Many of us have grown up hearing the same terrifying claim – that we swallow several spiders in our sleep every year.
But according to one expert, the myth simply isn’t true. With spider season right around the corner, Professor James Logan has answered some of homeowners’ biggest questions about spiders on This Morning, including whether they’re dangerous and if they really end up in our mouths while we’re asleep.
Addressing the long-standing rumour, Professor Logan said there’s very little truth behind it. He said: “I heard that so much growing. You know, spiders crawl across your face, in your mouth and you swallow them and all that kind of stuff.
“It’s not true. Maybe occasionally it might happen on a very rare occasion. Why would they want to go near your mouth? It doesn’t make any sense.”
The expert added that if you’re snoring or breathing heavily while asleep, it’s even less likely a spider would come close.
He added: If you’re snoring heavily and breathing, it’s just going to put them off. Actually, they’re going to avoid you.”
The professor also addressed concerns about dangerous spiders in the UK, reassuring viewers that while almost every spider can bite, most can’t even pierce human skin.
“Pretty much every spider can bite, but most spiders can’t penetrate our skin,” he said.
“Most spiders would never want to bite us because why would they? We’re nothing to them. They’d want to avoid us more than anything.”
He explained that the few spiders capable of biting people usually only do so if they feel threatened.
Professor Logan recalled being bitten himself after accidentally trapping a spider between his gardening glove and his hand.
He said: “It did hurt. Compared to maybe a bee sting – something like that. It’s not too bad.”
Commenting on this, one viewer said: “The only venomous spider in the UK is the daddy long legs, it’s just their fangs are to soft to bite through skin.”
Meanwhile, another asked: “Isn’t the daddy long legs like really venomous?”
So there you have it, spiders are unlikely to cause you any bother as long as you don’t threaten them. They’re likely more scared of us, after all!
This story originally appeared on Express.co.uk
