People across North Georgia report thousands of sightings of giant ‘flying’ spiders

ATLANTA — It may sound like the things that nightmares are made of.

People across North Georgia have reported thousands of sightings of the now-infamous Joro Spider. The giant, venomous, “flying” spiders have been in Georgia for more than a decade now.

The Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health through the University of Georgia has developed a monitoring program called Joro Watch, which breaks down sightings of the creepy arachnids by county.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Fulton County had nearly 500 sightings, DeKalb County had nearly 700 sightings and Gwinnett had close to 600.

Researchers with the UGA believe they arrived here around 2013, all the way from Japan -- possibly in cargo that came through Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

Joro spiders don’t actually fly-- they don’t have wings. Their webs are carried on the breeze.

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Scientists say unless you stick your finger right in front of their fangs, they’re unlikely to bite you.

Researchers say there’s no getting rid of them.

Research by UGA has found that the Joros are also cold-tolerant and can survive the brief freezes that other spider species can’t handle, suggesting their hardiness is part of what’s enabling them to spread through the U.S.

RELATED NEWS:

Joro spiders: What you need to know (NCD)

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