Leave Her Alone

August 11, 2023 – If your home is like ours, we have had a good crop of spiders this year. My personal favorite is the Orb Weaving Spiders who decorate their web with a vertical stabilimentum. This zipper like structure may serve as a warning to birds, as an attractant to insects, or camouflage for the spider as she rests in the middle.

It’s a safe bet that a spider of this size is female, as the male is tiny in comparison, and usually gets eaten after his job is done.

We always leave the spiders alone, garden around them and water plants carefully as they are truly beneficial.

Orb weaver spiders are not poisonous. They may contain mild venom, but it isn’t harmful to humans or even large animals. The orb weaver’s bite is like a bee sting in pain but has a more negligible effect.

They create egg sacks that are commonly seen hanging from the eaves or other protected places. The sacks are about an inch in diameter, and tan in color. If you can muster it, leave them place for the next year’s hatch.