More rain equals more spiders.
Weeks after Gov. Jerry Brown's executive order that lifted the drought emergency for most of California, experts say the state should expect to see an increase of the crawlers, NBC4 media partner KPPC reported.
Because increased rain has caused more plant growth, the number of insects that feed on those plants has surged. In turn, the number of spiders that feed on those insects has also risen, said Brian Brown, curator of etymology at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles.
"We have moister conditions for the spiders to live in," Brown said. "Not so many of them will just desiccate and dry out because of the dry conditions."
One of the newer species of spiders in the area is the brown widow, native to South Africa.
The spiders, which Brown said started making its way to Southern California 15 years ago on shipping containers, have been squeezing out the black widow.
"Brown widows are found under almost every piece of yard furniture in the Los Angeles area," Brown said.
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While people should still be careful, the species is not very aggressive, he said.
