Despite emitting from the same arachnid derrière, spider webs and cobwebs are not the same thing. Spider webs are the sticky traps spiders set to capture their supper; cobwebs are but a shadow of their former spider web self. Whether it’s Spooky Season or Halloween has long passed, people across the country are knocking webs from ceiling corners with telescoping dusters. It’s always an arachni-riffic time to learn about these sticky, icky structures and the spiders who call them home.
Let’s be real—most of us don’t give spider webs a second thought until we’re swiping them down from a corner or shrieking when we walk face-first into one. But there’s a fascinating world behind these silky creations. For instance, did you know that spiders can produce different types of silk depending on their needs? Some studies suggest that a single spider can create up to seven distinct kinds of silk, each with a specific job like trapping prey or building a cozy retreat. This versatility is part of what makes spider silk so incredible, and it’s worth taking a moment to appreciate the engineering genius of these tiny architects before you grab that duster.
Silk—It’s Not Just for Worms
Spider silk is an incredible material. Inside these fiber artists’ eight-legged bodies, it’s a liquid, but after a trip through the spider’s spinnerets, it becomes the gossamer strands we all know (but probably don’t love). While “spinnerets” might sound like a 1960s Motown group, they’re actually the silk-spinning glands located on the spider’s underside, near its rear. Most spiders have between four and six spinnerets with which to weave their webs. Spider silk is an astonishing 1,000 times thinner than a human hair. It’s also five times as strong as steel. Given that there are 48,000 known species of these particular arachnids, it’s no surprise that there could be hundreds of different silk types, each earmarked for a different purpose. There’s a sticky silk for trapping prey, a swathing variety for wrapping it up, a stretchy silk that forms the capturing lines of a web, and even a couple of all-purpose types. Some kinds of spider silk are antimicrobial; they’re also highly UV-reflective—an attractive quality to many delicious insects. Spiders can tune their silk like the strings of a guitar, allowing them to feel nanometer vibrations that signal not only the arrival of future food, but also what’s on the menu. And spiders use their silks to create many structures besides webs: drag lines, baby-spider swaddling clothes, fast-traveling slingshots, even tiny cocoon-like coverings they can crawl into, like spider-size sleeping bags. Spiders are also eco-conscious; they often tear down and replace their web every day, but they eat the silk in order to recycle its proteins.
I’ve always been amazed by how something so delicate can be so tough. Spider silk’s strength comes from its unique molecular structure—proteins arranged in a way that gives it both flexibility and durability. Scientists have been studying it for years, trying to replicate it for everything from bulletproof vests to medical sutures. In fact, research from places like MIT shows that spider silk’s tensile strength rivals some of the best man-made materials, yet it’s completely biodegradable. If you’ve ever tried to pull a web apart with your hands, you know it’s not just sticky—it’s stubborn. A practical tip? If you’re cleaning webs, use a damp cloth to avoid spreading those sticky strands everywhere. And if you’re curious about keeping spiders at bay without harming them, a quick spray of water mixed with a few drops of eucalyptus oil can work wonders—spiders hate the smell, and it’s a lot kinder than squashing them.
What About Cob?
So what, then, is a cobweb? In some cases, cobwebs are simply spider webs that were left behind, abandoned by their creator in favor of better digs—whether that’s another corner of the house or a different location altogether, to which they travel via “ballooning.” (Remember the end of Charlotte’s Web, when Charlotte’s daughters emerge from her egg sac, unspool a length of silk, and start floating away on the breeze, much to Wilbur’s chagrin? That’s ballooning.) Cobwebs are still sticky, but if they’re not razed by their maker and recycled into new silk structures, they gather dust and airborne particulates. That makes these relics look dry and dusty and, ergo, embody that creepy, haunted house energy. Some cobwebs, however, aren’t abandoned at all. Called a “tangle web,” this messy, irregular, spider-built structure is made by members of the family Theridiidae—including regular ol’ house spiders and infamous black widows. Tangle webs stand in direct opposition to orb webs—the radial, wheel-shaped classic we associate with spiders, the type Charlotte wove, the original inspiration for the Halloween-Industrial Complex and its millions of dollars’ worth of merch. Orb webs and tangle webs aren’t the only spider architectural style, but they are the design you’re most likely to discover in your home.
Here’s a fun fact I stumbled across while researching this: tangle webs, like those spun by black widows, are often closer to the ground, which is why you might find them in basements or garages. Orb webs, on the other hand, are usually higher up, catching flying insects like moths. If you’re trying to figure out what kind of web you’re dealing with, check its shape and location. A quick trick I’ve learned from dealing with my own cobweb-covered attic is to shine a flashlight on the web—tangle webs look chaotic and lack the neat symmetry of orb webs. If you’re worried about black widows, keep an eye out for irregular, messy webs in dark, undisturbed corners, and maybe invest a few bucks in some protective gloves before you go poking around. It’s not just about aesthetics—knowing the difference can keep you safe.
Wipe Out Webs in Your Home
Whether the webs in your house are spider- or cob-, it’s not hard to get their builders to look for greener pastures. First, clean all the potentially cobwebby spots regularly—the corners, of course, but also under furniture, between windows, stretching from overhead lighting fixtures to ceilings, in seldom-used cupboards and cabinets, and pretty much everywhere in any attic or basement (especially if the power’s gone out and your only flashlight is dim because its battery is dying and you heard an alarming noise and you’re all alone and you go to investigate with a pounding pulse and the call is coming from inside the house! Just kidding. But yeah, lots of cobwebs in the basement and attic). A dash or two of peppermint essential oil, mixed into your homemade cleaner or just dotted on the door jamb, will discourage future web-weavers. Spiders are beneficial housemates, however. They love to snack on the insects that you really don’t want in your home, like ants, flies, and mosquitos. A few webs here and there are a minimal price to pay for what are essentially free pest-control services. That said, if you can’t bring yourself to co-exist peacefully, look to the many natural solutions for sending spiders packing. Alternatively, you can hire one of the best pest control companies (like Orkin or Terminix) to take care of your spider problem for you.
I’ll admit, I used to be one of those people who’d scream at the sight of a spider, but I’ve come around to appreciating their pest-control skills. A study from the University of Lund in Sweden found that a single house spider can eat up to 2,000 insects a year—pretty impressive for something the size of a quarter. If you’re on a budget, letting a few spiders hang out can save you from spending on chemical sprays or professional exterminators, which can cost anywhere from $100 to $500 depending on the size of your home. My go-to trick for keeping webs under control without evicting my eight-legged roommates is to vacuum corners with a hose attachment every couple of weeks. It’s quick, cheap, and doesn’t involve any chemicals. Just be sure to empty the vacuum bag outside so you don’t accidentally start a spider colony in your closet!