Garden Spider Facts & Information

What Orkin Does

Orkin Pros are trained to help manage garden spiders and other pests. Since every yard or home is different, your Orkin Pro will design a unique spider treatment program for your situation.

Keeping spiders and arachnids out of your home is an ongoing process, not a one-time treatment. Orkin’s exclusive A.I.M. solution is a continuing cycle of three critical steps — Assess, Implement and Monitor.

Orkin can provide the right solution to keep spiders in their place...out of your home.

Identification

Garden spiders are found on many continents throughout the globe. As their name suggests, garden spiders are most commonly found in gardens, meadows and clearings..

Garden spiders also are known as orb weavers due to their orb-shaped, delicate webs. Even garden spiderlings are capable of spinning these intricate structures without the assistance of mature spiders.

Habitat & Behavior

The most important determining factor in the dwelling place of the garden spider is the presence of twigs, trees, branches or plant leaves on which to construct webs. Garden spider webs are notoriously strong and may reach more than 60 cm in diameter.

Most garden spider habitats are also populated with a variety of potential prey. After prey becomes entangled in the web, garden spiders immobilize their victims and drag them to the center of the web. Prey must be liquefied with digestive enzymes before consumption is possible.

Webs

The webs of garden spiders are notoriously strong. The garden spider uses its web to capture food. Although their eyesight is poor, garden spiders are extremely sensitive to vibrations along the strands of their webs. Positioning themselves at the center of their web, garden spiders hang upside down, jump on prey and paralyze it with injected venom. Like other spiders, garden spiders must liquefy their prey in order to consume it.

The garden spider also uses its extraordinary sense of touch for mating, as males tap upon the webs of females to express their intent. Because males spend the mating season obsessively seeking partners, they typically die of exhaustion and malnutrition following fertilization.

More Information

Garden Spider Life Cycle

Black & Yellow Garden Spiders (Argiope aurantia)

Orange Garden Spiders (Araneus marmoreus)