If you’ve ever tried to build a bow, craft wool without sheep, or set up a tripwire trap for unsuspecting mobs, you know how essential string is for almost every Minecraft playthrough. Even if you’re just starting out and only need a few pieces for your first fishing rod, figuring out how to get string in Minecraft reliably can save you hours of wandering aimlessly looking for spiders. I’ve spent years testing different methods across both Java and Bedrock editions, so I’ve broken down all the best options depending on your play style, available resources, and how much string you actually need.
How to Get String in Minecraft From Mob Drops (Fastest Early-Game Method)
When you’re first starting out with no base or farm set up, mob drops are by far the fastest way to get string without spending extra resources. The most common source is regular spiders, which spawn in dark areas above ground at night, or in unlit caves any time of day. Each regular spider drops 0-2 string when killed, and that number jumps up to 0-5 if you have a Looting III enchanted sword, so it’s worth saving up for that enchant early if you need lots of string long-term. One thing to keep in mind when hunting spiders at night is that they’re neutral in light levels above 11, so they won’t attack you unless you hit them first. That makes it really easy to pick them off one by one without getting swarmed, even if you only have basic iron armor and tools. Cave spiders are another option, but they’re smaller, faster, and inflict poison, so I don’t recommend hunting them unless you already have a spawner you’re repurposing for a farm.
You might also be surprised to learn that striders, the passive mobs that walk on lava in the Nether, drop string when killed too. I don’t usually go out of my way to hunt striders for string, but if you’re already exploring the Nether for netherite or blaze rods, it’s a nice bonus drop you don’t have to go out of your way for. If you’ve tamed any cats that hang around your base, they’ll also occasionally bring you string as a gift when you wake up from sleeping, which is a low-effort way to get small amounts without leaving your house.
Low-Effort String Farming Methods for Steady Supplies
If you go through string regularly for things like TNT crafting, wool production, or mass bow making, hunting spiders manually will get tedious really fast. Setting up a simple farm will give you a steady supply of string with almost zero work after the initial build. The easiest farm for new players is a basic spider spawner farm, which you can build in under an hour if you find a cave spider or regular spider spawner while mining. All you need is a 9x9 platform around the spawner, a way to funnel spiders into a 1-block kill zone, and a hopper collection system under the kill zone to catch all drops automatically. You can either kill the spiders manually for XP along with string, or add an auto-kill mechanism if you don’t care about experience points.
If you don’t have access to a spider spawner, you can also build a general hostile mob farm that spawns spiders alongside zombies, skeletons, and creepers. These farms are less efficient for string specifically, but they give you a mix of useful drops, so they’re a great all-in-one option for early bases. I built one of these for my first survival world, and it gave me enough string to make 10 full wool beds in just one night of AFK farming. Just make sure you light up all other dark areas within 128 blocks of your farm so mobs only spawn on your farm platform.
Hidden String Sources You Might Be Missing
You don’t have to kill mobs or build a farm to get string, especially if you’re exploring a lot and don’t mind looting generated structures. I’ve found entire stacks of string just from checking chests and picking up random items while exploring, so don’t sleep on these options if you only need a small amount of string fast. Some of the most reliable non-farming sources include:
I’ve used all of these methods at different points, depending on what I was doing in my world. Once I was exploring a mineshaft for diamonds and came back with 32 string just from looting chests and breaking cobwebs, which saved me from having to build a spider farm for weeks. Just be careful when breaking tripwires, because if you don’t use shears, you’ll trigger the trap they’re connected to, which can lead to unexpected damage or lost loot.
Tips to Maximize Your String Collection Efficiency
Once you know all the different ways to get string, there are a few small tweaks you can make to get way more string in way less time, no matter which method you’re using. These are tricks I’ve picked up after hundreds of hours of survival play, and they’ve cut down my string farming time by almost 70% over the years.
Always use a Looting III enchanted sword for killing spiders if you’re hunting manually. The Looting enchant increases the maximum number of string drops per spider from 2 to 5, which means you’ll get more than double the amount of string per kill on average. If you’re using a mob farm, add a looting sword to an auto-kill system if your version of Minecraft supports it, to get the same bonus drops without having to be there.
If you’re looting structures for string, bring a pair of shears with you. Shears break cobwebs and tripwires instantly, and they don’t trigger tripwire traps when you use them to break the string. That means you can collect every piece of string in a jungle temple in 10 seconds flat, without having to worry about setting off the TNT traps hidden under the floor. You should also avoid using water to break cobwebs, because water will destroy the cobweb without dropping any string at all, which is a waste of a perfectly good resource.
One last tip: If you play in creative mode, you don’t have to go through any of these steps, of course. You can find string in the tools and items menu, or use the /give command to get as much as you want instantly. Even if you usually play survival, switching to creative temporarily is a valid option if you’re building a big decorative project and don’t want to spend hours farming string just for wool blocks or rope details.
No matter if you’re a brand new player who just needs 3 string for your first fishing rod, or a veteran player who needs thousands of string for a massive redstone project, there’s a method to get string that fits your play style and available resources. You can start by hunting spiders at night when you’re just getting set up, switch to a farm once you have a base built, or just loot structures as you explore if you don’t need a steady supply. No matter which route you take, you’ll never be stuck wondering how to get string in Minecraft again, and you’ll have all the supplies you need for any project you want to tackle.