If you think you have seen an increase in spider numbers recently, you're right. But it's a great thing.

Leave Steve here alone. He's done you no harm. Quite the opposite in fact. | 3rd party

placeholder image — Leave Steve here alone. He's done you no harm. Quite the opposite in fact. | 3rd party

Come the autumn it gets colder, so spiders (arachnida) are more readily seen in our homes.

September and October coincide with the mating season. Your living room may have to suffice for this purpose as spiders don't have nightclubs.

Humans tend not to find spiders appealing. Eight hairy legs and the same number of goggling eyes is not a sight which melts the heart in the same way that the Andrex puppies manage.

But please leave the spiders alone. They don't perhaps exude charm, but they perform invaluable environmental and ecological tasks.

Were it not for spiders we would be literally wading through deceased daddy longlegs (pater lankius) and other pests. Spiders are predators and insects their main prey; insects which eat our crops and flowers and pester livestock.

It is estimated that British spiders eat more than the weight of the human population in insects each year.

Creepy-crawlies (crawlius creepum) are often put in the same bracket by human ignorance and this is bad news. There is little to be said in favour of the greenfly or bluebottle, whereas spiders are a great set of lads and get rid of the rubbish insects.

Spotting a Goliath birdeater spider on the arm of the settee might be a bit of a startler, but it's extremely unlikely as it's native to South America; so you are equally likely to see a llama trotting past Jacky White’s Market.

Barely any British spiders can bite and those that can rarely bother. Even if they do bite they can't cause real harm.

And the notion that spiders regularly crawl into human mouths while we sleep is utterly without evidence. A complete myth. Admittedly, evidence-free "facts" are becoming increasingly popular, but we can't help everyone.

Sadly, some will read only the headline of this piece and declare "They go straight under my boot" and, for some reason, be pleased with themselves (nil learnium owt).

But, as with bees and wasps, spiders are our friends. Even if we don't fancy knocking about with them.