If little Miss Muffet had sat on her tuffet and refused to be frightened away, that lone little spider that sat down beside her could never have ruined her day.

In reality, Miss Muffet had nothing to fear, but fear itself. Harmless spiders traumatize around 20 percent of the U.S. population. It’s one of the most common phobias in western culture. This has been attributed to our predominantly European background. In Europe, people have long associated spiders with disease, even though this is a fallacy. Major diseases in European history were spread by rats, fleas, lack of sanitation, and caused by micro-critters called viruses and bacteria. The erroneous idea that spiders bring disease or bad luck dates back well over a thousand years and still colors our perceptions of the real world.

August is a great month to see spiders. 99.9 percent of spiders in the world (over 35,000 species) are harmless. Talk about variety; there are some 3,500 species just in North America. They range from odd looking orb weavers to funnel weavers; from flower colored crab spiders to prowling wolf spiders; from tiny jumping spiders to the huge raft spiders. There is an amazing array of sizes, shapes, and colors. For example, look closely in the woods in late summer and you will likely see the beautiful and very common Micrathena, an orb weaver with sharp points on its shiny ivory colored abdomen. To see some great photos just Google spined micrathena. Hike at Forest Park, Detweiller, or Robinson during August and pay close attention to the webs between trees. You may come face to ‘cephalothorax’ with one of these incredible orb weavers.  Their web is one of my favorites.

I like to share my enthusiasm for spiders, but even so, in hind sight I may have gone a bit too far. I once found a large wolf spider and stuffed the hapless critter into a small plastic magnifying box, making it look like some weird 8-legged contortionist. The idea was to pass it among kids on a nature hike so they could see the eyes, fangs, and field marks up close. I had explained that these critters are pretty much harmless, even though they may look scary. Unbeknownst to me, at the rear of the line, some kids had taken me very literally, opened the box, and were passing the wolf spider to one another allowing it to run along their arms… which it did until they’d grab it and pass it on.

Luckily it was a laid-back arachnid and didn’t even try to bite anyone. I asked the kids to please don’t do this. Spiders are quite capable of biting when teased or handled. This can be akin to getting stung.

Wolf spiders are particularly interesting because of their large size and way of hunting, by pouncing on their prey. While camping, years ago, I was lying on my back in the woods looking up at the sky through pine boughs and suddenly heard a clicking sound that persisted right next to my ear. I sat up and saw that it was a huge wolf spider. She was seemingly upset because my head was right on the entrance to her burrow. She (it was much too large to have been a male) had walked right up to me and informed me that I was trespassing. I, of course, apologized and relinquished her territory back to her. Until then I hadn’t realized a spider was capable of that sort of behavior. Most of us have a tendency to under-estimate the abilities of critters.

When I find a spider in my home, I either put it outside or ignore it. Spiders earn their keep indoors the same way they do outdoors. They are in the pest control business. Occasionally people tell me of spider bites, but it’s always based upon circumstantial evidence. Undoubtedly there have been people bitten from time to time. But you’d almost have to squeeze the critter to get it to bite us non-bugs.

A pest control person stopped by my house last year and inquired whether I’d like for him to spray my home for spiders. He claimed his products are safe and effective. Actually those words describe my spiders. They are the natural pest controllers, and they work for free. Plus, they don’t expose my family, our dog, or even our turtle to unnecessary chemicals that are designed and applied specifically to be toxic. I will keep my spiders, thank you very much.

Spider populations are impacted by more than just fly swatters and household pesticides.  Habitat destruction can be devastating. Clear cutting a forest wipes out spiders by the tens of millions, destroying diversity. Agricultural pesticides can decimate spider populations. They aren’t the target species… just collateral damage. By some estimates there are between 1 million and 2.5 million spiders per acre in the U.S. They consume countless tons of insects, including flies, mosquitoes, midges, and beetles. If their populations are reduced (their recovery time is slow), those tons of insects will still be out there… making more insects…

Probably the biggest obstacle in spider conservation is attitude. We’ve put spiders into a box of sorts. They are seen as scary. Perhaps second only to zombies, they are the cultural icons of Halloween decor. Information about spiders comes from stories such as Little Miss Muffet, or movies such as “Arachnophobia.”  People’s understanding of spiders becomes based upon caricature.

Considering their ancestors showed up in the fossil record nearly 400 million years ago, they are definitely our elders and are deserving of consideration and respect. The vast majority of spiders are quite harmless (a couple notable exceptions, black widow and brown recluse, though venomous, are shy, non aggressive, and rarely encountered).

So go find a spider and sit down beside her, and try not to scare her away. Just be a good neighbor, admire her labor, and try not to ruin her day.