[RoosterRedux]

My house is invaded by large black spiders when the weather turns cold down here in South Georgia.

They are rather brilliant.

They run and hide when they see me...hiding behind table legs and in dark corners.

I have even seen a spider of this genre pretend to be a dust ball to escape detection.

Can't say they aren't smart.

Certainly smarter than most humans I know.

[Tax-chick]

Spiders are excellent at adapting to environmental conditions. It’s hard to call an arachnid “smart,” but they are very reactive and make changes in their habits quickly if it’s too their advantage.

[ETL]

They are rather brilliant. They run and hide when they see me...hiding behind table legs and in dark corners. I have even seen a spider of this genre pretend to be a dust ball to escape detection.

Same with roaches. They actually seem to pretend to be dead at times. They leap and zigzag.