What you're looking at
Big eyes on a compact body, and a sudden jump. Jumping spiders are 3 to 12 mm long, and the Australian Museum describes them as often brilliantly coloured. Strong back legs power the leap, and good eyesight lets them judge the distance before they go.
If it turns to watch you, that's the eyesight at work. A jumping spider finds and stalks its prey by sight, which is why it seems so alert.
Males, females and peacock spiders
Males are often more brightly coloured or tufted than females, and they use those colours and tufts in courtship displays. The most famous are the peacock spiders, genus Maratus, which are jumping spiders too.
So a tiny spider with a flash of colour on a fence or a leaf is almost certainly one of this family rather than anything to worry about.
Where you'll see them
Jumping spiders are found Australia-wide, in a wide range of habitats. On sunny days they can usually be found on any kind of vegetation, and many of them hunt in daylight, so they're one of the few spiders you can watch at work. Garden beds, potted plants and the plants by a sunny window are good places to look.
Jumping spider, redback or black house spider?
| Jumping spider | Redback (female) | Black house spider | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Body | Compact, big eyes, often bright colours | Black, with an orange to red stripe on top | Dark and sturdy, grey hairs on the front |
| How it hunts | Stalks by sight, then leaps | Tangled web with sticky lines to the ground | Lacy web with a funnel-like entrance |
| Where | Out in the open on plants on sunny days | Dry, sheltered spots: sheds, logs, junk piles | Window frames and wall crevices |
| Worth a call? | No | Around play areas, yes | If they're in every window |
Do jumping spiders bite?
The official sources we use don't cover jumping spider bites, so we won't guess at what one is like. If anyone is bitten by any spider, healthdirect's general first aid is to wash the bite with soap and water and use an ice pack for swelling and pain. Call 000 if someone becomes very unwell, and for a bite from a big black spider, treat it as an emergency straight away.
When it's a job for a pest business
Almost never for jumping spiders on their own. Where a pest business earns its keep is when spiders of several kinds are gathering at the windows and doors, or when there are redbacks somewhere children play. Then a general outdoor spider treatment is the usual job, and the technician can tell you which spiders they're finding.
What we'd do about the jumping spider
Let it hunt. A jumping spider on the window sill is catching flies and other small insects, and nothing in the sources we read suggests it's a concern. Save the call for spiders that matter more, like redbacks near a sandpit or a big black spider on the floor, and for those tap Spiders or ants.
Want someone to look at it?
Tell us what you've seen and your postcode, and a local pest business that handles exactly that calls you to talk it through.
