How High Do Spiders Climb?
WouterA little known fact about spiders is that they can climb vertical surfaces. Whether you’re climbing a building or an outcropping of rock, you’re likely using some sort of rope or silk to climb.
One of the more interesting features of spiders is their ability to detect and use electrostatic van der Waals forces. When combined with their sticky setules, these forces allow the spiders to carry nearly 170 times their body weight.
Another intriguing feature of spiders is their ballooning ability. This is a common phenomenon found in baby spiders, which use silk threads to sail through the air. However, ballooning has also been observed in larger spiders.
The most obvious implication of this behavior is that spiders are able to reach out to new lands. For example, a bridge spider may be seen floating on the wind and eventually reach an ocean.
Spiders can also use this technique to avoid predators. In the United States, the most commonly observed ballooning behaviors occur in the bridge spider, a tiny nymph which lives in high-rises and rocks overhanging water.
However, these small spiders are also capable of catching prey without the need for a web. Unlike many other arthropods, the spider uses a special adhesive solution on its feet. This adhesive solution acts like a temporary glue and allows the spider to leave microscopic footprints on the surface it wakes up on.
Obviously, it is not a good idea to let a spider crawl up your bed. The best way to prevent this is to remove the spider’s nest from your bedroom.
