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Nonlethal (trait‐mediated) effects of predators on prey populations, particularly with regard to prey dispersal, scarcely have been considered in spatial ecological studies. In this study, we report on the effects of spider predators on the mortality, dispersal, and spatial population dynamics of Prokelisia crocea planthoppers (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) in a prairie landscape. Based on a three‐generation survey of host‐plant patches (Spartina pectinata; Poaceae), the density of cursorial and web‐building spiders declined significantly with increasing patch size (a pattern the opposite of that for the planthopper). Independent of patch size effects, an increase in the density of web‐building and cursorial spiders had a negative effect on planthopper density in one of three generations each. Finally, the likelihood of extinction of local (patch) populations of planthoppers increased significantly with an increase in the density of …