A woman got an unexpected fright when she discovered a spider’s web in the foot well of a rental car she’d been driving for three weeks.
Linz Corona, known as @linzcorona on TikTok, shared her unnerving find in a video that quickly went viral, amassing 11.5 million views and 381,000 likes. In the clip, she revealed her disbelief, with the text overlay: “I have been driving this rental car for 3 weeks and just noticed this…”
Commenters were quick to speculate on the spider species, some even suggested it was the deadly “black widow.” “That’s a black widow spider web,” said one user.
Newsweek reached out to @linzcorona for comment via TikTok. We could not verify the details of the case.
Dr. Jim Fredericks, chief entomologist and vice president of public affairs at National Pest Management, revealed the likely origins of the spider’s web to Newsweek.
Based on the web’s construction and the shed exoskeleton visible in the upper left, the spider responsible was likely a cellar spider.
Known for their long, spindly legs, cellar spiders often create messy, cobweb-style webs in basements or crawlspaces.
Despite an urban legend claiming these spiders carry potent venom but lack fangs long enough to pierce human skin, Fredericks confirmed this myth is “untrue.”
He noted: “Cellar spiders’ venom is designed to immobilize tiny insects, not humans,” adding that “their fangs are unlikely to break human skin. All spiders are venomous, but these spiders are not considered dangerous.”
“Cars are not a common place to find cellar spiders,” he explained, saying they prefer “dark, undisturbed places” and that the spider was likely introduced accidentally.
Any spider that survived the car’s interior might have already succumbed to the high heat inside. “Best advice now is to simply vacuum up the web,” he advised.
On TikTok, viewers weighed in with guesses. One said: “It looks like a cellar spider! Harmless and kinda cute,” while another admitted: “Am I the only blind person who can’t see the spider? Help me out.”
Corona later posted an update on the “spider saga,” revealing that the spider was still very much in her car.
“I guess I owe you guys an update on the spider saga. It was not, in fact, a black widow. It looks like it’s probably a daddy long leg. Um, it is still in the car,” she said.
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