With the middle of Autumn officially underway, it's no surprise that warm coats, long scarves, and fuzzy beanies will start to fill our closets as we prepare for the decline in temperature. However, humans aren't the only ones preparing for Winter, as spiders are beginning to set up camp in Nambour homes for the long haul.
A common misconception is that spiders only seek the comfort of Nambour homes for the warmth and safety from the cool weather, and while this does have some truth, the actual reason is a lot creepier. Nambour spiders seek homes for their offspring, as the cooler months are a prime mating time for many arachnid species. A home not only provides shelter from a change in weather, but it decreases the risk of predators such as birds, reptiles, and mammals eating egg sacks filled with up to 400 spiderlings. Therefore, unfortunately, if you were to have only five spiders in your home seeking shelter for their offspring, you could end up with up to 2000 spiderlings sharing your personal space.
While some species have egg sacks in their webs that can be seen and removed, some Nambour spider species, such as the Daddy-Long-Legs (one of the most common spiders on the Sunshine Coast), carry their eggs and spiderlings in their pedipalps to keep them safe. Therefore, unless you analyse the daddy-longs-legs themselves and not the web (which is most likely away from human sight in the first place), you may not even know they're expecting around 50 spiderlings inside your home.
The scariest part of all this is that when many people attempt to remove spider eggs, they often hatch early and run free - meaning up to 400 spiders all run away in different directions in your home! Hence, the best solution for controlling spider populations is prevention.
If you're worried about spider populations increasing in your Nambour home, don't worry - K.C.S has you covered!