Golden Orb Weaver Spider? Pics Added to help ID
Last edited Wed Sep 24, 2014, 09:38 PM - Edit history (1)
Has anyone ever seen these things? They are HUGE, and make massive webs. I don't want to get too close, because they aren't in my garden but in the empty lot next door.
They certainly are too close for comfort, though. 
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and always a threat for their webs to be walked into while walking around or mowing the lawn (my wife always knows what happened when she sees me flailing my arms about at something not visible!).
Spiders are great friends to gardeners.
This is they
Different than the ones that are always in my garden, which get big and are quite surprising to find!
I live in a place that, if it had a name, should be called "Spider Hollow." I co-exist with all kinds of spiders, both in my house and outside. Can't say as I've ever had a bite and I've been here 17 years.
Now, maybe my positive attitude about spiders comes from a museum show I saw about 20 years ago at one of the Smithsonium museums in D.C. They are so useful around the garden, is one thing I learned.
However, if you don't like them indoors, one thing you can do that repels them is to take tomato branches and put them around your baseboards. I've not done this as they don't bother me, but I have read and heard from friends that it's a successful approach.
I don't even destroy their webs, even if in an inconvenient place. I just work around it until they resolve where they're going to live. I hate the idea of destroying any being's hard work and effort, especially if it's just trying to survive (kind of like what I'm doing).
I'll bet if you read up on spiders, your anxiety about them will just kinda' go away. 
Cher