Beneficial Because:
Young garden spiders feed on a wide range of small insect pests.
Food and Habitat:
Garden spiders will eat aphids, nuisance flies, gnats and mosquitoes during spring and summer. Larger flies and wasps will also be trapped and eaten by the adult spiders in late summer and autumn. Garden spiders are commonly found in gardens, woodlands and hedgerows.
Attracting More:
Provide lots of flowering plants to attract the flying insects that garden spiders feed on. Include shrubs in your landscape, which can serve as spider nurseries. When renovating a garden bed, allow a few minutes for spiders to run away after you rake off mulch or pull out plants. Avoid using pesticides, which are often deadly for spiders.