Ugly and Disgusting Flying Spider Moving Into Central New York

There is a disgusting, hideous spider species that has been making its way up the east coast for several years now and some experts believe it is only a matter of time before they may end up in your backyard.

David Coyle is a professor at Clemson University who specializes in forest health and a wide range of invasive species. He recently released a report on a new species of invasive spider, originating from Asia, that has made it's way to the Eastern U.S. That report was released in October 2023 and here in 2024 the spiders are expected to literally fly into Central New York by the end of the summer. That spider is the Joro Spider.

Coyle says based on his study,

Those data show that this spider is going to be able to inhabit most of the eastern U.S. It shows that their comfort area in their native range matches up very well with much of North America.

Now, another expert claims that the Joro species will soon be making a permanent move into the northeast. According to CBS, Rutgers University Ecologist R. Ramírez-Garofalo says it's not a matter of if, but when we'll see these ugly menaces in tree lines of New Jersey and New York.

According to Coyle and his research,

The Joro spider’s pattern of spread suggests it is primarily driven by natural dispersal mechanisms, such as ballooning, a process by which spiders move through the air by releasing gossamer threads to catch the wind and go airborne, at the mercy of air currents and electric fields, although human-mediated transport cannot be discounted.

Now, none of the Joro Spiders have been spotted so far in Central New York but when they arrive you will know. Coyle's accounting of his first time seeing the spooky spiders is quite disturbing. He says,

I walked the edge of the woods — and they were everywhere. I have a 94-yard perimeter and found 50 Joro spiders on the perimeter. So, basically, every two yards there was a spider. This was in the morning and all the webs had dew on them, so you could easily see them, and there were just dozens of them on the power lines across the road.

While there is no evidence that the Joro is harmful or dangerous to humans, they certainly will be an eight legged arachnid you'll want to avoid.