Spiders In Memphis: Millions Of Arachnids Cover Neighborhood In Massive Webs


Millions of spiders have descended on a Memphis, Tennessee, neighborhood — and subsequently covered buildings, fields, trees, and roads, in massive webs. Although it is unlikely that the spiders are poisonous, they and their webs are causing an uproar.

As reported by the Washington Post, the invasion is not as unusual or sinister as it may appear. University of Tennessee Knoxville professor Susan Riechart explains the event is simply a late-season ballooning event.

Ballooning is commonly used by smaller spiders as a form of transportation from one location to another.

In an interview with Live Science, retired arachnologist Rick Vetter said the spiders climb to the highest available location, lift their hind legs, and release a tiny strand of silk into the air. The strand of silk essentially acts as a kite, which catches air and transports the spiders to another location.

Although it is not uncommon, ballooning is rarely noticed — until a large number of spiders ascend or descend en masse.

Professor Susan Riechart believes the spiders in Memphis are juveniles — which ballooned en masse due to the unseasonably mild weather conditions.

“Particular air currents favor ballooning. This would explain the fact that thousands to hundreds of thousands may take off at the same time. Caught by the air currents, the spiderlings have no control over where they will land, but it is not surprising that they may fall in the same area.”

Although Riechart confirmed the Memphis spiders are “totally harmless,” residents are concerned about their sudden appearance — and the mess they have made with their webs.

As reported by CNN, the webs covered nearly a half-mile of buildings and vegetation. In addition to the massive webs, residents are concerned about the sheer number of spiders running around in their yards and on their houses.

Memphis resident Ida Morris discusses her experience with the spiders.

“They’re just in the air; they’re flying everywhere. They all on the house, on the side of the windows… You can’t even sit in her house because they’re all on the wall, on the door… We been killing spiders for about an hour now.”

Ida’s neighbor, Francis Ward, said she woke up to find “spiders all over [her] door… coming in [her] house.”

Last month, a similar incident occurred on the Main Street bridge in Columbus, Ohio. As reported by NBC News, the popular bridge was overrun with an estimated 10,000 orb weaver spiders.

Although orb weavers are larger than the spiders in Memphis, they are equally harmless. It is unclear why the spiders gathered on the Main Street bridge, as they did not appear to be building nests. However, self-proclaimed “Bug Doc” Dave Shetlar said they were likely looking for food — as a river runs under the bridge.

In August, a park in Rowlett, Texas, was overrun with thousands of spiders — which built a massive “communal” web among the trees. Like the spiders in Memphis, and Columbus, the Rowlett spiders were determined to be harmless to humans.

As reported by Discovery, it is unclear why they congregated in Lakeside Park. However, experts believe they were attracted to the area by an overabundance of flying insects.

Although massive amounts of spiders, and their enormous webs, are disturbing — they rarely pose any harm to humans. In most cases, they are simply in search of somewhere to build a nest or a source of food.

Officials and residents continue to clean up the webs left behind by the spiders in Memphis. However, it appears that the disturbing ballooning event has ended and nobody was harmed during the unusual incident.

[Image via Shutterstock/fototrips]

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