Rather than darting around in your house, most spiders that actually survive the winter choose to shelter outdoors instead.
They'll look for a quiet spot in an outbuilding – or a natural shelter such as under logs or stones, in leaf litter or hollow plant stems – where they're not going to be disturbed by you.
This is one reason why it's really important that we don't tidy up too much in the garden, because this can deprive those spiders of cosy spots to see out the cold weather.
Most spiders mate in the late summer or early autumn. After the females lay their eggs, they often die and leave the eggs somewhere, sheltered and wrapped in spider silk.
Some species will stay with their egg sac, to help keep the eggs warm as long as they can and increase the likelihood of the eggs surviving to hatch in the spring.
Spider silk makes quite a good insulation, so for adult spiders just wrapping themselves up can be enough – apparently there's a North American spider that builds a web tent on the snow!
Spider on egg sac © Vicky Nall
Some species get through the cold season in a pretty amazing way: as the temperature drops they develop enzymes in their blood that act like antifreeze, and then enter a state called diapause where their metabolism slows right down and they use barely any energy.
This isn't a complete hibernation because they'll still wake up on warmer days, and be out and about finding food.
These spiders can still freeze if it gets too cold, so they'll find somewhere sheltered to enter diapause – it might be underground, or amongst vegetation – which also minimises their chance of being eaten whilst unable to run away.
Water spiders, which live their entire life in an air bubble underwater, are fundamentally better protected because the sub-surface temperature is less variable than on land.
They seal up their air bubble and go into diapause in a similar way to land spiders. If they can they might also go deeper in the water, where it's a little warmer.
According to some sources, spitting spiders actively like heated buildings, so they might be seeking ways into your house! They're pretty tiny (3–6mm) and don't build webs, so you might not even notice them.
They're harmless to humans and will eat other invertebrates, so might actually be helpful indoors. Their spit is a mix of venom and liquid spider silk which acts as a glue to immobilise prey whilst they deal with it.
There are some spiders that simply avoid outdoors altogether. Giant house spiders – the big dark ones you see in the bathtub – simply live in our houses year-round.
They're apparently getting more active in winter in recent years – maybe due to climate change, or perhaps just because we're keeping our houses warmer. Of course, they have no need for protected shelters or diapause.
So whether or not you love spiders, you have to admit they've some pretty amazing strategies for getting through this time of year!
