Are Baby Spiders Poisonous? | What You Need to Know - Survival Freedom (2024)

Baby spiders are poisonous if they’re the offspring of a poisonous mature spider. However, baby spiders are usually incapable of transferring poison to large prey, such as rodents or humans. The toxin helps the juvenile spider in their hunting and digestion of their prey.

In this article, I’ll explain more about baby spiders, including how poisonous they are and whether or not they can bite you. I’ll also explain how to get rid of baby spiders and answer other commonly asked questions.

Do Baby Spiders Carry Venom?

Baby spiders do carry venom if they’re the baby of a venomous spider. Venom glands are typically present as soon as the baby spider hatches and are essential for their ability to digest their food and hunt effectively. Although, baby spiders don’t usually hold enough venom to harm a human.

Most baby spiders not only lack fangs large enough to penetrate the skin, but they’re also much smaller than adults. As a result, they’re usually harmless.

Baby spiders are just a smaller version of their adult counterparts. Spiders don’t care for their young like most mammals and bird species do, and in many ways, a baby spider arrives in the world fully equipped to fend for itself.

Furthermore, spider poison isn’t just used to terrorize humans. In fact, spiders rarely use their venom against humans. Rather, the spider’s venom is an essential part of its digestive system. Most spider poison aids in the spider’s hunting ability (usually paralyzing or stunning their prey). But it also helps them break down food. This is true for all poisonous spiders. Since the juveniles also need to eat like adults, they also secrete poison.

Venomous Vs. Poisonous

When it comes to spider toxins, it’s important to understand that the terms venomous and poisonous aren’t the same thing. That is, a venomous spider doesn’t necessarily mean it’s poisonous. The key lies in knowing what each of these terms refers to:

• Venomous: Venom-producing animals always have fangs and venom glands. Many spiders, such as tarantulas, brown recluses, and the Australian bird spider, have venom fangs. Whereas many other spiders, such as daddy long-leg spiders (Opiliones), do not.
• Poisonous (toxic): The terms poisonous and toxic are very human-centric and generic. They refer to the effects a substance can have on you after consuming or coming in contact with it. Toxic or poisonous creatures usually excrete poisons to impact humans or negatively react with the human system.

Spiders can be venomous, but most are not toxic to humans. In fact, of the over 47,000 species of spiders, less than one-tenth of one percent are deadly to humans.

Can Baby Spiders Bite You?

Baby spiders usually can’t bite you, as it’s hard for most fully-grown spiders to penetrate a human’s skin with full-grown fangs. Even if a baby spider successfully penetrates your skin, most people don’t notice it at all. Or if they do, it feels like a mild skin irritant.

Baby spider fangs are similar to adult fangs, only smaller. When a spider hunts their prey, even if they don’t have venom, they inject its fangs into the prey’s flesh. The purpose is to stun and then consume their prey. This is why baby spiders and adult spiders don’t tend to attack humans, even if they hold venom.

However, most spiders consume small insects, as their fangs are impactful on these creatures. This is due to the proportion of their body mass to the spider’s fangs. When you factor in the venom, spider venom subdues prey hundreds of times smaller than you. An adult spider will rarely seek out a human for prey and attempt to subdue them, let alone a baby spider.

What Does a Baby Spider Bite Look Like?

A baby spider bite looks like a small, red bump on the skin with fang marks near the center of the wound. Notably, the fang marks are what distinguish this from any other similar-looking skin issues. A baby spider bite will usually be far less red and inflamed than an adult spider bite.

Spider bites are one of the most misdiagnosed skin issues. However, they aren’t underdiagnosed. Rather, they’re overdiagnosed. Many people assume a sudden skin lesion or unusual flesh wound is a brown recluse spider bite or another spider bite.

As a result, some doctors dismiss potentially harmful skin lesions as simple spider bites. This means people don’t get the help and treatment they really need when they need it. Always check for the appearance of fang marks and the presence of a baby spider before making assumptions.

Why Do I Have Baby Spiders in My House?

If you have baby spiders in your house, a secluded environment is likely the reason. Spiders lay eggs in secluded, dark, and dry spaces they believe are safe for their young. Ideal environments for eggs to mature and baby spiders to develop are unoccupied, seldom-cleaned areas in your home.

Keep in mind, adult spiders also check for suitable prey for their offspring to be able to hunt. This means you may have beetles, worms, or other insects spiders like to hunt.

How Do You Get Rid of Baby Spiders?

The best and safest way to get rid of baby spiders is to clean small, secluded spaces regularly. Spiders won’t want you to spot them and usually leave if you prevent them from finding a dusty, dark space. You can also increase the amount of light in a room and avoid having small, secluded corners.

Is It Safe To Sleep in a Room With Spiders?

It is safe to sleep in a room with spiders. Generally speaking, spiders are more afraid of you than you are of them. Spiders rarely ever bite humans. When they do bite, they do so out of self-defense. In the unlikely case that they bite you, the chances of it being toxic to you are even less likely.

Spiders don’t view you as prey and won’t seek you out to harm you. Moreover, a couple of spiders may be beneficial for you. They hunt many pesky bugs, such as bed bugs which can harm you even more than a spider can.

For more, check out Do Dust Mites Bite? | What Is Biting Me at Night?