Another spider ID request

June 14, 2022 3:54 AM

Hello! Wondering if anyone has any ideea what spider this is. Pictures taken this morning. I am in NYC (Queens), in an apartment, on the third floor. It rained last night -- I was reading about some likely candidates (though I hate looking at pictures of spiders, which made it difficult) and a lot of them sounded ground-dwelling, so I'm not sure what to think. Thank you!
posted by andrewesque to Pets & Animals (9 answers total)

Best answer: I think you've got a jumping spider there. Looks stripy; maybe [arachnophobe warning: the following link is to a picture of a jumping spider facing the camera, so you can see the adorable big eyes but also the slightly disconcerting fanglike... chelicerae, I'm guessing] a common jumping spider (Phidippus audax).
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 4:10 AM on June 14, 2022 [4 favorites]

Best answer: Agreeing that it's a Phidippus Audax -- they can be much larger than you'd think a jumping spider should be. They will wave their legs aggressively if you bother them, but they have no interest in hurting you and if you can stand having them around they'll eat the bugs you don't want in your home. They are surprisingly cute for something with an exoskeleton.
posted by AzraelBrown at 5:59 AM on June 14, 2022 [5 favorites]

Best answer: So cute with their big li'l eyes! We call them octokitties around here, and they make great house guests. They have advanced human-like vision, and are the smallest creatures a human can make meaningful eye contact with. Quite possibly the smartest arthropod family, enjoy!
posted by SaltySalticid at 6:14 AM on June 14, 2022 [7 favorites]

Best answer: Jumping spiders are nice. I think they are happiest outdoors. When I find one in my house, I pop a drinking glass over the top of it to trap it, then I slip a non-flimsy piece of paper under the glass, coaxing the spider onto the piece of paper. I then lift up the glass, holding the piece of paper firmly against the glass so the spider can't escape, and then I rush outside to set the spider free.
posted by SageTrail at 6:18 AM on June 14, 2022 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thank you all for the reassurance! I didn't do anything about it because I was a little freaked out (I was about to slide open the window in the morning when I jumped because I saw it on the window screen, but when I went back 10 minutes later it had gone.)

A follow-up question, if I may -- does the presence of the spider mean bad things about other bugs in my home? (In other words, is this an "indicator" that perhaps I have a bad bug problem in my apartment and so the jumping spider is attracted because of lots of prey?)
posted by andrewesque at 6:45 AM on June 14, 2022 [1 favorite]

Most of the bugs living in your home are harmless and will go unnoticed.

Keep an eye out for pantry moths, fruit flies clothing moths, cockroaches, and bed bugs, but you can like ignore anything else.

If you are super concerned, go to the garden store and get some foam sealant and seal up any cracks or holes you find.
posted by brookeb at 7:16 AM on June 14, 2022 [1 favorite]

I don't think I've ever lived in a house with zero spiders. (I currently live in a house you would think was built by spiders.) It doesn't seem to reflect on bug problems.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 7:38 AM on June 14, 2022

Not really an indicator, they just wander in. The exterior of your building is good hunting area for them, as are old windows.
posted by SaltySalticid at 7:39 AM on June 14, 2022 [1 favorite]

We've all noticed that SaltySalticid is particularly eponysterical in this thread, right?
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 10:12 AM on June 14, 2022 [1 favorite]