Enormous spiders have descended upon Georgia, and experts say people should get used to them because “they are not going anywhere.”
Millions of the invasive Joro spiders have been spotted in dozens of Georgia counties — and scientists say they’re making themselves at home, according to a September article from the University of Georgia College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences. Rick Hoebeke of the Georgia Museum of Natural History identified the first Joro spiders in Georgia in 2014. He explained: “Our best guess is that it came in a shipping container and dropped off here somewhere on I-85 in the Braselton area… They are great little hitchhikers!”
“I think people need to make peace with Joros and accept the spiders because they are not going anywhere,” he said.
Entomologist Nancy Hinkle said the spider is a “beautiful creature that provides free pest control,” and officials say they’re harmless to humans. Still, HInkle said most will die off by late November, and when eggs hatch, the spiders will likely hitchhike again.
Joro spiders are about 3 inches long and can spin webs about 10 feet thick, according to Live Science. The publication reports that the spiders are common in China, Taiwan, Japan and Korea.