Most spiders do drink or require a regular daily amount of water. In the wild, most spiders will drink from any available source such as droplets on vegetation or the ground or from early morning dew that has gathered upon their webs. If a spider is kept in captivity it is good to provide them with a fresh water source such as in a small bottle cap or a damp sponge for smaller species, and a small dish for larger species.
It is a myth that spiders live in drains. When you find a spider in a building or in the shower, it is usually because it’s a good source of water for them and then they typically remain trapped because the sides are too slippery or steep for them to climb back out.
Depending on the species, different spiders may use different methods to quench their thirst. The whistling spider which resides in the desert, covers its burrow with a thin layer of silk to keep it humid and dew or raindrops are captured using a silk covered mound near the entrance. Some species of spiders ingest nectar, while others quench their thirst by drinking dew drops in early morning.
A common practice for many species of spiders to follow as a way to get their regular intake of water is to consume their spider web first thing every morning. By doing this they consume water that has condensed as droplets onto the web. Other spiders may use their pincers to take water from their webs and place it into their mouths.
While, spiders such as the black widow and the red back do not drink water at all. Instead they get all of the fluid that they require by sucking the juices from their prey.
Kimberly says
I found this site as I was searching for any other evidence that black widows drink water… I have had a full grown black widow for about 3 months now. I keep a shell full of water in the tank for the crickets I put in. I witnessed all the crickets drink from the shell. I had never seen Annabella, the black widow, drink…until today. She has been without food for about 1.5 weeks and I let the water dry up as there were no crickets. Since it was on my mind I decided to put water in the tank as I am picking up some crickets tomorrow. Annabella went straight to the shell and put her face to the water and stayed there for a solid minute. I grabbed my magnifying glass… she was drinking water!!! Her tank will never be without water again.
Marco says
You have a black widow oh shit your wild!
LVL says
I’ve watch a baby black widow grow into a young adult these past few weeks, she’s lives under a sliding pocket door jam. I started leaving water droplets out side her entrance, and every time l leave water, she comes out. That’s why I searched ASK.com, because I did not know if spiders needed water or not. I think she’s becoming dependent on the water droplets, because I never see any prey near her entrance.
Ligger says
Yeah I had no idea that dpiders drank water in general. Yesterday I caught ablack widoe with my girlfriend and put her in a jar with other insects like crickets, beetles and some ants. I wanted to feed the ants so I put some sugar water inside the wall with a straw and I saw the black widow drink the water from it
Jamie says
After cleaning out a downstairs storage room and leaving my above ‘barn” apartment for a couple of hours… I came back to the hugest spider ever. Legs were 4 inches long… each. It was literally laying in water, drinking like a mofo. I screamed and ran. Obviously I moved out a week later.
jaquin says
i was showering and saw a spider drinking by moving between the webs and using its pinchers. I have arachnophobia but i rather got interested than scared
jaquin says
i was showering and saw a spider drinking by moving between the webs and using its pinchers. I have arachnophobia but i rather got interested than scared
Eoin2004 says
I have a couple of black widows and this helped me alot
Dylan says
i have a huge female black widow so should I fill a bottle cap with water?
Liserious says
Good information. Sure am glad i wasnt dehydrating Maria, my brown widow.
Barthalemeows Owner says
I have a small spider at the top of my door, dunno where it came from but hasn’t been moving for weeks. After reading this i left a couple of water drops around it hope it sees and drinks it. Cheers Barthalemeow!