Where Do Spiders Go in the Winter?
So, where do spiders go in the winter? From the over 40,000 spiders species, like argiopes or garden orb weavers only survive for a single season – they’ll die over winter but will leave their eggs in sacs ready to hatch. But tarantula or fishing spider live longer. 
Spiders hibernate under attics, cellars, piles of leaves, rocks (rock piles), sheds, garages, underground burrows, or trees. So, do spiders hibernate?
Well, just 5% of spiders spicies hibernate to indoor spaces such as your home during winter. Most spiders won’t try getting into your house during winter – it was just a spider myth. Spiders are cold blooded and thus may die or fail to reproduce when they get into your warm house.
Details: Where Do Spiders Go in the Winter?
Through natural instincts, the spiders will move to better sheltered areas during winter. These include rock piles, bark cracks on trees or under leaf litter. During winter, the favorable conditions in these areas plus their antifreeze keep the fleas alive.
In addition. spiders like the tarantula will lay their eggs during spring and thus will safely cross the harsh winter as babies in their protective cocoons.
Further, some of the baby spiders, after hatching, will hide in the egg sacs that are webbed for use by the whole spider community over the winter period.
However, the spiders that’ll be hiding under rock piles and leaf litter won’t be sleeping (spiders don’t sleep) but may be moving around searching for food.
1 Outdoor Spiders
Sutdoor spiders will live very comfortably in your outdoor spaces but won’t easily survive the conditions in the indoors. E.g. North American spider can’t survive the winter in the indoor shelters.
As “cold-blooded” insects, spiders won’t be attracted to conditions of warmth in the indoor spaces. Thus, spider’s won;t get cold or shiver from the winter – they become come dormant and less active. The outdoor spiders will hibernate into indoor spaces but won’t reproduce or they’ll even die.
Further, spiders come with “antifreeze” in their bodies – particularly those from temperate areas. Therefore, antifreeze prevents the spider’s body from freezing at temperatures above about -5° C.
2. Indoor or House spiders
The indoor or house spiders are few in terms of species but they’ll conditioned to live in the indoor conditions – i.e. limited water supply, bad food supply, and constant climate.
Historically, some species of the house spiders (mainly found in Europe) are known to have always lived in the indoor spaces. The spiders have moved worldwide and some are conditioned to live in the outdoor spaces such as in North America.
These house spiders will occupy your house through eggs sacs that comes with building materials or old furniture. They’ll mainly live in the house and only emerge during the last summer (which is around September & August).
The baby and female spiders will hibernate in the neglected spaces, behind appliances or furniture, storage rooms, and crawlspaces. Notably, just a small percentage of the house spiders will ever more outdoors.
How Spider’s Survive Winter
1. “Antifreeze”
Spiders living in the colder regions have an “antifreeze” – and adaptation that helps prevent their body from freezing during the cold or winter season.
If the temperatures begin to fall, then the spider’s body accumulates glycol compounds (this acts like the antifreeze) in the blood. The antifreeze will work just like the engine antifreeze.
The glycol enables the tissues in the spider to stay unfrozen with very low temperatures. However, this method is a short term remedy used by the spiders during winter.
Thus, the spider hibernates to the favorable areas such as neglected spaces, behind appliances or furniture, storage rooms, soil or snow layer and crawlspaces – the subnivean zone.
The favorable zone will insulate spiders against harsh winter conditions like cold but allow them to run around searching food. But, during the spring, the spiders will eventually stop generating the antifreeze as the air and temperature clears.
2. Nests
As we’ve noted above, spiders eggs will die from the low and freezing temperatures – and thus they’ll do the best to ensure the eggs will survive through winter.
Most of the spiders will produce eggs (after mating) during early fall. Therefore, the spiders will search favorable places to lay and hide their eggs as the temperatures fall.
These include secluded, dark or hidden areas such as burrows, downspouts, chimneys. This allows the spider eggs to rain alive and warm through winter waiting for spring to hatch.
Further, the spiders create webs that look like webs – creating a safe haven for the eggs. The spiders also create a web wall that’ll overall the bare cracks or corners.
After winter or when the temperatures and conditions become better, the baby spiders will gnaw away the spider webs to jump off to the environment.
3. House
Definitely some spiders may look onto your house as a safe place to hide away from the harsh and freezing winter climate. Just like bed bugs, the spiders will sneak into your home for safety.
Spiders search for humid and warm conditions during winter where they can create their safety webs. Therefore, your home offers the favorable conditions.
The bugs will climb onto roof shingles, siding, walls, windows and get into your home. Also, dark pantries, closets, basements, and attics will be suitable locations for the spiders to hide in your house.
Considering a food sources, spiders will also search for a location that’ll enable them to hunt for their prey. Therefore, spiders can prey on other pests that’re bugging you during winter.
4. Insulation
Spiders are equally intelligent bugs that’ll create insulation against the freezing winter conditions – they’ll build a warm pod waiting for warmer months.
The spiders will build the pods on secluded and enclosed places where they’ll build web covering the openings to make something looking like their egg nests.
The pod’s web will prevent the cold air for hitting the spiders and their eggs for them to survive winter conditions. However, other spiders create the pads under snow or the soil for additional insulation.
Spiders will also insulate their bodies and eggs by building on building sidings and roof corners. However, the bugs will break off from the webs when its warmer to hunt for food.
