Many art students of room 705 got quite a scare this month as a clutter of brown recluse spiders got cozy in a corner of the classroom.
This infestation was recently discovered by students as they went to get drawing and painting supplies.
“There were quite a few on the wall, and there were webs on the wall,” sophomore Susana Celaya Munguia said.
These spiders weren’t just any regular house pests – brown recluse spiders are a venomous species with a mean bite.
“Once we realized one of the spiders was a brown recluse, we had to make sure to get the exterminators in for those,” drawing and painting teacher Ms. McGee said.
Many students were worried about the spiders being in their classroom.
“Just knowing there’s spiders around makes me lose my focus,” junior Fahim Baheyadeen said.
This isn’t a universal opinion, however; some people don’t seem to mind the tiny invaders all that much.
“I am [afraid of spiders], but they seemed dead so it was okay,” Celaya Munguia said.
It seems that any immediate threat of danger from these spiders is unfounded.
“I don’t think it’s dangerous for any students… I think that it’s been taken care of,” McGee said.
Although a few sightings have been reported, they’re not everywhere in the classroom.
“I have not [seen any spiders], thank goodness, because I would probably pass out,” senior Addison Zuzenak said.
Despite the worries felt by those in the class, they haven’t caused many direct disruptions.
“We did have to move one day for classes,” Zuzenak said.
Luckily, these spiders aren’t the most nomadic, and would prefer to stay in their silk homes.
“Brown recluse spiders are called ‘recluse’ for a reason. They tend to not be out much, so I don’t think they’ll pose much of a threat,” McGee said.
The spiders have a few spots they live in, but they’re mostly in the back of the class.
“Whenever people walk back there, [the people] are overly conscious,” Zuzenak said.
As for a possible way the arachnids wandered into the classroom, the nearby outside door may be the most reasonable guess for McGee.
“We have a room that has some doors that go to the outside, so I’m used to seeing the occasional spider cricket and just let them outside,” McGee said.
A possible reason the recluses skittered out of their hiding place was because of some classroom cleaning.
“I’m new this year, and so I’ve been doing a lot of cleaning out the room. [The spiders] kind of like clutter, so I think that I, as I’ve been cleaning things up, kind of disturbed where they were living, revealing that we had a problem,” McGee said.
The spider infestation itself isn’t a huge issue, as McGee seems to believe that some simple cleaning may just need to happen more often.
“I think regular extermination and coming through to take care of pests, and just making sure we’re keeping our classrooms clean, [will help],” McGee said.
Some students in the classroom might have rather not known about the spiders in the first place.
“I think it’s good to know [about the spiders], but in a way ignorance is bliss,” Zuzenak said.
All in all, the spiders have been a large source of discomfort for the students that work in the classroom.
“I have a huge fear of spiders… I hope they go away,” Zuzenak said.
However, brown recluse spiders are quite skittish, so as long as they’re left alone they won’t be violent.
“They’d much rather run away from us than try to bite us,” McGee said.
With the help of some exterminators, according to McGee, the infestation is now handled and dealt with.
“I’m happy with how the school handled it, and I appreciate my students being flexible. We just wanted to be extra cautious until they had taken care of it,” McGee said.
