Tiny house spiders eat other small household insects: flies, gnats, mosquitoes, ants, and the occasional moth or smaller spider. Most are web-builders that wait in a corner for something to stick. A house spider can go weeks, and sometimes months, without a meal when food is scarce.
Common Tiny House Spiders
- Common house spiders: brown or gray with a rounded abdomen. They spin tangled, irregular webs in corners and under furniture.
- Cellar spiders: pale, with very long thin legs. They hang upside down in loose webs in basements, garages, and ceiling corners.
- Cobweb spiders: small spiders in the same family as widows that make messy webs. Most are harmless.
What They Eat
All house spiders are predators. A tiny house spider typically eats:
- Flies, fruit flies, and gnats
- Mosquitoes and midges
- Ants and small beetles
- Carpet beetle larvae and other pantry pests
- Smaller spiders that cross their webs
They paralyze the prey with venom, wrap it in silk, and feed on the liquid insides. Spider venom is aimed at small insects and is almost never a problem for people or pets.
Why You Have Them
Spiders move indoors because that is where insects are. If you see many tiny spiders, you may have a larger insect problem: fruit flies near ripe produce, gnats around houseplants, or ants coming in through cracks. Reducing those insects usually reduces the spiders.
What to Do About House Spiders
- Vacuum webs and egg sacs regularly, especially in corners and basements.
- Seal cracks around doors, windows, and pipes.
- Keep food sealed and take out trash to cut down on flies and ants.
- If you would rather not kill them, catch them in a cup, slide a card under it, and release them outside.
Feeding a House Spider Kept Indoors
If you are keeping one temporarily, offer a live fruit fly or small fly every few days and a lightly misted corner for water. Our guide to feeding a house spider has more detail. You may also like what giant house spiders eat and what yellow sac spiders eat.
Bottom Line
Tiny house spiders eat flies, gnats, mosquitoes, ants, and other small spiders. They are mostly harmless pest control, and fewer insects in your home means fewer spiders.
