Since the first sighting, students have started walking around campus with their heads down. They are afraid. They are constantly on the lookout, watching their every step and wary of what lurks in the darkness, under the cover of greenery: spiders.

Whether you are a creepy-crawly enthusiast, or the word bug sends shivers down your spine and your legs scrambling for the nearest chair, it is impossible to deny that spiders are present on Saadiyat.

Since Sept. 26, reports of spider-sightings have blown up on NYU Abu Dhabi social media this past week, resulting in fear-mongering among some of the student population.

These posts quickly garnered attention and gave rise to a host of reactions, from disgust to curiosity. Some students shared pictures of their own up close and personal spider encounters, while others seized the opportunity to reference Harry Potter's Aragog.

Freshman Mira Al Jallaf recalls her experience.

“It was the size of my palm and hairy,” said Al Jallaf. “I was torn between taking a photo and getting as far away as possible.”

The question that preoccupies many is whether the spiders are dangerous.

Senior Emlyn Van Eps shed some light based on her own experience growing up in Massachusetts in the U.S.

She identified the larger spiders on campus, those more widely documented on Facebook, as wolf spiders and affirmed that they are not dangerous. She also noted that they carry their young on their back until the babies are ready to survive alone.

“They’re not going to pounce on you,” said Van Eps. “Even if they bite you, it’s going to be like a mosquito bite. It’ll itch and swell and then it’ll go away in a few days.”

To stay on the safe side, she urged everyone to leave the spiders alone.

Another widespread question was how to deal with the spiders, with one anonymous student on NYUAD Confessions suggesting that we “train the lovely cats to detect and destroy the spiders.”

While some might find this suggestion entertaining, Van Eps offered a more practical solution.

“If there is one in your room, just put a cup over it, slide a piece of paper under the cup and chuck it outside,” said Van Eps.

For those who would like to take preventative measures against finding spiders in their rooms, Van Eps recommends home remedies such as peppermint oil.

“Spiders hate peppermint oil,” said Van Eps. “If you mix peppermint oil with water and you spray it around the doorframe and windows or anywhere else a spider could come in, they will most likely stay away because they’ll have to get past the peppermint and they won’t want to do that,” she explained. She also suggested vinegar as a viable option, for those who don’t mind the smell.

So where did the infestation come from?

Students on Saadiyat last year recall that there were little to no spiders and certainly not to this degree.

“When young spiders are ready to leave, they balloon using a silk thread and fly through the air,” said Van Eps. “Some of them could have come over that way, others probably came over on trucks and cars.”

“You can’t create this source of freshwater and this whole ecosystem of plants and not expect animals from every level of the food-chain,” she added.

The wild cats around campus are some of the most prominent members of the community, but the echo chamber of social media means that spiders are fast joining them in their ranks.

Members of the Facebook page NYUAD Forum who questioned the danger of the spiders around campus, even joking about transferring schools, should rest easy knowing that the spiders are passive and mostly harmless.

For those still not reassured, Van Eps has one last word of advice.

“As long as you don’t touch them, you’ll be fine,” she said.

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[/big_image] Photo courtesy of Lan Duong