Arachnophobes, fear no more. The yellow sac spiders that have bedeviled auto owners and manufacturers alike with their fuel line-clogging nests have finally met their match.

Ford engineers have developed an innovative new screen that prevents the eight-legged nuisances from building their homes in fuel vapor lines. The spiders’ dense webs can potentially block the opening, leading to engine damage and diminished performance.

“These particular arachnids are hunters and constantly roaming," explains David Gimby, Ford fuel systems engineer. "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.”

The new technology is being implemented across the Ford lineup in North America and will roll out internationally in the 2016 Ford Focus RS. It’s another example of how Ford engineers are saving the day for customers one innovation at a time.

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