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And so I’ve dubbed 2025 the “Year of the Joro.”

But there’s some good news: These spiders pose no real danger to us or our beloved pets. Yes, they’re venomous—just like all spiders, they use venom to paralyze their prey, but they don’t bite humans unless they are messed with. Even still, they are not as dangerous as a black widow or brown recluse. I’m so thankful for that.

These spiders are actually doing us a favor, feeding on moths, flies, mosquitoes, stink bugs, beetles, and wasps. They’re opportunistic hunters, consuming whatever gets caught in those impressive webs they weave each night.

So here we are, sharing our woods with a bunch of invasive spiders. I can’t bring myself to kill the Joros—they’ve done nothing wrong. They’re just doing what spiders do, trying to survive and make baby spiders. But I’ll definitely keep avoiding those massive sticky webs. Yikes!