ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - As October brings Halloween scares and spooky decorations, Georgia residents are also dealing with a real-life invasion: the large Joro spider, an invasive species that has made itself quite comfortable in the Southeastern United States.

Dr. James Russell, a biology professor at Georgia Gwinnett College in Lawrenceville, has been studying a potential solution to the exploding Joro population through his work with Wolbachia.

“It’s not a virus. It’s a bacteria,” Russell clarified about Wolbachia, correcting a common misconception about the microorganism.

Wolbachia is one of the most common bacteria on Earth, but it almost exclusively affects insects and arachnids.

Research reveals promising findings

Over the past four years, Russell and a small resear

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