Spiders are 'falling out of the sky' in California

People in some parts of California have been experiencing a strange spider phenomenon

Lots of people have a fear of spiders and just the idea of arachnids falling from the sky would be enough to make many feel uncomfortable.

For people in some parts of Northern California, however, this has become a reality.

Residents have been spotting large clumps of stringy spiders' webs above their heads, all over their neighbourhoods.

Many have even turned to social media to document what's been happening and people have even said they look like the popular fake webs bought at Halloween, although these webs are very real.

While it all seems a little strange, the phenomenon is actually pretty common.

It's known as ballooning and is a process involving baby spiders.

The arachnids, which are also known as spiderlings, move locations by sending out a strand of silk from their bodies that form a mini parachute or balloon.

Spiders are able to produce silk from their bodies which is used for ballooning

This helps to transport them from either where they were born or where they currently live to new places, with the help of the wind.

It can also be a chance for the spiders to access new food sources.

Some baby spiders can end up travelling really large distances using this unconventional method of transport.