App to help identify house spiders

With this new app, banish that eerie feeling after seeing a house spider.

Autumn is the time when male spiders go on the hunt for mating, leading them to secure positions in the private corners of your home.

The "Spider In Da House" app comes with photos, identification tools and information to help people identify and learn more about 12 of the most common spiders which become temporary house guests, its developers said.

The app, available in Android and Apple app stores, also helps users to identify whether spiders are male or female.

Female spiders are often larger than the males.

"Spiders feed on the most common species, preventing a few species from becoming dominant. We want to encourage people to respect and learn more about their little house guests," said professor Adam Hart from the University of Gloucestershire.

The app is created by researchers associated with the Society of Biology - a platform created to advance the interests of biology in academia, industry, education and research.