I hate spiders! I know I know, they eat other insects and most are completely harmless but I just they're creepy, nasty and nothing will ever change my mind...I have serious arachnaphobia. If you're like me, you may have walked straight into a spider web or two recently, and may or may not have done a crazy dance to get it off of you that looks more like you're having some sort of fit but I digress.
Spider season in western Washington has begun. Well, kind of. Although spiders are common in Washington, spider activity is more prevalent during August and September for a couple of species, making them more noticeable. This leads people to believe there are more spiders than there actually are.
The most common spiders seen during this time are known as giant house spiders and cross orb weaver spiders, which live outdoors., according to Rod Crawford, curator of arachnids at the University of Washington and curatorial associate at the Burke Museum.
Giant house spiders are more commonly seen in August and September because males become sexually mature during this time and are roaming around trying to find a female giant house spider to mate with.
Luckily, this onset of spider sightings will only last through the end of September. The giant house spider can grow to have a body length of 1 inches with its legs growing up to 4 inches long. Its long legs make the spider appear large in size (hence the name) which might instill some fear in people, but in reality, these spiders are harmless.
According to Crawford, most of the spiders in western Washington are harmless and they couldn’t hurt you even if they wanted to.
