Do Spiders Poop? (Yes, But…)

Yes, spiders poop. Their poop is similar to bird poo in its consistency – it is soft and liquid thanks to their malpighian tubules, which transform their food into waste and spiders excrete it regularly.

Instead of producing urine and poop separately, spiders have malpighian tubules that have the same function as kidneys have for the human body.

These tubules lie in the abdominal part of the spider and the role of these tubules is to separate nutrients from waste and push the waste towards the anus, which then goes out of the spider’s body.

Do Spiders Poop?

Spiders produce uric acid, which is produced by mixing waste materials from the spider’s digestive tubule.

When spiders eat their food (such as ants), it will first enter their sucking stomach and then be pushed into the sucking stomach.

Then, the food will enter the digestive tubules, from where the good nutrients are stored in the spider’s body, and the bad material is pushed to the Malpighian tubule. It is there that food is finally processed and the rest of the waste material is pushed out through the anus.

The end product is the uric acid, which is liquid and white in color. It is slightly similar to the poop of birds, but much smaller. It is elongated, which is thanks to the thin and long Malpighian tubules which is where the excretion is produced.

The uric acid (the excrete of spiders) contains a lot of guanine, which is one of the main distinguishing factors that separate spider waste from the waste of other insects.

Another interesting fact is that studies have found that spider poop does not contain harmful bacteria or any bacteria at all. In contrast, the poop of other insects can potentially have more than 100 harmful bacteria inside, which is why many people avoid the waste material produced by these insects.

More research still needs to be done, but the rare studies that have been done suggest that spider poop is not dangerous to our health.

What Do Spider Droppings Look Like?

Spider droppings are liquid, thick, and elongated pieces of waste that have a creamy white color and closely resemble the bird poop, but are much smaller in size.

However, it’s unlikely that you’d be able to spot spider droppings of smaller spiders with your naked eye. They’re too small and also not dense enough for you to be able to see them, and they’re different from bird droppings in this respect.

Spider droppings can be scattered almost anywhere in your home – behind your closet, under the bed, or simply on the floor.

It also depends on the size of the spider in question – if it’s a large spider like tarantula, then the droppings would be visible with a naked eye easily. However, for smaller spiders, these droppings are not clearly visible.

Spider waste, or uric acid, can be spotted mainly in the hidden spots of your home such as behind furniture. But more importantly, it can be spotted in corners of your home where spiders usually preside.

The droppings are a combination of processed food and waste products. They can be characterized as spotty, white and black marks that you’ll find below spiders or in corners of your home.

Sometimes, the droppings will also appear black and white in appearance, and the two colors will interchange in the spots of waste of spiders.

Do Spiders Use Poop to Create Webs?

No, spider webs are not made out of poop. Spiders have silk glands inside their bodies which they will use to create silk, out of which they can create webs.

Webs are perhaps the most important product that a spider will make. It is used for killing and trapping other animals, but it’s also an effective solution for protection.

Another important use of webs for spiders is for moving around – they give the spider more movement space as it makes it easier for the spider to move.

Even though they’re such small animals, they have immense capabilities of producing a lot of silk in a short period of time. They can create enough silk to suit their needs at a particular moment.

The silk spiders create is versatile and very elastic for how thin it is. It’s estimated that the silk will expand for 140% of its size before it pops, which is impressive for an animal that is so small.

How Do You Clean Spider Droppings?

Spider droppings are not harmful to your health necessarily – at least that’s what science says. 

However, it’s never nice to know that your home is full of spider droppings.

They might be bad for the overall aesthetic of your home and because they’re hidden, they will accumulate over time, potentially causing damage to your furniture and the walls. That’s why cleaning them would make a lot of sense – if you can spot them.

But how do you clean spider droppings?

This will primarily depend on the surface you’re intending to clean. You should not use bleach on fine furniture, although bleach can be highly effective for cleaning spider droppings from other surfaces that aren’t as vulnerable.

The best way to clean spider droppings is to use a solution and apply it first before scrubbing. The solutions that you can use for cleaning spider waste include:

• Water & bleach solution (don’t use on finer furniture)
• Soft Scrub
• Scrubbing bubbles
• Stain remover
• Other softer types of stain removal products

Once you’ve let the solution of your choice sit for a while, you can proceed with scrubbing.

If there’s a lot of waste and you are cleaning surfaces that are not fine, you can use a brush, but you can also use a towel or a simple cloth, which should be good enough to remove the spider droppings.

MORE SPIDER ANATOMY ARTICLES:

• Do Spiders have Tongues?
• Do Spiders have Teeth or Fangs?
• Can Spiders Regrow Legs?
• Do Spiders have Bones?

Conclusion

Spiders consume food on a daily basis, which only means one thing – they will have to extract waste materials out of their bodies as well. And they do that just the same way as other animals do – by creating poop.