E-Paper
Swarms of spiders flee into Australian homes to avoid flood. People share posts
Australian Reptile Park took to Instagram to share details about the movements of the creatures.
Floods caused by torrential downpour in some parts of Australia have not only forced people to flee but also caused animals to migrate to higher grounds – especially spiders. Many took to social media to share images and videos of swarms of spiders entering homes. And the pictures aren’t for anyone afraid of insects.
Australian Reptile Park took to Instagram to share details about the movements of the creatures. “The worst flooding NSW has seen in a hundred years followed by the promise of warm weather is the perfect mix for a plague of funnel-web spiders to be on the move,” they wrote and shared a video.
This individual shared a video of spiders climbing up on what looks like a door:
A Reddit user also shared an image of the arachnids.
“In spring and summer it is peak spider time. Many will die off in the winter, or survive as egg sacks … If you get floods in summer you’ll see lots of spiders. There’s no more spiders than would be there usually. You’re just seeing more of them. Most of the spiders that you’re seeing … are ground-dwelling spiders,” Dr Lizzy Lowe, an arachnologist at the independent research company Cesar Australia, told the Guardian.
She also asked people to exercise empathy when in contact with the spiders even if the arachnids scare them.
“These are native species trying to do their thing, trying to survive. The last thing that you want to do is get out the insecticide spray,” she added.
Rescue operations are underway in the flood-hit areas in Australia.
