Everything you need to know about the giant spider invading NJ

You’ve probably heard or read a lot about the Jaro Spider. The seven to eight-inch spider is making its way toward New Jersey. It does sound scary but it’s nothing you really need to be afraid of. Here’s everything you need to know.

The giant spider IS slowly making its way towards the Garden State. And no, this isn't a Hollywood script, as Bill Doyle mentioned in his article on December 8.

These aren't fictional creatures; they're real spiders, and they're not your friendly neighborhood type – we're talking up to a whopping 7 inches long.

Here is where the spiders come from.

These arachnids are not native to the U.S.; they’re apparent jet-setters from Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and China. The females, with their bold colors, are like the celebrities of the spider world and are pretty popular in Japan.

Scientists first spotted them in North America back in 2014, and by October 2022, they've claimed a sprawling territory of 120,000 square kilometers. Which is about 50k square miles.

Sightings so far include Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee and surprise appearances in Alabama, Maryland, Oklahoma and West Virginia.

These spiders aren't just recent immigrants; they've been hanging around since 2013 when they were first spotted in Hoschton, Georgia.

Now, they're becoming locals, setting up shop in places like Athens, Georgia and Greenville, South Carolina.

What's fascinating is their resilience to the cold, making experts predict they might colonize the Eastern Seaboard.

One thing we are very sure of is that, although the spider is big, its bark is worse than its bite.
Reports on how painful the bite is are conflicting. Some have said that their teeth are not strong enough to pierce human skin yet. The bite is considered painful, but not life-threatening. I’m sure we’ll be finding out soon enough.

Another big question mark still, is their impact on the ecosystem. They've been caught in the act, munching on invasive stink bugs, and there's a hope they might become our allies against mosquitoes and flies.

So maybe this will be a friendly spider invasion. Will keep our fingers crossed.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Judi Franco only.

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