Orb Weaver Spiders and Banana Spiders on Porches and in Gardens

An orb weaver spider belongs to a large group of spiders that spin flat, wheel-shaped webs and usually have plump, often colorful abdomens. Garden spiders, barn spiders and Florida’s golden silk spider (the banana spider) are orb weavers. They are most noticeable in late summer and fall and are not considered dangerous to people.

What an Orb Weaver Spider Is and How to Recognize One

Two clues together identify an orb weaver: a flat, round web of spokes and spiral lines, and a spider hanging head-down at its center or hiding in a shelter near its edge. UC IPM counts about 200 orb weaver species in North America. The big one you notice is almost always a female, since males are much smaller; a male yellow garden spider measures 5 to 8 millimeters against the female’s 19 to 28.

Orb weavers seem to show up overnight in late summer, but they have been around all season. The common species spend the winter inside an egg sac, and the young grow through spring and summer unnoticed until they mature in late summer, when their webs get big enough to walk into. In Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota, adults stay out until the first hard freeze, while in Florida golden silk spiders last into late fall and spiny orb weavers peak in fall and winter.

Orb Weaver Spider Webs

An orb web hangs on spokes, called radii, with a sticky spiral laid over them. A few details point to the builder:

• A white zigzag band down the center marks a garden spider web, though banded garden spiders often skip it.
• Golden silk in a huge, fine-meshed web with the spider near the top means a golden silk orb-weaver.
• Small tufts of silk on the outer support lines mark a spiny orb weaver.
• A web by the porch light that is gone soon after sunrise belongs to a night builder such as the spotted orb weaver.

Orb weavers also move webs on their own, and the post on why orb weavers abandon and rebuild their webs explains what drives that.

Orb Weavers Homeowners Find in Florida and the Midwest

Orb weavers around a house fall into two groups. Garden spiders and golden silk spiders sit in their webs in broad daylight, while spotted orb weavers and similar brown species build at dusk and hide nearby by day, which is why their webs seem to come from nowhere.

Yellow Garden Spider and Banded Garden Spider

The yellow garden spider is the large black and yellow spider hanging at the center of a web over a sunny flower bed, tall weeds or shrubs. Females measure 19 to 28 millimeters (about 3/4 to 1 1/8 inches), and Penn State Extension notes webs 20 to 40 inches across, each with a white zigzag band called a stabilimentum. The banded garden spider is slightly smaller, with numerous black stripes across a pale yellow and silver abdomen, banded legs and a zigzag that is often missing. Both live across most of the United States.

Barn Spiders and Spotted Orb Weavers on Porches and Eaves

Barn spider is the name homeowners often give the brown orb weavers on porches, barns and eaves, and the spotted orb weaver (Neoscona crucifera) fits that picture. UF/IFAS describes females 1/3 to 3/4 inch long, reddish brown to brown with banded legs, found from southern Florida to the upper Midwest. On a porch, look first at the edge of the eave, because this spider often anchors the top of its web there and ties the lower lines to a shrub or the ground; the orb can reach nearly 2 feet across. Young spiders build at dusk and take the web down shortly after dawn, so most people only notice one after dark, in the porch light. In fall, adult females often leave the web up and hunt in daylight.

Cross Orb Weaver Spiders Near Exterior Lights

The cross orb weaver is named for the cross of pale spots on its yellow to brown abdomen. Penn State Extension says this probable European import is commonly found on buildings with exterior lighting, including lighted stairwells, and UW-Madison entomologists rank it among the most common orb weavers in the Great Lakes region, so Wisconsin homeowners see it on patios and siding from late summer through fall.

Spiny Orb Weaver Spiders in Florida

In Florida, the female spiny orb weaver is 3/8 to 1/2 inch wide and wider than she is long, with a white back dotted in black and six red spines, and some Floridians call it a crab spider even though it is unrelated to true crab spiders. Its web runs about 12 to 24 inches across with tufts of silk on the support lines, in trees, shrubs and citrus around houses. Adult females are present all year but most common from October through January.

Brown Orb Weaver Spiders

Several common orb weavers are brown, which makes a brown orb weaver hard to pin to one species. Spotted orb weavers run reddish brown to brown, cross orb weavers yellow to brown, and the usually orange marbled orb weaver carries brown to purple markings. Around a house, all three are handled the same way.

This table compares the common species with Florida’s banana spider:

Banana Spiders in Florida and How Harmful They Are

In Florida, banana spider usually means the golden silk orb-weaver (Trichonephila clavipes), also called the golden orb weaver. UF/IFAS ranks her among the largest orb weavers in the country, with females 24 to 40 millimeters long (roughly 1 to 1 1/2 inches), a silvery front, a long orange to tan body spotted in yellow, banded legs and feathery leg tufts. Males are slender, dark brown and about 6 millimeters long.

Her web is the giveaway: finely meshed, often 1 to 2 meters (about 3 to 6 1/2 feet) across, spun from golden silk between trees and shrubs at wood edges and along trails, with the spider near the top. Unlike many orb weavers, she keeps one web up and repairs damaged sections. Most females mature in August and last late into fall, the season when people walk into the webs.

Does the US Have Banana Spiders?

Yes. The golden silk orb-weaver, the spider Floridians call a banana spider, lives throughout Florida and across the Gulf Coast and the Southeast. The Brazilian wandering spider that online scare stories also call a banana spider is not established in the United States. Large spiders found in imported bananas are usually harmless species that get misidentified, according to UC Riverside spider researchers.

Are Banana Spiders Poisonous or Venomous?

Banana spiders are venomous, as most spiders are, but not poisonous, and they are not considered dangerous to people. Their bite is meant for the flies, bees, wasps and small moths caught in the web. UF/IFAS entomologists note the spider bites only if held or pinched and the effects stay mild and fade quickly, milder than a bee sting. Contact a doctor about any spider bite.

Can You Pick Up a Banana Spider?

No. UF/IFAS says a golden silk spider bites only when held or pinched, so leaving it alone avoids the problem. If a web blocks a path, pool deck or porch, take it down from arm’s length with a rake or broom, as UF/IFAS Extension suggests, and expect the spider to rebuild quickly.

Are Orb Weaver Spiders Dangerous to People?

No. UW-Madison entomologists describe autumn orb weavers as harmless despite their size, and the rare bites come from handling a spider or pinning one against skin.

Is the Orb Weaver Spider Poisonous?

No. Orb weavers are venomous rather than poisonous, and Penn State Extension notes that most spider bites have little or no effect on people. UF/IFAS says bites from spotted and spiny orb weavers are not known to cause serious effects, and Penn State calls garden spiders not medically important. Contact a doctor about any spider bite.

Are Orb Weavers Friendly?

Orb weavers are not aggressive. They see poorly and find prey by feeling vibrations in the web, so a struggling insect gets their attention while a person standing nearby does not, and UC IPM notes that spiders sitting in the open by day are unlikely to bite people.

Can You Touch an Orb Weaver Spider?

Do not touch one. Handling is how most orb weaver bites happen, and nothing about moving a web requires it. Take a web out of a doorway with a broom or long stick, let the spider drop and crawl off, and teach children to watch garden spiders from a step back.

Should You Get Rid of Orb Weaver Spiders?

Only the ones in your way. A garden spider in a flower bed or a golden silk spider at the back of the yard catches insects all season, so leave those webs alone. Clear the webs that cross doorways, steps, walkways and lanai entrances; UC IPM recommends removing webs and hiding places and says pesticides are not generally needed against spiders.

Are Orb Weaver Spiders Good to Have Around?

Yes, especially in gardens. UF/IFAS lists flies, bees, wasps, moths, beetles and whiteflies among the prey of golden silk and spiny orb weavers, and UW-Madison entomologists describe spiders as eating an enormous mass of insects every year. If mosquitoes are the bigger complaint on your patio, the guide to mosquitoes around the yard covers where they breed and what works against them.

Why Orb Weaver Webs Keep Coming Back to the Same Spot

A web that reappears in the same corner every night means the spot works for the spider. UC IPM notes that outdoor lighting attracts insects, which in turn attracts spiders, and eaves, railings and fixtures give a web its anchor points. A night builder strings a fresh web at dusk no matter how many you have removed, and because it takes the web down itself shortly after dawn, a morning sweep clears silk that was coming down anyway. Sweeping alone does not change why the spider chose the spot; changing the light does.

Where Do Orb Weavers Go During the Day?

Night-building orb weavers spend the day in a retreat beside the web, while garden spiders and golden silk spiders stay in the web itself. UF/IFAS describes spotted orb weavers hiding in leaves curled and tied with silk where an upper support line attaches, or in a silk shelter under the eave, so to find the builder of a porch web in daylight, follow that top line. Marbled orb weavers wait at the end of a signal thread that tells them when an insect hits the web, according to Penn State. A golden silk spider points her long body at the sun to limit heating once temperatures pass about 95 degrees Fahrenheit.

Keeping Porches and Entryways Clear of Orb Weaver Webs

Start with the light, since it feeds the porch web. Lighting research shows insects are usually drawn most strongly to ultraviolet and blue light, so a yellow bulb or a warm LED with little blue in its output pulls in fewer of them than a bright white bulb. UC IPM recommends keeping fixtures off the structure and away from doors and windows where possible, and a motion-sensor fixture keeps the porch dark most of the night.

Then sweep at dusk or after dark instead of in the morning. The night builder is out on its new web then, so a broom or vacuum wand removes the spider and the web together, and UC IPM recommends sweeping, hosing or vacuuming webs and spiders off buildings regularly.

A few more steps reduce hiding spots around entries:

• In late fall, knock down the papery brown or fluffy yellow egg sacs tucked into cracks around the house, since the common orb weavers spend the winter inside them.
• Trim shrubs and vines away from siding, railings and fixtures, which UC IPM says discourages spiders from settling near the house; the guide to landscaping that attracts or repels pests covers plant placement in more detail.
• In Florida, repair torn screens on lanais and pool enclosures, which collect orb weaver webs for much of the year.

Perimeter sprays rarely fix an orb weaver problem. UC IPM advises against routine insecticide use on spiders outdoors because sprays give no long-term control and work mainly on a spider they hit directly, and a night builder spends the day out of reach. If you use a product labeled for spiders, follow the label exactly; the label is the law.

If your porch, eaves, lanai or screen enclosure still fills with webs every night after the lighting changes and a few weeks of evening sweeps, the insects and harborage (hiding spots) behind the webs are the next thing to address, and it is time to call a pest control professional. A technician from a trusted local provider like Fenix Pest Control will check the lighting, eaves and plantings around your entries and apply a spider treatment focused on those insects and hiding spots.

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