Spiders live alongside us all year round and this is something to celebrate, not fear. These amazing animals are a vital part of our ecosystems, feeding on an astounding number of insects. Globally, spiders eat between 400 and 800 million tons of insects and invertebrates a year. Many of these insects are considered pests of food crops, garden plants and even people, so having spiders around is a great natural alternative to pesticides.

There are over 650 species of spider in the UK. In our houses, many hide behind furniture and hunt other invertebrates like house flies and wasps. They tend to keep themselves to themselves, preferring dark corners where they can live in peace. In late summer and early autumn, spiders become more active as males seek out females.

The giant house spider is a familiar, hairy spider, most likely seen running across your floor at night. There are several house spider species, which are tricky to tell apart. They’re all large and brown with very long legs, and spin sheets of webs in out-of-the-way corners.

The thin, gangly, Cellar spider is also known as daddy long-legs. They spend most of the day sitting very still, but if disturbed they have two very different reactions. Some curl up into a ball and try to be invisible, but others vibrate manically in an attempt to frighten you off.

The mouse spider get its name from the covering of tiny grey hairs on their abdomen which looks a bit like mouse fur. They mostly hunt at night. Instead of making a web, they wander around looking for small insects to ambush.

The noble false widow spider is not native to the UK, but have been here for over a century, slowly spreading northwards from the south coast. They’re dark brown with cream markings on their abdomen. Although they can bite, they are not aggressive and are only likely to do so if roughly handled. In the rare confirmed cases where a noble false widow has bitten someone, the bite has been compared to a wasp sting.

Next time you see a spider, remember they can be our allies in the never ending battle of fly swatting, window closing and pest preventing.