My New Neighbor: The Spiny Orb Weaver Spider

Has your backyard been taken over by spiders?   We’re fighting a battle over here with these annoying things….and losing.

Our screened-in patio is covered with these unusual spiders called Spiny Orb Weaver’s.   Their webs are as thick as the strands of cotton candy and just as sticky.   I inevitably will run into several of these each day and get “spooked” out just trying to get them off of me.

Every day this week I’ve been outside with my telescopic broom wiping these spiders and webs away.  I then take the broom outside to the lawn and shake the spiders off hoping they’ll find a new home – perhaps next door.

It seems to be a losing battle because I can wipe down the whole area and the next day they are back, attached to the patio furniture all the way up to the top of the screen.   I finally figured out where they hide the babies.  There are yellow sacs stuck to the screens and walls of my house and each one of these contains up to 256 spiders.    These sacs are hatching every 11-13 days turning my back patio into a hotel for spiders.

I realize that spiders are good for the environment because they catch insects such as: white-flies, flies, moths, and beetles.  These spiders should be dying of starvation because they aren’t going to catch any of these in my screened-in area.   Their best bet is to get outside and find some real food.

Besides being a nuisance, this particular spider will bite, however, they are not known to cause serious side effects in humans.   Biting spiders?  No thanks.  I don’t feel one ounce of guilt for giving these guys the boot.