I recently tried out the skydiving wind tunnels and found the experience exhilarating. I also found it a little bit painful. If you decide to try it out, don’t wear a collared shirt. That collar will whip your neck to death. Despite my wardrobe malfunction, I couldn’t help but imagine the real experience culminating in pulling the ripcord. Of course, as an entomologist, my brain automatically jumped to parachuting spiders. Does this surprise you? Will it rain spiders?
Sky Spiders
Spiders are truly incredible creatures with amazing abilities. Each species is unique and has its own tricks of the trade. The spider of interest on this topic, in particular, is the Joro spider. The trick of the trade to focus on is ballooning.
Ballooning Spiders
Ballooning may bring to mind that awful experience you had trying to save money by blowing up hundreds of balloons for the toddler birthday party. I hate that strained cheek feeling!
With spiders, this refers to spinning a small web that works like a parachute or hot air balloon to catch a breeze and find a place to set up shop. This is a quick and effective way for hundreds or thousands of baby arachnids strategizing to spread out without having to battle for food sources.
Threats and Legends
The Joro spider is named after Jrogumo from Japanese folklore referring to a shapeshifter between woman and spider before killing its prey. I think this has strong potential for a Halloween horror film to keep my kids up all night. Fortunately, these spiders are not considered a human biting threat.
They may threaten your peace of mind and seeing some floating down on the breeze like the worst sequel to Hitchcock’s The Birds, but hopefully knowing a bit about them will ease the discomfort.
Stopping Joro and Other Spiders
The Arachnid specialists at Rove Pest Control have your back…and your head in this situation. If spiders or any other unwanted insect or arachnid is bothering you or simply making you worry about them popping up, contact us today. We will put together a pest protection plan that is customized to your home or business.