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Golden Silk Orb-weaver (Trichonephila clavipes)
Identify it, prevent it, and know when to call. A South Florida guide from Pro-Spray.
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What Is a Golden Silk Orb-weaver?
Often called the banana spider, this is one of Florida's largest and most eye-catching spiders. Its web can stretch several feet across and shines golden in the sun. The spider catches mosquitoes, flies and other flying insects, so most experts consider it beneficial. The same web may stay up for weeks, with tiny males hanging around the edges.
How to Identify Them
The long, cylinder-shaped body and banded legs with fuzzy "tufts" are the giveaways. The spiny orb-weaver is much smaller with a hard, spiky shell. Neither is aggressive.
Life Cycle
Females lay eggs in silk sacs, often hidden on nearby leaves or bark. Young spiders hatch and spread out, sometimes floating away on threads of silk. Through spring and summer the females grow and build bigger webs, which is why the large ones are most noticeable in late summer and fall.
Look-alikes and How to Tell Them Apart
- Spiny orb-weaver: small, hard and colorful with spikes; small round web.
- Garden orb-weavers and other orb weavers: round bodies and regular round webs, not golden.
- Brown widow: small, round, with an hourglass underneath and a messy, tangled web near the ground or in corners, not a big golden wheel.
Where They Live in South Florida
Look in shady, wooded yards, along hedges and fence lines, between trees and the house, and across paths through landscaping. They often build where flying insects pass, such as near pool enclosures and porch lights.
When to Call a Pro
There's no need to call just because you see one. Call if webs are constantly blocking doors and walkways, or if you're seeing a lot of spiders of other types near or inside the home, which can mean other pests are drawing them in.
Signs of Golden Silk Orb-weavers
- Large, sticky golden-yellow webs strung between trees, fences or the house
- Webs across walkways, gates or screen doors
- Insect remains bundled in the web
Is it dangerous?
- Harmless
Harmless; a bite is rare and mild. Mostly a "walked into the web" problem.
Prevention Tips
- Knock down webs with a broom where you walk; the spider will usually rebuild somewhere else.
- Reduce porch lighting at night, which draws the insects they hunt.
- Leave webs that aren't in the way; they help control flying pests.
How Pro-Spray Helps
We don't recommend treating these spiders just because they're there. They're harmless and helpful. If webs block doors, walkways or pool cages, we can remove webs and do perimeter work at your request as part of your regular service, focusing on eaves, entries and the structure. We don't spray trees, shrubs or landscape plants. Our Bug Free Guarantee: If pests come back between visits, so do we, at no extra cost.
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Then stay protected with our $125 quarterly pest control plan, about $42/month.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Are banana spiders poisonous?
Should I kill a golden silk orb-weaver?
Why is the web gold?
Reviewed October 2026 by Pro-Spray's family-run team
Pests don't wait.
Protect your home today.
Get $50 OFF your first pest service and a FREE inspection & estimate. Ongoing protection is $125 quarterly (about $42/month), with no contracts and no cancellation fees.
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