LOUISIANA (KLFY) -- People across Acadiana have been asking about the large spider webs that appear to be falling from the sky. So, we turned to LSU Ag Center's Dr. Stephen Baca for answers to the mystery.
"As scary as it sounds, it is flying spiders," Baca said.
Spiders, more specifically those that have recently hatched, use a behavior called "ballooning" where they release a special silk called gossamer which allows them to be carried by the wind and travel to new locations where they can set up their new web.
"Because it is baby spiders doing this. A lot of times you from one egg sac, you might have potentially hundreds of individuals kind of all doing it at once," Baca said.
Spiders are able to travel great distances with this behavior. It is believed spiders will amp up this activity during the fall or when wind speed crosses a certain threshold.
"So we've had a few breezy days around lately, and I have a friend following some different fluctuations in weather cycles, some rainy weather, as well as some nice warm days. And so, I have a feeling that it's probably like the culmination of all these things are kind of triggering the spiders to either all take flight all at once," Baca said.
While the thought of flying spiders may be scary for some, Baca said there is no danger.
"You know, these spiders, especially the size they are completely harmless. You know, I like to see ballooning spiders. I like these things lighting into my garden. I know they're going to help me out with pests and stuff like that," he said.
"In general, I think it's pretty cool behavior and I always like to see it. It's nothing to worry about at all," he continued.
To put perspective on how far ballooning spiders can travel, boaters have seen these webs in their sales 1000 miles offshore.
