Walking Into Spider Webs

Do you like taking a walk or bike ride through the park? Might want to take a look around before doing so at any of the local parks. Nothing to worry about, just a 4 inch Banana spider and a 6 foot web here and there. Calm down, they are completely harmless to us humans. If you get bit, at most you'd have mild swelling and skin irritation. They are actually incredibly good for the environment with the amount of mosquitoes they eat. They also munch on grasshoppers and other random small insects. The females get up to 4 inches in length while the males max out around a half inch. Typically they are a yellowish with whiteness on the abdomen and legs.

Photo Courtesy of the Palm Beach Post.

"Because of their size, people often assume the banana spider is dangerous. But in reality, it is shy and has a venom that is not lethal, causing some pain in the area of the bite and redness."  Palm Beach Post


The problem with them is that they are everywhere. It is peak season for them and they love open woods and swampy areas. Many parks have tried to relocate them to less busy areas, but for the most part there is nothing else we can do. Anything more than that would cause more problems than it would solve. As for now and the next several weeks though, it'll just feel like every park has become a spider zoo.