She was horrified to see black spots mysteriously forming in a woman’s kitchen. The woman asked the internet community why she was still seeing blackheads in her kitchen.
The thought that it might be “spider droppings” shocked him. She posted in a Facebook group, “Does anyone have any idea what these points might be?”
“They first appeared on the kitchen tiles, then on top of the PC we keep in the kitchen this morning.” Someone wrote to him, saying, “Look over it and you will probably find a canvas/spider.”
According to the Pest Guidance website, “spiders” don’t leave behind solid excrement; instead, their waste is thick and liquid and mimics ink stains, which are frequently seen on walls and other surfaces. Dark splatters or drops are often to be expected.
“These droppings contain a mixture of food and other residual components that the spider’s body releases.”
The biggest fear for many individuals is spiders. More people get alarmed by spiders than by mice, birds, flies, cockroaches, or other public health issues.
Irrationally, the majority of people think that spiders will suddenly strike, snaking their poisonous teeth into any adult or child within range, and that the ensuing bite will be both excruciating and fatal.
Informed PMPs are unable to convince some people that food contamination from mice, flies, and other interior pests is a greater threat to human health than that from spiders.
However, some entomologists have questioned whether or not spider droppings are healthy.
Usually while looking through the debris at the bottom of a container that holds a black widow spider-like “pet” spider.
The space beneath the “pet” spider will soon resemble the sidewalk beneath an unruly pigeon colony, which is something we already know is not good. Does spider poop pose a risk?
How dangerous is it if a common spider species located indoors near ceilings deposits its excrement on food, a table used for preparing meals, pillows, towels, baby toys, or anything else that could come into contact with a person’s mouth? How dangerous are indoor spiders?
Do Spider Droppings Contain Pathogens?
Filth flies have been found to harbor a number of common human diseases, such as Salmonella spp., E. coli, Streptococcus spp., Enterococcus spp., and Staphylococcus spp. (White 2006, Butler et al. 2010). Studies have also found pathogenic bacteria in the droppings or excrement of flies (Kobayashi et al. 1999).
On the other hand, little research has been done on the microbiological inhabitants of spiders and their droppings. Specifically, what happens to a spider that feeds on filth flies?
Could harmful microorganisms possibly get past the spider and land below it? Other than some people’s phobia of spiders, is there a public health need to avoid them indoors?
Melissa Gaver-Wainwright, a graduate student studying entomology at Washington State University, conducted preliminary research to address these issues.
In order to determine whether the waste material of the black widow spider (Latrodectus Hesperus) could potentially transmit disease, a fecal sample was swabbed from a sterile container and dipped in a growth medium to increase the amount of bacteria in the sample.
She then amplified a conserved section of the 16S rRNA gene using universal bacterial primers to determine the microbes connected to the excrement. There were no detectable pathogens in the spider poop.
The results were confusing. Numerous studies claim that the antibacterial properties of various spider venoms—and their blood—could account for the absence of germs seen.
These broad-spectrum antibacterial peptides have been shown to be effective against E. Coli, Staphylococcus species, Enterococcus species, Pseudomonas species, and other bacteria.
There are still many unanswered questions, such whether droppings from other web-building spider species would also be free of bacteria or whether alternative molecular techniques would produce different outcomes.
If one’s health is at risk, managing filth flies might be more crucial than managing spiders. However, it is not appropriate to have spider droppings indoors.