Why you have so many spider webs in your garden, and what it means

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Spiders are a gardener's friend. They are not pests. They catch flying insects like mosquitos, flies, etc. So while I consider a spider web in the garden to be unsightly, I also know that my friends the spiders are trying to tell me something - I have too many flying insects around.

It's July 23rd, and I haven't seen many mosquitos lately, but I'm sure that there are still some around. And yep, there are flies! For the mosquitos I spray a general-purpose bug killer (I like Bug B Gone, mostly because of the name, which I think is funny), which I mix up in one of those one gallon pump-pump containers, and then I walk around the around the garden, aiming low. I'll use a capful in a gallon for the backyard, and then the same for the courtyard. I try to spray it in areas that I really can't see - which is where bugs like to be.

I also put out one of those fly-trap things (I buy whatever looks interesting at Home Depot) in my side yard. Yeah, I know that they mostly catch my neighbor's flies (as the old saying goes), not mine, but at least I'm trying!

By the way, if you live around Black Widow spiders, learn how to identify them. They have a terribly painful sting, and they are not welcomed here!

In general, I really don't like the look of spider webs in my garden. So, as a matter of just keeping the garden tidy, I knock them down. But the spider was going to have to move anyway, as I've taken away those delicious mosquitos and flies!

Image above: Black and Yellow Garden Spider drawn by my brother Roger Hall. From Inkart.net

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