A warning has been issued for UK households who are deciding to KILL spiders they see in their homes over autumn and winter. UK households are being told to hold off killing arachnids - because the little critters actually have a benefit.

Late summer and early autumn is typically when male webspinners, hoping to put their newly-developed sex organs to the test, leave their webs in search of female mates, said Anne Danielson-Francois, associate professor of biological sciences at the University of Michigan-Dearborn.

"They are not necessarily more abundant than in the summertime, but individuals are more visible because they are larger," Danielson-Francois said. "A small web might go unnoticed in your kitchen window, but once that spider has grown to full size and spins a web that covers a quarter of the window, you could not miss it."

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"If you can allow an eight-legged roommate, it can benefit you," a second expert said. "And they provide free Halloween decorations for your home, wherever you prefer them - inside or out."

Orkin also explains the advantages of having some of the creepy-crawlies around, because spiders can keep away (or feed on) pests that are actually harmful, like disease-carrying ticks and fleas.

"Spiders are also extremely beneficial to our ecosystem and control the number of bugs that destroy plants and crops, which is why scientists ask us not to kill them," Orkin writes.

Dr. Linda S. Rayor, Assistant Professor of Entomology, Cornell University, adds: Spiders are beneficial inhabitants of any garden, ecosystem, or home because of their important contributions to biological control of pest insects.

"Spiders are considered to be the most important terrestrial predators, eating tons of pest insects or other small arthropods every year.

"Spiders are generalist predators that are willing to eat almost any insect they can catch.

"They are abundant and found in most habitats. They only need to be left alone."