Keep calm and carry on: bites from Trichonephila clavata are unlikely and cause minimal discomfort.

ABSTRACT: Arachnophobia is a widespread phenomenon, despite the fact that the vast majority of spiders pose no meaningful threat to people. The introduction and spread of an invasive spider (Trichonephila clavata L. Koch, 1878) to the United States has prompted questions about whether it should be considered dangerous. These questions are particularly relevant because the spider is large, builds webs on and near human structures, and has been documented to consume small vertebrate prey. To understand the realistic threat this species represents, we examined spider-human interactions in the field with escalating levels of contact intensity. During these interactions, spiders primarily moved to avoid human contact, and bites were incredibly rare, mainly occurring when spiders were forcibly restrained.

SUBMITTER: Nelsen DR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12616235 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature