Toreadtheheadlines, you would think the entire eastern seaboard is about to become the setting of a horror movie.
Giant spiders the size of a childs hand are expected to colonize the entire East Coast.
Theyll use tiny, terrifying parachutes to drop from the sky.
Oh, and theyre venomous.
Go ahead, scream.
Vow to never go outside again.
Let’s start with that first one.
Are joro spiders venomous?
Technically yes, but they can’t really hurt you.
Heres the thing:Allspiders are venomous.
What we call venom is their way of digesting food.
Thats pretty metal, but on a small scale.
If you are larger than a housefly, you dont have much to worry about.
But the joro is not one of them.
Its fangs arent usually even big enough to get through human skin.
Are joro spiders actually as big as your hand?
Reports have compared the spiders size to a childs hand, or to an adults palm.
Like, okay, but barely, and only if you measure their outstretched legs.
You have eaten jelly beans larger than this.
Are joro spiders going to rain from the sky?
This is another exaggeration.
The truth is that these guys, like many other spiders, can travel by ballooning.
Where do joro spiders live?
Joro spiders, originally from Japan, have been living in Georgia since 2013.
Should you kill joro spiders?
Some invasive species can be problematic in their new environment.
Lanternflies, for example,have squish on sight status where I live in Pennsylvania.
But joro spiders arent expected to cause any significant damage or disruption.
Theyre just spiders, and they just want to eat bugs.
I, for one, welcome our new stinkbug-eating overlords.
