Are water spiders Poisonous?

Question

We found a water spider in our pool.In Michigan. Is that possible?

Answer 1

Sure is possible.  Insects come to your pool to drink, so the spider felt it was a good hunting area.  They will often build a web on the diving board, or corner of a pool, depending on the shape.

As for being poisonous - plants can be poisonous.  Spiders have 'digestive venom,' used to immobilize the insects and to liquefy the inside of their prey for comsumption.

A few spiders are VERY dangerous, such as the Banana spider; the Brown Recluse; and in some cases, the Black Widow.  You can find out more about dangerous spiders of the world by googling them.  How badly a person reacts to the bite is dependent on the individual's sensitivity to the 'venom'  (just like some people aren't much affected by a bee sting, but other people go into anaphylactic shock, and need antiserum).

I doubt you need to be concerned about the spider near your pool.  If its in an area which is preventing use of the pool, use a stick and gently relocate it so it can continue to practice insect control, as nature intended.

I hope this has been helpful.

Answer 2

if you mean the pond skaters no, the ones that dart along the surface

Answer 3

It could be a spider that just happened to cluelessly saunter into your pool, they do have poor eyesight.  All spiders possess venom, but we are too big for them to do much harm to us, unless you are allergic (if you're allergic to bee stings/venom, then odds are you will also be allergic to other venom as well).  

Answer 4

All spiders are venomous to some degree. There is a species of spider that lives near streams and ponds. They are fishing spiders of the family Dolomedes, and are fairly large. They are often found walking on the surface of ponds and can dive under water to catch prey such as small fish or to escape danger.  If you go to www.whatsthatbug.com and look under "spiders" you can see several photos of these interesting spiders and how they hunt.