Man Looks Outside House And Sees Thousands Of Spiders Running At Him

“All the brown you can see is spiders."

When the waters started coming into Matt Lovenfosse’s yard in New South Wales, Australia, he wasn’t sure what to expect. 

Days of heavy rains caused the worst flooding seen in decades, and all kinds of animals were running for higher ground. But perhaps the most apparent was the wave of tiny spiders coming right towards him.

All the brown you can see is spiders trying to beat the floodwater,” Lovenfosse wrote Sunday on Facebook.

The spiders, who typically live on the ground, could no longer stay there. So they sought safety up trees, fences, in people’s homes — and even up people's legs.

“There were also skinks, ants, basically every insect, crickets — all just trying to get away from the flood waters,” Shenae Varley, a resident of New South Wales, told The Guardian. “My husband videoed it, because I was not going close to it. When he was standing still he had spiders climbing up his legs. A skink used him as a pole to get away from the water.”

The extreme weather has been dangerous for humans and animals alike, hitting many areas previously struck by last year’s bushfires.

Spiders are a common sight in Australia and are mostly harmless. And the people of New South Wales have been kind enough to let the thousands of spiders take refuge wherever they need to stay safe.

To help other animals affected by the floods, you can make a monetary donation or send bedding and blankets to the RSPCA NSW.