Types of Garden Spiders Garden spiders may give you a start when you run across one unexpectedly but they're great partners in the fight against plant pests! Garden spiders are creepy but cool
A spider is one of a gardener’s best friends. It may not be as pretty as a butterfly, or as cute as a frog, but it’s part of a hard-working crew that keeps pests from taking over in the garden. Spiders love to eat insects and they aren't picky eaters. So, yes, they may eat some beneficial insects but they'll also feast on pests like caterpillars, aphids, beetles and flies. Even a small spider gulps down several insects every day. Up to 100 spiders can live in just 3 feet of garden space. Imagine how many pests they can devour!
Invite spiders into the gardenThere's not usually much you need to do to encourage spiders to hang out in your garden. Growing plants with varying heights is a good start. Spiders that hunt for their food on the ground prefer low foliage and shadowy hiding places. Web-building spiders need taller, branching plants where they can build their webs. Even ornaments and stones are good places for spiders to settle in for the season.
The most important way to keep spiders around is to avoid using pesticides. These kill off pests, but they also hurt spiders and other beneficial bugs. Unfortunately, it's the pests that are usually the first to recover, meaning they’ll run the garden until the spiders move back in.
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These are just a few of the types of garden spiders you'll come across in the garden. Even if you don’t always notice
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