (1 children)

well...birds aren't real.....soooo...

[–] bebabalula@feddit.dk 17 points 1 month ago (4 children)
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[–] explodicle@sh.itjust.works 13 points 1 month ago (1 children)

You're forgetting all the spiders that crawl into the bird's mouth while it's sleeping.

[–] edible_funk@sh.itjust.works 7 points 1 month ago

Nah that's just spiders beord throwing off the averages.

[–] ameancow@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Also, any effects we may have on arthropod selective evolution by randomly killing visible spiders is going to be vastly overshadowed by the very rapid and immediate changes we're making to the environment broadly.

We would need somewhere between centuries or millennia of very predictable and consistent behavior killing visible spiders before we saw any change to their overall behavior, meanwhile we've all but destroyed the ecosystem at their scale anyway, which is going to have vastly more dramatic impact on populations and evolution, assuming they survive at all.

When was the last time any of you remember getting your windows covered with bugs after a summer drive?

[–] sparkles@piefed.zip 49 points 1 month ago (2 children)

I’ve gotten brave in my old age. I only relocate them if they become extremely inconvenient …like my doorway spider (sorry frank). I ignore house spiders entirely as they transit my house. Good luck, leggy friend.

I have a pretty orb weaver on the porch (or I did last summer). Hope I get another.

[–] ivanafterall@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Same, I had two Joros this year. Their webs are LITERALLY gold, it's so cool. They really just chill. Imagine my disappointment when both disappeared before the New Year and I learned their lifespans. :(

[–] sparkles@piefed.zip 4 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Those are beautiful. Not native where I am. It reminds me of the “banana spiders” where I grew up. There used to be these big, majestic nests of them. I ran face first through one as a kid. Definitely a core memory.

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[–] bitwolf@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

The Joros are very courteous as well.

When they invaded Georgia they covered hiking paths and walkways. If I ever accidentally disturbed a web, they'd move the web up 3-6ft and hang a warning leaf from a 3ft long string coming off of their web.

Its like they knew they were invasive and wanted to come in peace.

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[–] BarbecueCowboy@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 1 month ago

We have a few mildly dangerous ones and I have kids.

Our rule is if the spider stays in his world we leave it alone, if it's in ours, they may be out of luck. The doorway is a neutral zone along with usually the entryway and questionably the kitchen.

[–] jpablo68@infosec.pub 24 points 1 month ago

That's why I only kill the roaches that venture into my house, if I see a roach in the street I leave it alone to thrive that way all future offspring will be selected for street only living.

[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 22 points 1 month ago (2 children)

I don't kill spiders. They are my unpaid exterminators.

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[–] Noite_Etion@lemmy.world 17 points 1 month ago (4 children)

Don't think this uploaded correctly

[–] sga@piefed.social 7 points 1 month ago

i thought i had something broken on my end so tried different methods of downloading, or checking if piefed broke something so checked my alts.

[–] LeFrog@discuss.tchncs.de 5 points 1 month ago

Same for me:

[–] HuntressHimbo@lemmy.zip 5 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Opening the link to this thread in browser works though, so maybe it just isn't federating properly from the piefed instance?

Edit:

Douple checked and it is broken in browser from Lemmy.zip, but accessing directly on piefed.blahaj.zone shows a complete image

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[–] edinbruh@feddit.it 16 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Good, we should make them even more reclusive and smarter. Honestly, an army of highly intelligent bug killers specialized in keeping out of my sight hiding in the interstices of my house sounds like an awesome idea

[–] Buddahriffic@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Yeah, I think it would be kinda cool if the next intelligent species on this planet after we kick the bucket is arachnid.

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[–] Obi@sopuli.xyz 15 points 1 month ago (2 children)

In our house the rule is spiders can stay if they're out the way (up high, etc). When they get too close for comfort for my wife's tolerance limits, I pick them up and put them outside. Spiders are friends.

[–] tetris11@feddit.uk 8 points 1 month ago

That almost rhymed, how about:

In our house the spiders can stay
If they're out of the way.
If they get too close,
Then it's time to vamo(o)se

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[–] GreenBeanMachine@lemmy.world 13 points 1 month ago

I have zero issues with spiders living in my home, they just have to stay out of my sight.

If they evolve to be better at hiding, it's a win win.

[–] SlippiHUD@lemmy.world 10 points 1 month ago

I once tried making a similar argument to a game warden about only hunting deer during the day. They were not appreciative of the take.

This was after I hit a deer with my car while driving home from Thanksgiving, it was not a good time.

[–] eupraxia@lemmy.blahaj.zone 10 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

This is why you shouldn't kill rattlesnakes. If we kill the rattlesnakes that make themselves known, over time they adapt to not rattle before striking.

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[–] dddontshoot@lemmy.world 10 points 1 month ago

Any flies that fly into my house are given a chance to leave. If I can herd them out the window, they get to live and make lots of new baby flies.

On the other hand, their chances of getting a close up view of the fly swatter increase exponentially with every minute they spend refusing to leave and ignoring the fact that I'm literally showing them the exit.

[–] Kellenved@sh.itjust.works 10 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Huh, coincidentally,I just finished reading Children of Time

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[–] Admetus@sopuli.xyz 9 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Why kill spiders? Oh, maybe it's Australia.

[–] essell@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago

I'm asking myself whether the humans in Australia became extra dangerous in order to acclimate 🤔

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[–] Zamboni_Driver@lemmy.ca 8 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

I have the same thoughts about hitting squirrels with my car.

Not that I do it on purpose or feel good about It, but I tell myself that at least the survivors will pass on their survivor traits to the next generation.

[–] Lightfire228@pawb.social 6 points 1 month ago (2 children)

You'd think we'd have accidentally bred smarter deer by now

[–] Fedizen@lemmy.world 8 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (3 children)

Deer kill more americans than any other animal. If anything they're becoming more top heavy and more lethal to make drivers hesitate before hitting them. Eventually evolution will make them explode and send a cloud of shrapnel out when struck by a car.

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[–] texture@lemmy.world 8 points 1 month ago (2 children)

this isnt true tho. we kill loads of them without seeing them.

i like the idea tho

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[–] Arctic_monkey@leminal.space 8 points 1 month ago (2 children)

The reclusiveness selection argument makes sense, but why intelligence? Brains are crazy metabolically expensive, and I can't see why a smart reclusive spider would survive humans any better than a merely reclusive one.

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[–] Coleslaw4145@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago

If I never know that the spider is there then we shall both live a peaceful life.

[–] chefdano3@lemmy.zip 5 points 1 month ago (5 children)

Am I missing something here? Why is everyone talking about spiders

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[–] MrsDoyle@sh.itjust.works 5 points 1 month ago

My house spiders are cool. They eat the flies etc and I fish them out of the way before I have a shower. The only disagreement we have is over their little lair in the kitchen. There's a tiny hole in the skirting board in one corner, and cobwebs gather there. Now and then I brush away the webs and plaster over the hole. A week later the hole is back and the webs too.

[–] huppakee@piefed.social 5 points 1 month ago

I recognised this problem years ago and decided to also let them eat bugs in plain sight. Unfortunately my house isn't big enough to counter evolution on my own, but I feel there is more people out there who also stopped killing spiders because of this.

[–] Evil_Shrubbery@thelemmy.club 5 points 1 month ago

I like smarter spiders, but not the cost of getting there.

[–] mavu@discuss.tchncs.de 4 points 1 month ago

fine by me. as long as i don't see them, they don't exist.

[–] timeghost@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

I catch them in a glass and cover the top with a piece of cardboard then dump them outside. Spiders eat bugs. Go be free little guy!

[–] dragnucs@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 month ago

Aren't they already smart?

[–] AdolfSchmitler@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

As long as the spiders don't break our agreement they can stay. They eat the bugs and pests, and they can live in the corners of my house. As soon as they come to the floor they're dead.

[–] Lemminary@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

And cockroaches, too. They'll haul ass and scurry away every time. They know.

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