It sounds like a treasure: the Golden Silk spider. You can imagine that it might be something Jack would have carried down his famed bean stalk to make his fortune. In Florida and other southeastern states, this orange and brown arachnid is pretty well-known and often sincerely disliked. The Golden Silk spider isn’t the worst of Florida’s pest control offenders, but as summer ends and fall arrives, they become a more obvious issue.
Golden silk spiders aren’t exactly dangerous. They aren’t fighters — they’ll only bite if you hold or pinch them. Even if you do get a bite, it won’t be very painful. Most people (without a serious allergy) say it’s less painful than a bee sting and the pain fades faster. They aren’t very big, only about 2 inches for the biggest females for the species common the US. Compared to their cousins in Australia and New Zealand, that’s tiny! (One Queensland species was photographed consuming a half-meter-long snake.)
These spiders get their name from the color of the silk they produce for their webs. In the sunlight it gleams in a gilt hue that science has yet to quantify. Researchers have pinned down three of the compounds responsible for the color, but the fourth has yet to be identified.
This particular shade is really rather remarkable. It’s been theorized that the color is used to attract certain insects that are drawn to yellows like bees. Some think it’s for camouflage in the shaded areas the spider prefers to spin it webs. The golden silk spider can adjust the color to suit the surroundings, so it could be that both are true!
These webs are what have helped build the golden web spider’s reputation as an outdoor pest control issue. They spin intricate and complex webs with their own special beauty but those things can get really, really big! They can be up to a meter across. If you’ve ever accidentally walked into one it’s not a thing you’ll soon forget. As orb weavers, the webs of the golden silk spiders are super-sticky. The spiders renew the sticky parts daily so they stay freshly adhesive all the time.
In addition to being large and sticky, gold silk spider webs tend to show up in inconvenient places. They like to spin their webs near flowers and shrubs or in between trees, like most of us have in our yards. Anywhere you’d like to be gardening or walking is a likely spot to find one of their webs.
The cooler weather of the fall seems to bring out spiders of all kinds. They can tolerate the temperatures better once the fall arrives. They’re also getting ready for leaner times by stocking up on meals and fattening themselves up a bit for winter. There aren’t really more spiders, they’re just coming out of hiding. The dew lasts longer in the fall and this makes their webs more obvious.
Don’t forget that spiders eat more annoying insects like mosquitos and flies. You might consider leaving these guys alone and just becoming more careful about where you walk. If you can’t tolerate their web-building ways, contact Slug-A-Bug, your Brevard County pest control provider to talk about pest treatment options.