Before shooing away cobwebs, consider the benefits spiders provide for your garden. The majority of spiders found in Colorado are not poisonous and help control harmful insects, such as wasps, flies and mosquitoes.
One of Fort Collins Nursery’s resident spiders is the writing spider (or banded garden spider). These green and yellow striped spiders are known for the zig-zag pattern woven into their webs. Writing spiders are not poisonous or aggressive, and can eat insects twice their size!
You can encourage beneficial spiders by not spraying insecticides in your garden.
Be careful around wood piles to avoid contact with spiders that can bite. Although most spiders are harmless to humans, black widows and brown recluse are poisonous.
Spiders may be a little creepy, but help in a big way.
Originally published on September 14th, 2011. Updated on September 3rd, 2019.