Joro Watch Season

Peak in the Southeastern US is currently August-October, but they have been found sporadically in the months before and after then.

• Habitats – They are most easily found along trailsides and forest edges, but have been found most anywhere outside they can establish a web

• Public places known to have Joro spiders

  • Fort Yargo State Park

  • Oconee Forest Park

  • State Botanical Gardens of Georgia

  • Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area

  • Brook Run Park

  • Dunwoody Park

  • Sawnee Mountain Preserve

  • Sidney Lanier Recreation Area

  • George Pierce Park

  • Suwanee Creek Greenway

  • Chicopee Woods Nature Preserve and Elachee Nature Science Center

  • Yahoola Creek Park

• Be aware of your surroundings, including where you are walking, so you are on even ground and avoiding dangerous animals and unfamiliar people.

• Check the weather for adverse conditions along the route and at the destination.

• Explore with others and let other people who not going know where you are going and when you plan to return.

• Bring a cell phone but be aware that not everywhere you may go will have mobile signal.

• Bring a map of the area and make sure you know how to read it.

• If traveling in a vehicle, pull it out of traffic if you are stopping to survey or report an observation.

• Bring water, food, sun protection, appropriate clothing and footwear, and necessary medications and first aid supplies.

Make sure you know whose land you are on at all times. Be sure you understand and follow all relevant laws and rules while on public lands such as state and national parks. These rules may prevent you from accessing certain areas and may restrict how you interact with wildlife, including invasive species. While it may be tempting to remove or kill the Joro spiders you find, most public lands prohibit collecting, bothering, or killing wildlife. If you don’t know the rules, collect only data and leave the environment as you found it.

If you are on private property, be sure you respect the landowners’ rights and rules. Be sure you get permission before you access and collect data on private lands. If you are searching for Joro spiders on private land, you can report your findings using the “private” option in the “location” section. If a “private” report is shown publicly, the location is only shown to the county-level.

When you think you’ve spotted a Joro spider, please fill out the Joro Watch report form on this site. You would mark this as “positive” under the “infestation status” part of the form. If you went searching for Joro spiders and didn’t find any, you would mark this as “negative.” Negative data is helpful to scientists’ research, too. 

You can report either by using the EDDMapS app (iOS and Android platforms) or through the form on the Joro Watch website. The app can be used without an internet connection whereas the website cannot. Fill out the form as completely as possible to help scientists gather data about Joro spiders, and to add locations to the map so that everyone can see where Joro spiders are found.

The app has one extra step compared to the website form, to allow for offline use. Reports are saved locally to the phone while you are out and about reporting. Once you arrive back at home or where you have Wi-Fi, then it is recommended you Upload the records saved in your Upload Queue. This allows you to save on your phone battery and data plan when signal may be poor. Another benefit to using the app is that you can report other pest and invasive species you find while you’re scouting for Joro spiders!