They’re big, yellow and have invaded SC for the first time. The Joro spider is here. What to know

An invasive species of spider was recently spotted in South Carolina for the first time, environmental experts confirmed.

The Joro spider from Asia is now present in the Upstate and parts of the Midlands, the Clemson Cooperative Extension announced this week.

“South Carolina has them, and as summer heats up, they get more and more noticeable,” a statement from the extension reads.

According to the extension, immature versions of the spider, called nymphs, were first spotted in South Carolina in mid-May.

“Because the Joro spider is not native to the United States, we do not know what kind of impact it will have on native fauna,” the extension wrote. “It is unlikely to be dangerous to humans or pets other than being a nuisance in some situations.”

Thought to have arrived in the U.S. by a container ship, Joro spiders were originally seen in Georgia in 2014. They have long legs, a red belly and can grow to nearly 3 inches across with their legs spread.

Also, the spiders can form parachutes out of their webs, letting them fly from 50 to 100 miles in the wind.

Joro spider eggs usually hatch in late spring and the juveniles can be seen in early May. They like to make their webs on just about everything, from homes, decks and porches to landscape plants.

The spiders and their webs will get larger through September, when the bigger adult females become very noticeable because of their bright colors. Males are drab brown in color and much smaller.

“If Joro spiders are a nuisance and somewhere they need to be removed, simply use a stick to move the web and spider to another location,” the extension recommends. “Pesticides will kill individual spiders, but if you kill one, more are likely to move into that area. We do not recommend using fire (due to safety reasons) as a management tactic.”

If you spot a Joro spider, the extension recommends reporting it to the iNaturalist project “Orb weaving spiders in the Southeastern USA” — a free online community platform for reporting flora and fauna sightings.