If you’re new to Terraria, you’ve probably got a long to-do list on your first playthrough: build a house, craft better weapons, dig for ore, and avoid getting eaten by giant slimes. It’s easy to write off small, seemingly useless tools as not worth your time, but that’s a mistake a lot of new players make with the bug net. I skipped making one entirely on my first run, and I missed out on easy gold, powerful buffs, and even a way to summon one of the game’s most fun bosses later on. If you’re wondering how to get a bug net in Terraria, the process is far simpler than you might think, and it’s worth slotting into your first hour of gameplay.
Pre-Requisites to Get a Bug Net in Terraria
The standard bug net is a pre-hardmode tool that doesn’t require any boss fights or rare materials to unlock. You can craft it almost immediately after spawning if you know what to look for, and you won’t have to venture into dangerous biomes to get the parts you need. You can get a bug net within your first 10 minutes of a new playthrough if you prioritize the right materials first. All you need to craft it is three simple items, listed below:
- 15 pieces of any wood type (regular, boreal, palm, corruption, or crimson wood all work equally well)
- 5 cobwebs, which spawn naturally on cave walls in any underground layer just below the surface
- Access to a basic work bench, which you can craft with 10 wood directly from your inventory as soon as you spawn
Cobwebs are the only material you might have to hunt for, but they’re extremely common. Just dig straight down 10 to 15 blocks from your spawn point, and you’ll almost always hit a small cave system with plenty of cobwebs strung across the walls. You don’t need any special tools to collect them, just hit them with your starting copper pickaxe or sword, and they’ll drop into your inventory. You don’t need to unlock any special recipes or reach a certain game stage to craft the bug net, it’s available from the moment you start a new world.
Alternative Ways to Get a Bug Net Without Crafting
If you don’t feel like digging for cobwebs early on, especially if you’re playing on Master mode where even cave slimes can one-shot you, there are two other easy ways to get a bug net without crafting it yourself. The most reliable method is to buy one from the Merchant NPC once he moves into your world. The Merchant spawns as soon as you have a valid, fully furnished house and 50 silver in your inventory, and he sells the standard bug net for 25 silver a piece. Buying a bug net is a great option if you want to avoid early cave exploration entirely and focus on building or surface exploration first.
You can also get lucky and find a bug net in basic surface chests, especially the ones that spawn near abandoned cabins or small ruined structures on the world surface. These chests often have low-tier tools, food, and crafting materials, and the bug net is one of the common possible drops. It’s not a guarantee, but if you’re already exploring the surface to find chests and gather resources, it’s worth checking every chest you come across. You might get a free bug net before you even have to spend the materials to craft one.
Practical Uses for Your Bug Net That Make It Worth Getting
A lot of new players assume the bug net is only for collecting decorative critters to put in jars, but it unlocks a ton of useful features that make early and late game progression way smoother. The most obvious use is catching bait for fishing, which lets you get rare weapons, accessories, and crafting materials you can’t find anywhere else. Worms, fireflies, and grasshoppers are all easy to catch with a basic bug net, and they make great early bait for fishing in lakes and oceans. Catching golden critters like golden bunnies or golden butterflies is one of the fastest ways to earn gold in early pre-hardmode, as they sell for 10 gold each to NPCs.
You can also catch critters to craft powerful buff potions that make boss fights far easier. For example, catching fireflies lets you make summoning potions that increase your max minion count by one, which is a huge boost for summoner class players early on. Later in hardmode, you’ll need a bug net to catch the Truffle Worm, a rare critter that spawns in the underground glowing mushroom biome. The Truffle Worm is the only bait that lets you summon Duke Fishron, one of the most rewarding hardmode bosses in the game. You won’t outgrow the bug net even after you beat all the pre-hardmode bosses, so it’s a great long-term investment.
Useful Bug Net Upgrades for Late-Game Play
The standard bug net works perfectly fine for most early game uses, but there are two upgrades you can craft later on that make critter catching far easier. The first is the Golden Bug Net, which you can craft with 12 gold bars and a standard bug net at an iron or lead anvil. It has a longer reach than the standard net, and it has a higher chance to catch rare critters before they despawn. It’s a great upgrade if you spend a lot of time fishing or hunting for golden critters to sell for gold.
The second upgrade is the Lavaproof Bug Net, which you can craft by combining a standard or Golden Bug Net with 1 hellstone bar at a hellforge. This net lets you catch lava-dwelling critters like obsidian butterflies and lava snails, which are the only bait that works for fishing in lava. The Lavaproof Bug Net is required if you want to fish for rare hardmode items like the Obsidian Swordfish or the Bottomless Lava Bucket in the underworld. You don’t need to rush these upgrades if you don’t fish often, but they’re nice quality of life improvements to craft once you have extra resources to spare.
It’s easy to overlook small tools like the bug net when you’re first starting out in Terraria, but it’s one of the most useful early game items you can get. It unlocks so many extra features, from easy gold to powerful buffs to late-game boss summons, that it’s well worth taking 10 minutes out of your first playthrough to grab one. Now that you know how to get a bug net in Terraria, add it to your first-hour to-do list on your next run, and you’ll be shocked at how much smoother your progression feels.