Chickens & Spiders

[PitterPaws]

Can chickens kill and eat Large spiders or will the spiders kill the chickens?
I think they are the wolf? Spiders. about the size of the center of the palm of my hand. Aprox. 3 to 4" with the legs.

If not, what can I use to safely kill them off (the spiders)

 

[Dinkadoo]

I would think that your chickens would kill and eat the spiders.

Now if they are like my girls, they don't have a clue about insects. But I do have them free ranging now in the afternoons so I am hoping they will learn soon that bugs are yummy.

 

[PitterPaws]

any more responses?
I would really like some more input Please

 

[irf1983]

I would assume that chickens are as susceptible to spiders as any other animal. I doubt that the spider you're talking about, which is actually known as a house spider, would do much harm to a chicken. They are not deadly to humans, and most likely the chicken would eat them just fine. However I've got to think that if for some reason a brown or black recluse were to bite your chicken, it could be fatal. But that's probably just about as likely as you being bitten by one yourself. My yard and chicken run is crawling with spiders. We've got banana spiders here as big as a fist. I'm not particularly worried. I'm sure other members would know more.

 

[Marie66]

some info that may help:

http://entoplp.okstate.edu/ddd/insects/wolfspider.html

&

Wolf spiders may or may not be aggressive but will inject venom freely if continually provoked. Symptoms of their venomous bite include swelling, mild pain and itching. Though usually considered harmless to humans, the bite of some species may be painful. In the past, necrotic bites have been attributed to some South American species, but further investigation has indicated that those problems that did occur were probably actually due to bites by members of other genera.[2] Australian wolf spiders have also been associated with necrotic wounds, but careful study has likewise shown them not to produce such results.[3]

I see chickens playing with spiders, i suppose they Could be bitten by them.

as for killing the spiders, i have no idea how. you could try to contact your local ag extension office for advice:

http://npic.orst.edu/countyext.htm

 

[PitterPaws]

Thanks everyone, this helps me some, these are the wolf spiders that will charge you even when you are not messing with them. I was working in my garden and one charged me

Scared the you know what out of me

Thank god I moved fast enough so it didn't bite or get on me, I think I would have fainted

 

[astatula]

The wolf spiders we have in Florida are very poisonous and can cause a lot of damage to humans as I have seen personally when patient's walk through my door with lots of swelling and tissue necrosis.

One patient was on antibiotics for nearly 6 months and nearly had part of her leg amputated from the bite.

I would treat them with the same respect as poisonous snakes or scorpions.

Do you have a barbeque grill or any source of propane near by? They are very much attracted to the odor of propane and will often be seen around grills.

As far as killing them, get a big broom or a shovel and start smashing them.

The patient may have been bitten by a brown recluse spider, which would explain the more severe reaction, but swears it was a wolf spider.

 

[Camelot Farms]

Mine love Daddy-Long-Legs!

 

[cgmccary]

Mine catch & eat grown mice so a spider is no match! Probably the Cane Spider in Hawaii would be trouble for Bantam (thank goodnes they aren't here in North America as far as I know).

Mine love Daddy-Long-Legs!

Ah, The D. Long Legs are good as they eat mosquitos.​

 

[PitterPaws]

Oh I wouldn't want them eating the daddy long legs! We have so many mosquitoes here we need all the help we can get to eradicate them!

I use our barn shovel to kill the wolf spiders that I see, I was just hoping the chickens could eat them safely without being bitten and die from it.