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Automaker Creates 'Spider Screen' To Keep Creepy Crawlers From Ruining Your Car

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- They're creepy, they're crawly and they're… in your car?

Officials say spiders have been known to nest in vehicles, causing major mechanical issues.

Their webs can sometimes be dense enough to block fuel vapor lines, which damages ignitions and weakens vehicle performance.

To eliminate this problem, Ford engineers created a "spider screen" which keeps the crawlers out.

David Gimby, Ford fuel systems engineer says, "These particular Arachnids are not sedentary – they are hunters and constantly roaming. When it's time to build a birthing cocoon or an over-winter cocoon, they seek a cavity or a depression, like a fuel vapor line opening, which allows them to maximize the use of their silk."

Now, officials say an updated version of the spider screen is being implemented in Ford vehicles in North America.

"Spiders can be a nuisance for our vehicle owners," says Gimby. "We studied these species to discern how they nest, then designed an effective device for excluding the larger, problematic spiders from nesting in our cars."

Officials say the screens will go global with launch of the 2016 Ford Focus RS.

So fear not, arachnophobes, help is on the way!

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