Bugging You From San Juan Island

There could be a few reasons you’re finding that spider in your sink or bathtub or shower! 

Reason #1 –  Lots of spiders are nocturnal, so while we’re sleeping they’re stealthily crossing the ceiling overhead.  Sometimes one may bungee down to check things out below.  If that happens to be over the tub, it’s possible the poor little (or BIG) spider just got stuck, unable to scale the walls of a slippery surface.  

 Same thing with the kitchen sink.  A spider scurries across the counter too fast, one of those 8 legs slips or maybe a knee buckles (yes, spiders have knees), and the next thing that spider is facing is our equivalent of falling down into a deep well. 

 He…or SHE, needs someone to throw in a lifeline to get back out.  

Reason #2 – Sometimes…yes, sometimes spiders end up in your tub or shower or sink because deep in the cracks or seals around the shower door or down in the drain, you have these teeny little spider snacks squirming around.  That’s right!  You might not see them, but even if your shower is squeaky clean, you probably have drain fly larvae living in your pipes. 

 Yikes!  I got into our shower one morning and there were these teeny little wiggly worms down at my feet.  When I poked around the rubber strip that prevents water from leaking out the shower door, there were MORE!  

To help you visualize this,  I’ll try and get creative.  I’m not a very good drawer, so I scribbled in the wriggling larvae to enhance this image I found online.   In my mind, I pictured the woman in the movie Psycho, screaming at the top of her lungs since the scientific name for drainflies is Pscho-di-dae! 

The adults aren’t scary looking at all though.  They’re called Moth Flies and they are sort of cute…and fuzzy-wuzzy!   The larvae, also called sewer flies, actually are beneficial and help purify water, so I am viewing them now as an important part of an ecosystem while trying to get over being creeped out by them around my feet.  

I also am much more welcoming to my house spiders now that I know they are working hard to save me from DRAIN FLIES!

Reason #3 – Did you know that spiders drink water?  Yes…sometimes spiders end up in the sink, bathtub, or shower because spiders get thirsty! I actually had a little spider I found in my home that was in a declining way and Rod Crawford (also known as the Spider Whisperer) at the Burke Museum messaged me about how to give it a drink. Here’s what he said, “For future reference, the way to give a spider a drink is to rest the mouth area (under the front of the “head”) directly in a drop of water.”   I must confess that now I’m so sensitive to spiders needing water that whenever I get one out of the bathtub, I’ve put a moistened cotton ball on the floor nearby so it won’t die of thirst!  

Thanks for reading.  Remember….Be nice to spiders!  To read more about spiders knees – Check out this link!  How many knees does a spider have?  https://infinitespider.com/how-many-knees-does-a-spider-have/#more-3706