Getting startled is one of those things that everyone has experienced. When you walk into a room, and your wife jumps out and shouts, it is natural to get scared for a moment.

This type of reaction is an obvious evolutionary benefit that allows humans to react extremely quickly to an unexpected threat. If we just stopped to think a situation through before jumping away, our ancestors would have all been eaten by lions.

Today, being startled is almost always one of those funny events that happen, but it can still be life-saving. When you walk into your home, and there is an unexpected stranger, jumping away from them without thinking can save your life.

So, this may make you wonder whether other animals also have this startle reaction, and the answer is most definitely yes.

If you are a pet owner, you’ve likely startled your cat or dog (either on accident or on purpose).

But what about spiders? Surely those stoic web crawlers won’t be scared if you just say ‘boo’ to them, right?

Well, according to a viral video, no. They will indeed get very scared.

Enjoy this funny video, then scroll down for an explination of why.

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Clearly, that spider was not expecting that, and they reacted quickly. While spiders don’t have ears or hearing organs, they are very good at sensing vibration.

Sensing vibration can be used to hunt their prey. For example, web-building spiders will feel the movement of their web when anything touches it, allowing them to move to the exact spot where their prey is located and enjoy a meal.

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On the defensive side of things, vibration can let them know that a potential predator is approaching so they can react. One of the ways spiders react to danger is by playing dead, which might explain why the spider in the video flipped over for a moment before it realized the threat wasn’t real.

Many of the most common predators that eat spiders are flying creatures, such as the mud dauber wasp. Their flying creates a vibration around 80 hertz, which is in the same general range as many human voices.

So, the next time you see a spider, and you’re feeling a little bit mean, why not give this a try and see what happens? Scaring the spider away is definitely nicer than squishing it.