Yes.

Spiders are some of the best predators in the insect world. While many of us find ourselves afraid of spiders, without them we would have even more serious pest problems. House spiders eat several bugs a day. Garden spiders eat even more, as they require as many as 5 to 10 insects per day at least in order to maintain their size, web, and activity habits. Without them, who knows how many more pests there would be.

So it should come as little surprise – and perhaps be something to appreciate – that spiders also eat mosquitoes.

Mosquitoes and a Spider’s Diet

Now, one thing to note is that there are no spider species that specifically hunt mosquitoes, and – unlike many other types of bugs – mosquitoes do not hover around specific areas (like lights) that spiders can target in order to capture more mosquitoes. This is one of the reasons that bug zappers are not very effective against mosquitoes, and thus not a way that spiders can target them.

However, mosquitoes do fly around aimlessly a times, or may find themselves attracted to the scent of someone while a spider web stands in their way. Because they fly fairly mindlessly (it is not truly mindless, as there is a zigzagging behavior they use to find hosts or they fly at a source of food they sense, but it is not something they do with their eyes as their vision is terrible), they can easily find themselves accidentally caught in a web.

Once they’re there, spiders eat them just like they eat any other bug. They do not care if the mosquito is a male or female, or if it has recently fed. They are predators and they will eat it.

Spiders in Your Yard for Mosquito Control

Spiders are good for the environment. We do not want them in our home, but outdoors, they help control the pest population in ways that not even professional pest control can.

Still, they’re not the greatest at controlling mosquitoes. They are helpful, but they are much better at eliminating pests like flies, which are more likely to find a way into their webs.