How Do I Know For Sure That A Spider Is Dead Or Playing Dead?

So you want to know if a spider you just saw is dead or playing dead. You’ve come to the right place then! I already fully researched this question online and will give you the direct answer in the following paragraph. After I’ve given you the direct answer I’m going more in-depth about the given answer and after that, I’ll give answers to a few more closely related questions. So make sure you keep on reading!

How do I know for sure that a spider is dead or playing dead? Whenever you see a spider with curled-up legs underneath him you can be sure that it’s dead. The legs of spiders work on a hydraulic system, so once the spider dies their legs will contract inwards towards their body. A spider is playing dead whenever it doesn’t have curled-up legs.

Alternative ways to find out if the spider is dead or playing dead

Spider friendly (Recommended)

Gently blow on the spider and see if it moves.
Check if the front paws of the spider are moving (they use their front paws to sense the air pressure around them because most spiders can’t see that well and are reliant on their senses).
Use a soft brush and stroke on the legs of the spider to see if that encourages it to move.

Spider unfriendly (Not Recommended)

Poke it with something to see if it moves.
Throw something at it to see if it moves.

Alternative situations where the spider is not dead

The spider is curled up but not dead (yet)

The legs being curled up towards the body of the spider is a sign that the spider is either already dead or close to dying. Now, there are situations where the pressure in the hydraulic system of the spider has decreased or is decreasing. This decrease in pressure will also result in the legs of the spider getting curled towards its body. So, there are situations like this one where the spider isn’t dead yet with its legs being curled up. But, it is important to keep in mind that this is not a good sign either for the spider as a drop in hydraulic system pressure is a clear sign that the spider is dehydrated and is close to dying or has some kind of infection and is also very close to dying.

It’s the shed of the spider, not a dead spider

Another situation where it will seem that the spider is dead is when it’s the shed of the spider instead of the spider itself. Now, you might be thinking “The shed of a spider?”. Yes, indeed. Spiders need to shed their skins to grow which is also called “Molting”. The spider will grow each shed and also its colors might change. So, whenever you see a spider and aren’t sure if it’s either dead or alive then always make sure you’re not looking at its shed because you could wait all your life to see it move.

Why do the legs of spiders curl up when they die?

The legs of spiders work on a hydraulic system and when they die, the pressure in this hydraulic system will decrease. Once this happens, the legs of the spider in question will curl towards its body which is probably what you’ve seen before in dead spiders.

Various spider species can run and jump and these abilities are possible because of this hydraulic system. So, whenever the spider feels threatened and wants to run or jump it increases the pressure in its legs to make escaping a priority. This is mainly how larger spider species run or jump whilst smaller spider species depend on their flexor muscles to run or jump.

The video below also explains very well why the legs of spiders curl towards their bodies when they die.

You already know a lot more about when you can be sure that a spider is dead or playing dead. If you also want to know what the ways are that spiders can come to the end of their lives then I encourage you to check out the article “In What Ways Can Spiders Die? (All The Possibilities Covered)” which will give you a complete rundown.

Why do spiders pretend to be dead?

Spiders pretend to be dead to survive. They’ll, for example, play dead when they feel threatened by other common enemies or they will play dead during or after the mating process as the female spider will often have the male spider for dinner.

When they feel threatened

Whenever spiders are threatened they can either run for the hills, freeze or pretend to be dead. Pretending to be dead can result in not being eaten by its enemy because either the enemy will lose interest in the spider as it doesn’t fancy eating already dead prey (which is a risk for the predator because eating already dead prey can result in a possible infection) or it won’t notice the spider anymore as the spider would have stopped moving (for example, when the predator is a larger spider and solely depends on changes in air movements or movements on the ground).

Mating between spiders

Mating for male spiders can in comparison with other animals in this world have a lethal outcome as male spiders risk being eaten by the female spider after or even during the mating process. This is natural and based on survival as the female spider will have a larger chance to survive and give birth to an egg sack full of babies.

You can’t blame male spiders for wanting to survive though and that’s why male spiders will pretend to be dead at times as this will increase the odds of not being eaten by the female spider.

How long can a spider play dead?

Spiders will play dead for as long they sense that there is a threat nearby. Making one accidental move can mean instant death for the spider and that’s why it will push its limits to survive whenever the situation asks the spider to do so.

But obviously, there will come a point where the spider will have to stop playing dead as a lack of water or food will result in certain death at some point.

When did spiders learn to play dead?

I’d imagine this playing dead skill in spiders to have developed throughout evolution. Spiders were probably dying too much earlier on because of being easily noticeable and then naturally developed the survival mechanism to play dead.

Besides, spiders playing dead at times. Other animals will do the same when the situation asks for it so it’s not a survival mechanism that can only be found in spiders.

Do all spider species play dead?

All spiders that live on this earth will play dead whenever the situation asks for it. You can imagine that every animal on this earth will do everything to survive and if playing dead means the difference between dying and surviving then you can be sure that the animal in question will do it.

So, it doesn’t matter how large or tiny the spider is, it will in both cases play dead whenever it feels threatened or whenever they get the sense that the female spider they’re mating with is going to eat them.

Does the Huntsman Spider play dead?

The huntsman spider will just like any other spider species play dead whenever they need to. The huntsman spider loves to crawl around during its lifetime and therefore it will automatically run into different common enemies which can require the spider to play dead.

Huntsman spiders are commonly found in our houses as they love to spend their time in warm and cozy spots. So, if you happen to run into one then don’t be fooled by the spider playing death as it will surely bolt if it gets the chance to do so.

Do Wolf Spiders play dead?

Also, the wolf spider will play dead when the situation is right for them to do so. Wolf spiders are just like huntsman spiders active hunters and will therefore run into many common enemies during their lifetime. Whenever the wolf spider is unable to escape then it will probably play dead.

Wolf spiders are also common spiders to find in our houses as they love to hunt insects in warm and cozy spots that also offer them protection from other common enemies.

What does a dead spider look like?

A dead spider will often have its legs curled towards its body as the hydraulic pressure in its legs will have decreased. Also, it is common to see the dead spider laying on its back if the dead spider has fallen out of its web as its body weight will be higher than the weight of its legs.

Now, it doesn’t have to be the case that the spider will always have its legs curled towards its body when it has died. There are many different positions possible where the spider can be found in but you can be sure that the position of its legs will look strange as the hydraulic pressure in every spider will decrease.

Below, you’ll find a video that shows an example of what a tarantula can look like when it has died.

Summary

Now you know that whenever you see a spider with its legs curled up towards its body that it’s most likely dead. You also know though that there are situations where the spider in question could be playing dead and that there are spider-friendly actions you can take to find out if the spider is dead or playing dead. Which were gently blowing on the spider, checking if its front paws are moving, or by gently brushing on the legs of the spider with a soft brush.

I’ve given you alternative situations where the spider is not dead (yet). Situation one was when the spider is close to dying and already has curled up legs and the second possibility was when you think you’re seeing a dead spider but it’s its shed after a successful molt.

Then I explained to you why spiders their legs curl up when they die which happens because their legs work on a hydraulic system and once they die the pressure in this hydraulic system drops which results in the legs of the spider being curled up towards their body.

I’ve given you reasons why spiders play dead which were both based on survival and also that they will play dead for as long as they sense that there is a threat (until thirst or hunger kicks in).

I’ve given you my opinion on when spiders learned to play dead because there isn’t any information to be found about this question on the Internet.

Then we learned that every spider species will play dead whenever their instincts tell them to.

And at the end of answering the main question fully, I’ve given you a video example of a dead Tarantula spider so that you know what a dead spider can look like.

I hope I’ve given you awesome new knowledge about when you can be certain that a spider is either dead or playing dead.

See you in the next article!