Do Spiders Make Noise (What Sounds Do Spiders Make?)

Most spiders make no noise at all, which is especially typical for domestic spiders and many spiders seen in the wild. There are some spiders, however, like the wolf spider or the tarantula, that might make some interesting sounds.

The wolf spider is known for its low purring sound, which is a vibrating sound that is made by male wolf spiders to attract female wolf spiders.

Tarantulas, on the other hand, create a hissing sound that sounds like running water. These sounds are created by the lyra on their pedipalps.

Do Spiders Make Noise?

The vast majority of spiders make no noise at all, or might make some noises that are not audible for the human ear. Rare spiders such as the wolf spider or the tarantula might make sounds that our ears are able to pick up.

Larger spiders like large tarantulas, however, might make noises through stridulation as they walk around thanks to their large body parts.

Stridulation is the act of rubbing together two solid body parts, which then creates a sound when the animal moves. These cases are fairly rare and only typical for larger animals, though.

Not all tarantulas will produce stridulation. In fact, most spiders are silent, or at least to human ears.

This is particularly true for long-legged domestic spiders that you encounter every day in your home, or other types of smaller spiders that lurk around the corners and the furniture of your home.

This is because they use vibration to sense other spiders and other animals around them, so the need to use sound is nearly eliminated because of this fact. They also want to be as silent as possible when catching other animals, giving them an advantage when they ambush other animals.

So far, there has not been much in terms of research as to what sounds spiders create, but some spiders might create sounds that are audible for the human ears.

Read Also: Do Spiders have Tongues? and Do They have Teeth?

What Sounds Do Spiders Make?

Even though most spiders are silent and don’t produce any notable sounds, there are some spiders that do produce sounds. These include wolf spiders and tarantulas.

1. Low Purring

Male wolf spiders produce a low purring sound that is used to attract females of the same family of spiders.

This type of sound has been widely discussed by scientists and also recorded in enclosed settings, so there is plenty of evidence for this type of noise that you might hear from spiders.

The main purpose of this sound is for breeding. When female wolf spiders make indications that she’s ready to breed, the male wolf will start emitting these low purring sounds.

The purpose of these sounds is to emit vibrations that will attract the female to the male spider and initiate breeding.

However, this mechanism will only work if the two spiders are on the same type of surface (a leaf) where the female spider is able to detect the vibrations.

Interestingly enough, even though this sound is very low-pitched and not very loud, it is still loud enough so that human ears can pick them up. It’s one of the rare sounds that spiders make and a very unique occurrence, so it has naturally gathered a lot of attention from spider enthusiasts and researchers.

2. Stridulation

Stridulation is the sound that you would hear when a larger animal with a lot of harder body parts, such as a crab, walks around and makes noises.

The body parts hit each other, which creates the sound known as stridulation.

These sounds can also be heard from larger spider species such as large tarantulas. 

When the animal walks, its body parts will start hitting each other and rubbing against one another, which creates a distinct sound known as stridulation.

Take a listen here:

This sound is very distinct and is often heard in movies and video games where larger spiders start moving around. Interestingly enough, this sound can be detected in real life, but only with the larger tarantulas and cannot be heard with small tarantulas.

3. Hissing

Some tarantulas will also produce a hissing sound that sounds like running water when it is provoked. Again, not all tarantulas will produce this sound.

The sound is created by the lyra on the spider’s pedipalps, and the tarantula will make this noise when it is disturbed, or when it feels endangered. It will also create this sound when you touch the tarantula’s fangs.

Again, this sound is created by the moving body parts that are touching each other, which only happens when the animal is provoked or touched.

Do Domestic Spiders Make Noise?

No, domestic spiders (long-legged spiders) do not create any noise at all.

If you’ve been wondering about whether the spiders you have around in your home create any sounds, then you can be relaxed – these spiders normally don’t create any audible sounds, although not a lot of research has yet been done on this.

Despite the fact that there’s not a lot of research, it’s believed that these spiders don’t make sounds at all.

The main reason for that is because these spiders love privacy and they want to remain as hidden as possible.

This gives them an advantage over unsuspecting animals that are passing by, allowing the spider to ambush them easier when it can, but also keep themselves hidden.

Conclusion

Not many spiders make noise, but those that do, can make some interesting noises such as hissing, purring, and stridulation.

These sounds are not very clearly audible and some can only be picked up in complete silence. Domestic spiders and other spider species do not create any sounds at all, so it will be near impossible to expect that you’ll hear a spider make a noise in your home one day.