Ant Spider (All You Need To Know)

Ant spider is a spider that mimics ants to protect themselves against predators and also to eat ants. 300 different species of ant spider are found worldwide. The mimicking behavior serves a very important purpose.

Ant Spider is excellent in mimicking. They take this form to protect themselves against predators. Many predators avoid ants as they stay in a group, and they are not tasty, challenging to catch, and they are small and can be deadly.

If a predator decides to attack, then they will be surrounded by other ants. Unless these predators have some special protection against ants, it can become risky and life-threatening.

When these spiders take, this form predators get tricked and don’t attack them. Ant spiders entirely copy the structure of ants, except it doesn’t have an antenna. Still, they use their forelegs to show as an antenna. This behavior also fools other ants, and apparently, they also eat those ants.

Ant Spider can also mimic the chemical composition of the ants, totally fooling them. The moment they get a chance, they capture an ant, take it away from the other ants, and eats them. Usually, when an ant dies, they secrete a chemical that alerts the other ants.

For this reason, an ant spider hurries to get away from that ant colony so that they doesn’t get bitten and killed by other ants. Once they kill an ant, they carry them and get away from that place without getting noticed.

It is a very advanced skill that fools even ants. After they catch an ant, they carry them on their head and runs away from that place. After the spider eats the prey, it comes back, gets inside the group, and again looks for prey.

How To Get Rid Of Ant Spider

Ants spiders are very much like other spiders. Things that work on normal spider also works on ants spiders.

So, here are some very effective ways to get rid of them

1. Peppermint Spray: Spider can’t tolerate peppermint, so peppermint spray is highly effective against ant spiders. Just fill a sprayer with water and add 15 ml of peppermint spray and spray it in all those places where you see ant spider.
2. Vinegar: Spiders detest the smell of vinegar, so using vinegar is highly effective against them. Just put vinegar in a sprayer and add 50 % vinegar with 50 % water in it and spray it over the places where you see these spiders. That will get rid of them.
3. Vacuum: Vacuum cleaner works instantly. Just put a vacuum cleaner near the Ant Spider, and the vacuum cleaner will suck them in. Once inside the vacuum cleaner, an ant spider may not die immediately. So you can wait for it to die, or you can throw the spider away.

The chances of spiders dying inside the vacuum cleaner are relatively low because the vacuum cleaner doesn’t have any poison inside it. Instead, spiders, bugs, etc. die because of the harsh ride they have to go through once a vacuum cleaner sucks them. Soft body insects die in this process; however, insects with exoskeleton may not die in this process.

1. Insecticide: Insecticides work well against spiders. The insecticide is a chemical that is highly effective against various pests. You can buy spider killing insecticide from your local store or online stores.
2. Call An Exterminator: If you are scared of spiders and you don’t want to get rid of them by yourself, then call an exterminator who will do the job for you. They are professional, and they know their work. Usually, ant spiders don’t come in big numbers. There can only be a few inside your house. It won’t be that difficult for an exterminator to complete the job.

Are Ant Spider Poisonous?

Ant spider bite doesn’t pose a risk to humans. Their bite is not that painful. You may feel like a bee has bitten you, but if you are allergic to a bee sting or any other insects sting, then it can create an allergic reaction. In that case, it can be problematic. Their appearance, however, is very deceiving. Their appearance make them look like they are very poisonous.

Although you still need to be cautious if you are willing to catch them as they are tough to distinguish. If you end up catching an ant instead of the ant spider, then it can become problematic. Some ants have a very painful bite, which can cause severe allergic reactions and can also cause death.

Always ask a professional who knows about the ant spider to look for them. They have adequate knowledge and can easily differentiate an ant spider among ants.

Ant Spider Behavior

This spider behaves like an ant and fools the ants. They don’t use spider web to catch prey; instead, they travel with the ants and captures ants when other ants are not seeing.

They usually come in reddish brown but can also be black, orange. They also eat insects and small arthropods. It’s tough to differentiate this spider when you see them among ants.

The ant spider mimicry also repels other spiders. Ant spiders are not big, so they need to protection, and imitation entirely does that job.

Big spiders hate and fear ants, and because ant spider can mimic them so nicely, big spiders get fooled and run away as soon as they see them. Spiders like Tarantula runs away as soon as they see an ant spider. They can’t differentiate whether it is a spider or ant, and they don’t want to take risks.

Female spiders of other species are scared of these spiders because of the same reason. They immediately flee away from the place where they see them, and these ant spiders get their eggs for free. They are scared of ants because they attack in number and can kill any spider.

Where Can We Find Them

They are usually found in all tropical and subtropical regions like Australia, South America, Africa, Madagascar, New Zealand etc.

They can be found inside tree bark, on the soil, in your garden, below leaves, and inside the house. Generally, in the wild, you can find them on the ground, hiding below leaves and inside tree bark. The problem occurs when you get inside your house as you can’t differentiate them, whether they are ants or spiders.

Some people are scared of spiders, and when they realize these are spiders, they can get a panic attack. They can travel with a group of ants inside your garden, and you won’t be able to differentiate them. Ants killing spray will not be effective on them, and that can also be another kind of problem. You need to look very carefully to differentiate them.

Can Ant Spiders Make Web?

Ant spiders can make a web, but they don’t use the web to catch their prey; instead, they get close to the victim and grabs them.
Other spiders need to make the web at a certain height because they catch insects that are always flying.

They catch various kinds of insects, and mostly all of them are flying.

Ant spider doesn’t need to catch flying insects because they can catch ants. Making a nest on the ground is not a very effective way, so they don’t make a spider web.