Drought spurs boom in spider population

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - With a hot and dry summer, there is nothing to "wash the spiders out." It may be an old nursery rhyme, but many western New Yorkers have noted that there seems to be a lot more creepy, crawly spiders about this year.

Everywhere you go, you seem to spot spiders out - or inadvertently walk into a spider web!

Ridge Lee Williams said, "A lot yes, big ones too, real big ones. I was in my room sweeping my floor and I looked down and it was a spider. And I noticed it had hair on its legs. Really, like a mini-tarantula. So I stepped on it five times and it wouldn't die."

Dan Emerson added, "I don't like waking up and seeing one dangling from the ceiling and all of that. I tell you, I'll scream. I'll scream like you've never seen a man scream before."

And believe it or not, the reason we are seeing so many spiders is because of the ongoing drought. Dr. Donna Fernandes, President and CEO of the Buffalo Zoo, says the lack of rain has allowed spiders to thrive in places they normally wouldn't. That same lack of moisture is also the reason we're seeing more spiders inside of our homes.

"They're seeking out water. If they can't get it in the natural, outdoor environment because of the lack of rain, they may be moving inside in search of water," she said.

And with no rain, the webs those spiders leave behind are everywhere.

"Normally they have to rebuild their webs every night. But if they're not being destroyed by rain, they can persist," Fernandes noted.

While many aren't fans of arachnids, they do have benefits, such as eating pests. But the spiders should be kept outside.

"Obviously in the home, they can bite you. My preference usually is to catch them up and to let them go outside rather than to just kill them," Fernandes said. "But because some of the species can cause bites that can be painful, I would recommend removing them from the home."

Fernandes says almost all of the spiders in our area are not dangerous.