Fake spiderwebs: the Halloween decoration that poses risks to local animals
ARLINGTON, Va. - While many people love Halloween decorations, it turns out some animals don’t. So, one group in Northern Virginia is asking people to reconsider using some very common deathly décor.
Specifically, officials with the Animal Welfare League of Arlington (AWLA) are concerned about the fake spiderwebs that are often hung outside of homes around this time of year.
The group posted a video on social media Tuesday, which shows two bees stuck in someone’s fake web.
They also posted the caption, "While spooky decorations can add some festive fun, fake spiderwebs can be seriously dangerous for local wildlife."
"We see birds get stuck in it, we see small mammals get stuck in it, like I said, snakes, insects," explained AWLA Senior Communications Specialist Chelsea Jones. "It’s easy to think for us, ‘Oh it’s just for a little while, and it’s fun,’ but this is something that animals don’t encounter super often, and so all of the sudden their normal environment and their normal food is covered in these strange pieces of material, and they don’t necessarily know how to navigate it."
Cobwebs and other decorations are arranged around a garden to mark Halloween on 31 October 2020 in Windsor, United Kingdom. Halloween celebrations, and in particular the custom of trick-or-treating, will vary across the UK this year due to coronaviru
As a result, the group is asking people to replace the fake webs and any other decorations that could cause problems – or just keep them inside.
"We just don’t think about these things, right? So, no one’s a bad person for using these things outside, we just want to draw attention to it," Jones added.
As for the bees featured in AWLA’s social media post, Jones said they were freed, and the fake web that ensnared them has been taken down.