Arachnophobia no more!

By Connie Mertz

Summer is full of life. Unfortunately, since rain has finally ended a dry spell, biting insect populations have surged. Gnats are everywhere and they sure can destroy a walk or backyard barbeque. However, there’s another outdoor presence that people avoid, and it’s one of those critters that will never make it to the top 10 list as favorite summertime visitor. These are spiders. Most of us would rather see a mosquito on our arm than a spider. Maybe it’s those two extra legs!

Spiders are beneficial in gardens where they help to keep insect populations in check, but  they cause great fear in humans. Some interesting facts about spiders (from the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy’s 2001) calendar say:

— All spiders make silk because of special glands at the end of their bodies.

— The female wolf spider, a hefty sized spider often seen near gardens or waste areas, carries her eggs in a ball of silk and, once hatched, the young remain on her back.

— Black widow spiders get their name because the female eats the male after mating.

Spiders serve a purpose in the web of life, or truth is, they would have never been created. I suppose we will always avoid them, but unless they pose a real danger, they should be left alone to live out their lives the way nature intended.