Is this a spider egg sac? Is it safe to move spider eggs?

Slakam Greater Toronto Area, ON(Zone 6a) Jun 09, 2021

Yesterday I decided to take the window air conditioner units out of the garage. Once I got them into the house I noticed that one of them had this spider egg looking thing attached to the back.

(I've added 2 pictures the second one is a more zoomed out view for context. If you look closely at the first picture you can see a spider hanging out on it too. Here's a closer look https://imgur.com/gallery/tPxYCKf )

Is this a spider egg sac?
If so what should I do?

Is it possible to move the eggs without harming them? I have no idea how I would do this and would be very worried about hurting the eggs.
Where would I put them to make sure they're still able to hatch? (I would move the spider with the sac of course.)
Would it be better just to leave them on the air conditioner? Would they still hatch?
Could the vibrations of the air conditioner harm the eggs? And maybe the temperature changes too. Or even just being on the outside of the house exposed to the elements like that.
How long will it take for the eggs to hatch? Maybe it's best if I just leave to air conditioner in the garage until then? How long has the sac been there already?
The sac also looks rather old to me. Is it possible the eggs have already hatched? Or that it's not even an egg sac at all?
Any help would be greatly appreciated
Thank you

Also I'm in southern Ontario and the garage that I have is not attached to the house at all and does not have any power or running water or anything. It's just a wooden structure.

If anyone knows of other sites/forums/subreddits I could post this in too please let me know.
Thanks :)

Post #10517951

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Flapdoodle Minot, ND Jun 09, 2021

It is quite likely that there is an egg sac inside that webbing.Unfortunately, thee simply is no way of knowing for certain exactly when the eggs may hatch (assuming that the already haven't). Because of the construction of the web, it would be difficult indeed to move it without damaging any eggs that might be therein. If you don't absolutely need to use the air conditioner, I suggest just leaving it where it is and monitor the web for signs of activity. Once the eggs have hatched, the web (and spider) could be moved safely.

Post #10517957

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Slakam Greater Toronto Area, ON(Zone 6a) Jun 10, 2021

Quote from Flapdoodle :

It is quite likely that there is an egg sac inside that webbing.Unfortunately, thee simply is no way of knowing for certain exactly when the eggs may hatch (assuming that the already haven't). Because of the construction of the web, it would be difficult indeed to move it without damaging any eggs that might be therein. If you don't absolutely need to use the air conditioner, I suggest just leaving it where it is and monitor the web for signs of activity. Once the eggs have hatched, the web (and spider) could be moved safely.

Hello thanks for your reply :)
Do you have an idea of how long it could take for the eggs to hatch and the spiders to disperse? I could put the air conditioner back in the garage for a week or 2 but I may need to take it out after that. Is this enough time? I took some more pictures today hopefully they're helpful https://imgur.com/gallery/bqgLEdP (all of these were taken about 3 hours ago except for the last 2 which I took yesterday) I don't see the spider anymore unfortunately and didn't see her when I took the pics yesterday either. Is it possible that she needs to be there to open the sac and let the babies out when they hatch?

Post #10517982

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Flapdoodle Minot, ND Jun 10, 2021

In re-examining your images, I am fairly certain that the web structure is is old, and that there would be little likelihood of it holding viable eggs. I believe that you would not be endangering any spiderlings by taking the air conditioner out of storage and using it.

Post #10518010

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