can a spider set off a smoke alarm?

[vx220]

Woke up to our smoke alarm at 02:26 this morning, when we looked at it a tiny spider came running out...

Dodgy alarm or 20 a day eight-legged freak?

[R1 Indy]

No, most likely running out, as was a tad loud in there!!!

[xxChrisxx]

Not unless the spider was on fire at the time.

[vx220]

R1 Indy said:

No, most likely running out, as was a tad loud in there!!!

Worringly, it was the third time it had gone off by the time we got up...

...and he had just run out.

Maybe ha had stopped (against the rules) to collect his belongings?

[GTiRichTea]

Possible some fire alarms use a optical sensor to detect the smoke so if the spider is in there maybe it could cause problems triggering the sensor i have heard fly's setting off those type of alarm so not impossible.
Maybe try vacuuming it out to see if it helps.

Although it could just be the smoke alarm not working right i had one that would randomly go off and i could not figure out what was wrong with it.
Replaced it with a Ionization type which seems to work fine.

[Wings]

I have had smoke, fire alarms go off when fixed to lath ceilings, through bits of dust and/or flakes of plaster triggering the alarms off.

[patmahe]

Was the spider running away laughing or carrying a box of matches at the time?

[Blehspdrs]

Just registered to throw my hat in on the idea that spiders can set off fire alarms... I'm sure this is probably an old post, but I just had the exact same thing happen to me as the original poster.

I was watching TV (it's 2am mind you) and my fire alarm went off causing me to jump straight off my couch. I run over to inspect it and to my horror a little spider goes scurrying back inside the fire alarm...

Bleeeeeeeh not a fan of spiders... -_-

[Fugazi]

Smoke alarms use a small radioactive source, usually Americium, to create a steady stream of alpha particles which are then picked up by a detector. Alpha particles can be stopped by a sheet of paper, an air gap of a few cms or some smoke as the tiny soot particles can block the alpha source. If the detector stops detecting particles then it triggers the alarm. Most of these radiation sources are covered by a shield that lets smoke waft in but not things like stray fingers but it could've been big enough for a spider I suppose.

The bigger worry is that you now have a radioactive spider running about your house that's possibly been annoyed at being evicted. Good luck OP

[patmahe]

The OP earlier today