Will Illinois Be Invaded By Gigantic Flying Spiders From Japan?

Most normal humans have at least one fear or something that will horrify them. You might call it a phobia.

What Things Are You Afraid Of?

Some of the more common phobias are the fear of flying, the fear of heights, and the fear of dogs.

Personally, none of those are fears of mine, so I have no issues getting on a jet out of O'Hare, going to the top of the Sears Tower (I'll never call it anything else), or hanging with my Boston Terrier at the dog park.

So while I don't have Aerophobia, Acrophobia, or Cynophobia, I'm confident I do have some Arachnophobia or Entomophobia.

Is Fear of Bugs and Spiders a Common Phobia in Illinois?

Having lived in all corners of the United States, the common fears I noticed from those around me seemed to change depending on what part of the country I was in.

In Alabama, there was a fear of tornadoes, while in Montana it was fear that a bobcat was going to steal the dog from your backyard, and in Indiana, the fear of a meth lab blowing up in your neighborhood.

According to Healthline, the fear of insects is one of the most common types of phobias.

A phobia is overwhelming and causes significant anxiety. It’s different from simply not liking insects or getting a case of the heebie-jeebies when one scurries by. For some, the anxiety is disabling and interferes with their daily activities. -Healthline.com

No matter where I've lived, the fear of bugs and spiders I have was never worse than when I lived in Florida. According to the Cleveland Clinic, the fear of bugs starts because of traumatic experiences with insects.

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My traumatic experience in Florida was the time a huge flying roach got into the house and I didn't want to smash it and cause a crime scene, so I sucked up with my vacuum.

Later that night when I was sleeping, I felt something walking across my chest. It was the same flying roach that was now covered in dust and dirt after escaping the Dirt Devil and coming back to find me. True story.

Flying Spider From Japan is In the U.S. and "Spreading Fast"

When I saw the headline from Clemson University about the giant flying and biting spiders from Japan spreading across the U.S., all I wanted to know was can they survive the cold of a Midwestern winter.

According to the report, the Joro spider is "spreading like wildfire" and is "going to be able to inhabit most of the eastern U.S."

As of October 2022, T. clavata’s range spans at least 120,000 square kilometers, occurring across Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee, with reports in Alabama, Maryland, Oklahoma and West Virginia.

So, has anyone confirmed a Joro spider anywhere in Illinois or Wisconsin?

Could the Biting Joro Spiders Survive in Illinois

The Joro spiders are found in much of Japan, which has a climate similar to the U.S., according to NBC Chicago.

Scientists say they could appear in the midwestern region, but thanks to our short Summer season an "invasion" of the flying spiders is unlikely.

It's still unknown when or how exactly the Joro spider made its way from Japan into the United States, according to the NBC Chicago story.