Ever witnessed a bird having lunch? There’s a variety of birds that eat spiders! We’ll show you what type of birds eat spiders and how this can be beneficial to you.
Birds that eat spiders as their prey are more common than you think. That could have to do with the fact that spiders are a great source of protein for our feathered friends! What kind of birds eat spiders? And what does that mean for you? Let’s dive in.
1. Owls
Owls fascinate many people and have been around for ages. They have one of the longest fossil records of living birds, which means the history of their life is documented by fossils. Owls have a diverse diet – they enjoy consuming snakes, mice, lizards, frogs, small fish, earthworms, insects, and of course, spiders.
Due to their trait of being opportunistic hunters, which means that they aim for high-speed chases of multiple medium-sized preys, they will hunt all types of spiders, small and big ones. For anyone who has a yard with larger trees or lives near a forest, it’s quite likely that an owl will pay you a visit and eat some of the spiders in your yard.
2. Jackdaws
Jackdaws are omnivorous birds that are known to be particularly clever when it comes to their foraging for food. They are another example of birds that eat spiders on a regular basis. One reason for that is spiders containing taurine. This amino acid is vital to the development of younger birds, so many jackdaws hunt spiders to provide their babies with this.
Much like owls, they thrive in places with high trees. Take that into consideration if you are trying to attract them to your yard.
3. Birds That Eat Spiders: Ravens
Ravens like to munch on spiders from time to time, though they do not specifically seek them out. They’re also omnivores and generally consume almost anything that comes their way. As ravens can grow to be quite large, they also won’t shy away from bigger spiders.
4. Hawks
Hawks usually tend to set their sights on snakes, rodents, or even other birds, so insects aren’t a high priority. They do snack on the occasional spider meaning they can be categorized as another example of birds that eat spiders. However, due to the danger they can pose to other birds, they are not a good choice to attract to your yard if you’re looking to get rid of insects naturally.
5. Pigeons
While pigeons seem to have one of the worst reputations among birds, they may be great helpers in getting rid of insects in your yard. Like hawks, pigeons are another kind of bird that eat spiders. They can adapt to many different environments and tend to keep to themselves, so they won’t bug other birds in the yard much. While you may be tempted to feed some bread crumbs to pigeons you may encounter, you should refrain from that as bread is bad for birds.
6. Birds That Eat Spiders: Wrens
Wrens are small, brown birds that are part of insectivorous birds, meaning species that feed mainly on insects, spiders, and other invertebrates. They tend to be one of the most popular kinds of birds to eat spiders and are known to be particularly good at catching them. If you live in the Southeast, it’s likely that you have a lot of wrens in your backyard.
7. Sparrows
There are different types of sparrows, the most popular one being the house sparrow which is represented all over the world! Sparrows are insectivorous birds and, due to their small size, will usually go for smaller spiders that are easy to catch and digest.
Their main interest in spiders comes up for feeding their younger ones. They are most common in North America and choose to live anywhere from city centers, to suburbs, and farms.
8. Robins
American Robins are common sights in backyards, and much like wrens and sparrows, they are quite small. Robins are known to be true insect lovers and will happily eat the spiders in your yard, as half of their diet consists of spiders and bugs. Apart from eating spiders, they can be helpful in getting rid of aphids and ants.
9. Birds That Eat Spiders: Bluebirds
Bluebirds are a colorful type of North American bird that is known for eating spiders, as their diet consists of insects, berries, and wild fruit. They typically live in higher latitudes but may head south if food becomes scarce, or whenever it gets too cold for them.
If you want to help a little with attracting them to your backyard or want to keep them around for longer you can try native gardening in your yard by planting bushes such as red raspberry, flowering dogwood, holly, elderberry, bayberry and other flowering shrubs and bushes. You could arrange nesting boxes for them. However, be aware that bluebirds may not get along well with other types of birds, such as house sparrows.
10. Finches
The house finch is the most common backyard finch in the US and can easily be attracted by harvesting sunflower seeds or thistle seeds and laying them out for them. Once they are around, they’re likely to help you with getting rid of spiders, though their main diet consists of seeds, berries, and other plant life.
When Does It Make Sense To Have Birds Eat Spiders in My Yard?
Before you actually start attracting birds to eat spiders in your yard, you should double-check whether that’s really necessary. Despite some popular assumptions, many spiders are actually beneficial to your backyard. They help you get rid of harmful insects and pests, such as spider mites, aphids, wasps, flea beetles, or mosquitoes that could otherwise destroy your vegetable crops.
The most common spider to find in your yard is the garden spider. Just look out for spiders with black bodies and yellow markings. Some other beneficial types of spiders are hunting spiders, crab spiders, or jumping spiders. But watch out! Not all types of spiders are harmless.
Occasionally, if you come across spiders like black widows or brown recluse spiders, whose bites can be dangerous for human beings, birds may be great helpers in evicting them from your yard. It’s best to look up photos of these spiders to make sure you recognize them by their characteristics immediately and can start handling the issue.
How Do I Keep Spiders Away From My House?
Birds can be helpful at keeping spiders away in your yard, but they can’t get them all. There are a couple of precautions you can take to prevent spiders from entering your house:
- Keep your home clean and decluttered
- Make use of essential oils like tea tree essential oil
- Keep fragrant plants around (peppermint plant, lavender, mint, or lemon)
- Lay out cinnamon sticks
If these methods don’t work, you can easily learn how to get rid of spiders in a manner of other different ways.
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