Spiders eat a lot of things including insects and whatever they can catch in their webs. Spiders do not eat chocolate because more are carnivores and insects and bugs over any type of human food. This includes chocolate and other sweet items.
If they eat a bug that has previously feasted on chocolate, that’s one thing, but they will not go after chocolate.
Do Spiders Like Chocolate?
It is assumed that spiders do not enjoy eating chocolate, mainly because no one ever sees them feasting on it. This is not to say that spiders don’t occasionally consume chocolate, but if they did, it would be an accident.
Spiders do not seek out chocolate because chocolate doesn’t give them the protein they need to grow and survive.
If they consume a bug that recently ate some chocolate, spiders would likely survive, but the bottom line is that spiders do not go after chocolate because they simply don’t like it.
No one knows for sure what would happen if a spider ate large amounts of chocolate, but this is unlikely anyway since chocolate is not something spiders look for or enjoy eating.
Most of a spider’s diet consists of protein sources such as bugs, insects, and other animals, including other spiders.
Occasionally, spiders will suck the nectar of certain fruits, but this is only because they need the moisture to survive. They are not doing this because they like sweets; if they did, they would eat the fruit as well as suck out the nectar.
Do Large Spiders Eat Chocolate?
It is very unlikely that spiders of any size will eat chocolate. Some experts presume that anything except a very small amount of chocolate may kill the average spider, but the truth is, spiders just don’t go near chocolate on their own.
If they land on a piece of chocolate, they may try to eat a piece of it off, but it is very unlikely that spiders will ever eat more than just a tiny bit of chocolate, if any at all.
What Do Spiders Enjoy Eating?
Spiders eat mostly protein such as bugs and insects. This includes flies, aphids, roaches, earwigs, fleas, mosquitoes, and moths.
They’ve also been known to eat birds, fish, bats, and even snakes. It’s the bigger spiders that eat things such as bats and birds, but most spiders will eat bugs and insects.
One species, the Bagheera kiplingi, found in Central America, eats mostly plants and leaves and is considered a vegetarian spider, but the vast majority of spiders are carnivores.
One of the reasons it is unlikely that spiders eat chocolate is because of how they eat. Spiders have no teeth and cannot chew their food, and they essentially eat foods from the outside of their body.
Once their prey is caught in their web, they expel enzymes from their digestive tract onto the animal. Then the prey liquefies and the spider will suck it up because the tissues of the prey are liquid at that point.
Chocolate is not in liquid form, and therefore it would be impossible for most spiders to eat it. This includes spiders that catch their prey in some other way besides spinning a web.
How to Keep Spiders Away From Your Kitchen
When spiders get into your house, it’s only natural they’ll start searching for food to eat. While they generally eat only bugs and insects, they might nibble at food crumbs if they’re exposed to them.
Normally, spiders do not seek out any type of human food, but if they see crumbs, they may assume it’s “spider” food instead and start to nibble at it. If you want spiders to stay away from your kitchen, keep the food away from them.
Clean your kitchen regularly, keep the garbage can lid closed, and put all leftover food where it belongs, which means out of reach of spiders and other pests. Without a source of food, spiders will lose interest and eventually find a way to leave.
Conclusion
Spiders eat mostly bugs, insects, and other large and small animals. They do not eat human food and normally do not like anything sweet, including chocolate. The exception is when they drink the nectar from fruits, and they only do this to keep their bodies moist.
I am an accredited practicing dietitian, experienced gardener and a dedicated cook. I love writing and sharing my experience so you can learn from my successes and mistakes.