Anyone who has walked through an area woodland during the second half of the summer has gotten spider webs in their face. Trying to get spider webs laced with dead bug parts off your face, clothes, and hair is not the most pleasurable thing to do. The spiders responsible for these webs are called Spiny Orb Weavers.

They are small, gray spiders with thorny spines on their abdomen. These spiders have a one year life cycle, and it is the middle of the summer before they mature and begin to weave their webs. They like the woodland because small understory trees give them two points of contact contact 4 to 5 fee above the ground to spin their bug traps. They are not harmful to people; but they do eat a lot of mosquitoes and deer flies, which make them friends of mine.

The best defense to keep the webs out of your face is to simply carry a stick out in front of your face to intercept the webs as you walk through the woods. And when they do get in your face, just be glad that these wild looking little spider are out there helping to control the mosquito population