As we countdown to Halloween, one state is warning its residents against the use of a rather popular decoration: fake spider webs.
According to experts with the Nebraska Wildlife Education group, the fake spider webs threaten critters like hummingbirds, owls, butterflies and bees, as the small creatures can become entangled in the decorations.
“Often, the creatures moving through the bushes or trees decorated with this material can get caught, resulting in the animals dying of injury, starvation or predation unless they are rescued and rehabilitated,” Amber Schiltz, interim division administrator of the Nebraska Game & Parks Commission’s (NGPC) Fish & Wildlife Education Division, wrote in an email to Fox News Digital.
"These spider web decorations trap creatures by entangling their wings and limbs,” Schiltz wrote, explaining that the stringy, spooky decor doesn't break as easily as real webs since the material used in the decorations is most often made from plastic-based materials that aren't environment-friendly or biodegradable, which Schiltz pointed out poses another threat to wildlife in the area.
And while we're all for celebrating Halloween, as Schiltz pointed out, the holiday "overlaps with key migration periods," and decorating with the dangerous webbing can affect the populations that "rely on urban areas as part of their habitat."
Earlier this month, an advocacy group with over 56,000 Facebook followers also warned against decorating with fake spiderwebs this year.
"Halloween is fast approaching. Please be mindful on how you decorate outside," the Sept. 2 post began.
"The fake webbing is horribly dangerous for wildlife. Fake spiderweb decorations kill birds. It's strong enough to snare an owl and takes a terrible toll every October on small birds," the group shared.
"They get tangled up in it and cannot get out, therefore leading to a slow, agonizing death. In warmer climates, flowers may still be blooming, and bees are still out, the fake webbing can be deadly to them too, as well as butterflies and still migrating hummingbirds," the statement concluded.
So what's a fun and festive fall lover supposed to decorate with this Halloween? Thankfully, there are plenty of other options–because who wants to spend all afternoon separating strings of plastic-like fiber, anyway?
Next: Stuff of Nightmares: Halloween May Be Plagued by a Sugar Shortage
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