Kentucky Woman Finds Giant Spider On Web Covering Front Porch

I have never thought about burning my own house down until today. It sounds a little dramatic now that I have almost recovered from walking into a MASSIVE spider web this morning. However, while it was happening, I couldn't help but think that fire was the only solution to this problem.

I leave for the day before the rest of my family is awake. 9.9/10 I use the front door so the dogs aren't triggered awake by the ring of the bell on the back door. We have a good-sized asymmetrical front porch with wrought-iron railing and as I walked out onto and started to go down the stairs, I was stopped in my tracks by something sparkling in the street light.

Aw Naw, to the Naw, Naw, Naw

The whole right side of the porch was blocked by a huge spider web! The big ole artist that made it sat right in the middle, and I just stood there trying to think of how to get around it to head to the studio. I am not typically scared of spiders unless they are crawling on me unexpectedly, but this spider gave me goosebumps.

To Fumigate or Not to Fumigate?

Of course, I had to figure out whether to fumigate my residence or if I could gently rehome the spider to a more convenient location.  In the process, I discovered that this thing is not going to eat my family or harm my pets or plants. It is an Orb-weaver which is very common in Kentucky and is beneficial to humans and the environment. You can tell by how organized the web is.

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Orb Weaver Spiders Not as Scary as They Look

Even though these guys look like total nightmares to arachnophobes, they serve an important role in the ecosystem. Orb Weavers eat flies, mosquitoes, ants, and other pests that bother us. They do have a painful bite, but it isn't poisonous and they'll only do it if threatened.

If the Orb Weaver on my porch is a female, when she moves on, she could leave behind a sac of hundreds of offspring. No THANK YOU! I think I'll let her do her thing for a couple of days and muster the courage to take her somewhere else. Hey, you want her?