An app has been launched to help people identify the house spiders that scuttle indoors in autumn.

The number of spiders seen indoors increases suddenly at this time of year as the males go on the hunt for a mate, often leading them into homes where people encounter them in the bath or scurrying from under the sofa.

The Society Of Biology is launching a Spider In Da House app 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.

Professor Adam Hart, from the University of Gloucestershire, said: "By eating flies and other insects, spiders are not only providing us with a pest control service, but are important in ecosystems.

"They often 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."

Uses of the app might realise they have been lucky enough to spot the rare spitting spider, which is only seen in older houses and is rarely active in the day, and which catches its prey by firing sticky glue at it from modified poison glands to pin it down.

A more common sight is the jumping spider, often found on the walls of houses and easily recognised by its squared off head and two very large eyes, which give it the best vision of all the spiders.

The most common type of jumping spider is the zebra spider, recognisable by the distinctive black and white strips on its abdomen.

The app also helps users to identify whether spiders are male or female. Female spiders are often larger than the males.

Both species remain in webs in sheds, garages and wood piles until the autumn when the males set out on a search for a mate, which often leads them into houses.

The Spider In Da House app is available from the Apple App Store and Google Play.