09/24/2025
Itβs easy to just scream and smash. But to learn and respect their space only takes a second! Iβd feather have a few spiders that leave me alone then a million insects in my face and killing my plants/garden!
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT:
These are βOrb Weaverβ spiders. They are large (about 1/2β to 3/4β body length), and they usually appear in late summer and early fall. Right about now, in other words. This is their time of year to build webs and find mates.
They are 99% HARMLESS TO HUMANS. THEIR VENOM IS NON-TOXIC TO US. THEY ARE DOCILE AND NON-AGGRESSIVE. THEY ALMOST NEVER, EVER EVEN BITE!!!!
I know theyβre scary looking, but they are our allies, not enemies. They devour insect pests that plague us. Also, they're mostly active at night - they rest in their webs during the day.
For some reason, the paranoia about these beautiful creatures has reached a fever pitch on my social media this year. If you see one, CHILL OUT. Itβs not interested in you. If you walk into itβs web accidentally, donβt panic. Apologize and move on. π
By way of background, Iβve been a spider enthusiast my whole life. So has Jolyn. So are our kids. We never, EVER kill spiders in our house. We set them outside. Heck. I even did my final A.P. Bio lab project on spiders in high school. So be kind. Be informed. Let them do their thing.
From Lane Sparber