Myth or Fact: Are You Really Able to Swallow Spiders In Your Sleep

Is it true that you are able to swallow spiders while you are sleeping without knowing it. Are you able to potentially swallow them because they like to hide in dark warm places. Is there any truth in this urban legend?

Be rest assured, in order to swallow a spider there are a number of things that would need to occur in sequence. Firstly you would need to be sleeping with you mouth open as wide as possible. If a spider were to crawl upon your face while you were asleep, most people would feel it & awaken. So for them to crawl into your mouth they would have to come from above on their silk thread. The spider would have to a perfect aim straight into your mouth without tickling your lips.

A spider would never go near your mouth otherwise - they aren't suicidal!!

The odds are pretty small for a spider to drop down into your mouth from the ceiling. Our mouths are a sensitive place even when you are asleep. In order to be able to swallow anything it would involve it to pass down to the back of your throat, which then would interfere with your breathing. If your breathing becomes affected while you are asleep, you should awaken, therefore not swallowing the spider.

Within your lifetime you are more than likely never to swallow a spider in your sleep, but there will always be the small minority of people that may swallow a spider by accident. In 99% of cases the size of the spider which was swallowed were too small to even see, which means that you wouldn't even feel them even if you were awake.

To be sure that you aren't that small minority of people then call SWATAPEST on 9313 8484 to rid your home of those tiny or large pests. Click here for more information on pest control or any other queries that you may have.