Competitors & Predators

The hobo spider comes into contact with various types of organism.  Mantis religiosa is a praying mantis that kills and consumes hobo spiders.  The mantises are a big contributor to limiting Tegenaria agrestis populations.  There are also some species of wasps that feed on hobo spiders.  An example is Sceliphron caementarium.

There are a handful of predatory spiders that kill and eat the hobo spider.  Some examples of
these are different wolf spiders with the genus Lycosa and Schizocosa.  Hobo spiders are not very good at climbing and they often get stuck in the webs of other spiders that are sticky.  The western black widow lives among hobo spiders and it is a big predator of them.  House cats and some species of birds have been known to attack Tegenaria agrestis as well.
There is competition among many spider groups.  Many of the spiders share a diet of small insects, so they are always competing for food.  Some of the competitors include jumping spiders, crab spiders, and also wolf spiders.  There are also some species of spiders that compete with the hobo spider for nesting locations.  Spiders from the family Araneidae are some of the biggest competitors with the hobo spider for food.  Both groups often build webs in the same locations in an attempt to capture food.

Occasionally Tegenaria agrestis can come into contact with humans.  This is usually just with the hobo spiders that are in the United States. Not the ones in Europe.  The male spiders sometimes wander into houses while they are searching for a mate.  The female spiders will occasionally stumble into a house in the early winter months.


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