Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uwm.edu!lll-winken!ncis.tis.llnl.gov!blackbird.afit.af.mil!lonex.radc.af.mil!szarekw From: szarekw@lonexc.radc.af.mil (William J. Szarek) Newsgroups: sci.bio Subject: Re: Stupid Spider Question Message-ID: <1991Feb12.133357.11084@lonex.radc.af.mil> Date: 12 Feb 91 13:33:57 GMT References: <91042.103943TACON019@ysub.ysu.edu> Sender: szarekw@lonex.radc.af.mil Organization: RADC Lines: 21 Nntp-Posting-Host: lonexc.radc.af.mil In article <91042.103943TACON019@ysub.ysu.edu> TACON019@ysub.ysu.edu (Fred Ullom) writes: >Ok, I've been killing these little brown house spiders every chance I > >So, what limits the house spider population in the world if humans don't >intervene? and what do these little monsters live on when they seem to >spend their whole life wandering about my bathroom ceiling? > Everyone knows the "little brown house spiders" (previously known as "little brown cave spiders") have been with us since the dawn of time. Their only other natural enemy is the Hoover. It is a large and powerful creature that is usuially dormant and emits a loud howl when it is in search of prey. Spiders are carnivores they eat creatures smaller than themselves. It has been postulated that they prefer to inhabit the bathroom so that they can capture the tiny parasitic insects that scurry off our bodies when we bathe. The population is self limiting in that if there are not enough parasites to go around they will dine on their neighbours thereby correcting the imbalance. Hope this answers your questions. buzz