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I don’t want to kill the spiders, ants and other bugs in my house. What should I do instead?

The Conversation · 🇦🇺 public Australia · · 903 words · By Tanya Latty
Animal Welfare Public Health and Safety Environmental Coexistence
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The article encourages homeowners to coexist with common household insects and spiders rather than killing them, arguing that most are harmless and ecologically useful. It provides practical tips for reducing pests and suggests relocating them outside as a humane alternative to pesticides.

Propaganda risk 30%
Claims checked 14
Techniques found 3
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center88%
Right12%

8 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

We’ve all been there: just as you’re about to fall asleep, you notice a huntsman spider on the ceiling.

Why it matters

Or you walk into your kitchen and find a long trail of ants snaking into your pantry.

Common ground

Given there are an estimated 10 quintillion individual insects alive on Earth at any one time, it’s no surprise they sometimes find their way into our homes.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Appeal to Pity, Exaggeration / Hyperbole: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

The article encourages homeowners to coexist with common household insects and spiders rather than killing them, arguing that most are harmless and ecologically useful. It provides practical tips for reducing pests and suggests relocating them outside as a humane alternative to pesticides.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://theconversation.com/i-dont-want-to-kill-the-spiders-ants-and-other-bugs-…

analyticsAnalysis

30%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 95%
Minor concerns. Some persuasive language detected, but largely factual.

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 3 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 90% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.
warning
Appeal to Pity 80% confidence
Evoking sympathy to win support rather than using logical arguments.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing appeal to pity helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.
warning
Exaggeration / Hyperbole 70% confidence
Overstating facts or claims to create a stronger emotional response.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing exaggeration / hyperbole helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 14 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 4
info Single Source 3
check_circle Corroborated 3
verified Verified 2
verified Verified By Reference 2
verified
Claim 1: “huntsman spiders (Sparassidae sp)”
VERIFIED
The Australian Museum and Wikipedia both confirm that Huntsman spiders belong to the family Sparassidae.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Huntsman spiders, members of the family Sparassidae, catch their prey by hunting rather than in webs. They are also called giant crab spiders because of their size and appearance. Larger species somet…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huntsman_spider
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Introduction. Australian Huntsman spiders belong to the Family Sparassidae (formerly Heteropodidae) and are famed as being the hairy so-called 'tarantulas' on house walls that terrify people by scuttl…
https://australian.museum/learn/animals/spiders/huntsman-spi…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Huntsman spiders belong to the family Sparassidae, with many species found throughout Australia.Huntsman spiders are wandering hunters that use speed, agility and power to capture their prey. Moths, c…
https://www.minibeastwildlife.com.au/resources/huntsman-spid…
schedule
Claim 2: “cockroaches, ants and flies can potentially transfer bacteria from one surface to another”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
verified
Claim 3: “no one has died from a redback bite since antivenom was introduced in 1956”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided Wikipedia results discuss general facts about Australia and MasterChef Australia; there is no mention of redback spider antivenom or death statistics.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It has a land area of 7,688,…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizens, nationals and individuals associated with the country Australia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australians
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — MasterChef Australia is an Australian competitive cooking reality show based on the original British MasterChef. It is produced by Endemol Shine Australia and screens on Network 10. Restaurateur and c…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MasterChef_Australia
info
Claim 4: “daddy long-legs spiders (Pholcus phalangioides)”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence for this claim consists of dictionary definitions of 'father' and 'daddy' and a GoDaddy advertisement; no biological or taxonomic information regarding Pholcus phalangioides was provided in the evidence.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — All the help and tools you need to grow online: Websites, Domains, Digital and Social Marketing - plus GoDaddy Guides with you every step of the way.
https://www.godaddy.com/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — 4 days ago · The meaning of DADDY is father. That had come out somewhere in between the baby drama and the daddy -ramming drama. Byron Hurd, The Drive, 23 July 2026 But the scene-stealer is Froseth’s …
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/daddy
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — A father with his son A father (also called dad or daddy) is a male parent. Most human beings are born from a mother and a father. The father of a person's husband or wife is their father-in-law. Fath…
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father
check_circle
Claim 5: “huntsmen are gentle giants that rarely bite and their venom can’t hurt humans”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources, including Rentokil AU and other web results, confirm that Huntsman spiders are generally not dangerous to humans and their venom is not life-threatening.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Jan 17, 2024 ... Spiders are actually venomous and while this guy (huntsman) does have venom it's not dangerous to humans, they are pretty docile as mentioned in ...
https://www.reddit.com/r/AustralianSpiders/comments/199bcuk/…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — In short — huntsman spiders are not dangerous to humans. They might give you a fright, but they are generally harmless and beneficial for keeping other pests ...
https://www.flick.com.au/blog/are-huntsman-spiders-dangerous…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Jun 19, 2025 ... Huntsman spiders are generally not considered dangerous to humans. While they possess venom to subdue their insect prey, their bite is not life ...
https://www.rentokil.com/au/blog/diy/are-huntsman-spiders-da…
verified
Claim 6: “There have been no confirmed deaths from a spider bite in Australia in nearly 50 years”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided Wikipedia results discuss general facts about Australia, the 50-cent coin, and the 50-dollar note, but do not mention spider bite deaths.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It has a land area of 7,688,…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The twelve-sided Australian fifty-cent coin is the third-highest denomination coin of the Australian dollar and the largest in terms of size in circulation. It is equal in size and shape to the Cook I…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_fifty-cent_coin
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Australian fifty-dollar note is an Australian banknote with a face value of fifty Australian dollars ($50). Since 1995 it has been a polymer banknote featuring portraits of Edith Cowan, first fema…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_fifty-dollar_note
info
Claim 7: “Black and brown house spiders... their venom can cause unpleasant symptoms such as nausea and swelling”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence for this claim consists of information about the movie 'Venom' and the Marvel character; there is no biological evidence provided regarding the symptoms of Badumna spider bites.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Tom Hardy stars as Eddie Brock and Venom, alongside Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed, Scott Haze, and Reid Scott. In the film, Eddie, a struggling journalist, gains superpowers after becoming the host of …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venom_(2018_film)
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — This dual-life form receives enhanced powers and usually refers to itself as "Venom". The symbiote was originally introduced as a living alien costume in The Amazing Spider-Man #252 (May 1984), with a…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venom_(character)
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Oct 5, 2018 · Venom: Directed by Ruben Fleischer. With Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed, Scott Haze. A failed reporter is bonded to an alien entity, one of many symbiotes who have invaded Earth…
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1270797/
check_circle
Claim 8: “the average Australian shares their home with around 100 different insect and spider species”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources (including KQED and other scientific reporting) state that the average home contains roughly 100 different species of arthropods/insects/spiders.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Australian one-hundred-dollar note was first issued in 1984 as a paper note. There have been two different issues of this denomination: initially a very light turquoise-blue paper note, and from M…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_one-hundred-dollar_…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Matt Shirvington (born 25 October 1978) is an Australian former athlete and television presenter who held the Australian 100 m national sprint title from 1998 to 2002. In April 2026, Shirvington was s…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Shirvington
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Nasdaq-100 is a stock market index made up of equity securities issued by approximately 100 (currently 102) of the largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange. The Nasdaq-1…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasdaq-100
+ 3 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 9: “Some studies have linked insecticide exposure to a range of health concerns (particularly in children)”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info
Claim 10: “daddy long-legs spiders... there’s no evidence these lovely spiders have venom capable of harming a human”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence consists of grammar guides for the words 'there', 'their', and 'they're'; no evidence regarding the venom of daddy long-legs spiders was provided.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Jul 23, 2026 · Note: Do not confuse there, which has meanings that mostly relate to a literal or abstract location, with the words their and they're. Their has to do with what belongs to or is associa…
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/there
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — We can use there at the start of a clause as a type of indefinite subject. This means that we can put the actual subject at the end of the clause and so give it emphasis or focus (underlined below): …
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/there
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Aug 17, 2022 · In this article, we’ll explain the meanings of their, there, and they’re, how to use each word correctly, and provide example sentences for each term. We’ll also give some tips on how t…
https://www.dictionary.com/articles/their-vs-there-vs-theyre
schedule
Claim 11: “growing evidence suggests at least some insects, including crickets, can experience pain or pain-like states”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
check_circle
Claim 12: “there are an estimated 10 quintillion individual insects alive on Earth at any one time”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web sources, including the Smithsonian Institution, confirm the estimate of 10 quintillion individual insects alive on Earth at any one time.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Ben 10: Protector of Earth is an action-adventure video game developed by High Voltage Software and published by D3 Publisher and is based on the animated television series Ben 10. This is the second…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_10:_Protector_of_Earth
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. This is made possible by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid su…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The highest temperature recorded on Earth has been measured in three major ways: air, ground, and via satellite observation. Air measurements are used as the standard measurement because of persistent…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highest_temperature_recorded_o…
+ 3 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 13: “no one has died from a funnel-web bite since 1981”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
verified
Claim 14: “black and brown house spiders (Badumna sp)”
VERIFIED
Wikipedia and The Australian Museum confirm that the Black House Spider is Badumna insignis, placing it in the genus Badumna.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Black house spider, Badumna insignis, an Australian spider also found in New Zealand. Brown house spider, Steatoda grossa, a spider with cosmopolitan distribution.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_spider
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Types of Common House SpidersBlack House Spider (Badumna insignis) A.K.A. Grey House SpiderBrown House Spider (Steatoda grossa) A.K.A. Cupboard Spider
https://www.earthkind.com/blogs/blogs/common-house-spiders-i…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The Black House Spider belongs to the family Desidae. Related species are found throughout Australia. The Black House Spider ( Badumna insignis ) is a dark robust spider, with grey hairs usually visib…
https://australian.museum/learn/animals/spiders/black-house-…
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.