Giant Spider Found in Boss's Basement

[russ_watters]

Found this beauty in my boss's basement this afternoon. It may be the biggest spider I've seen outside of a zoo. That's a door he's standing on. It is 1 3/4" wide, making him about 3x5", with his body about 1x1/2". I printed out a copy of the pic with the words "feed me" above it, to leave on the desk of one of my more arachnaphobic coworkers.

 

[Danger]

Cripes! I'd be grabbing a shotgun if that thing ever showed up my my house.

 

[Astronuc]

Nice spider! We have similar ones in our garden. Most that size are of the huntsman variety. I had a female lay several hundred eggs in my raspberry plants. Good for insect control.

 

[Bystander]

Gorgeous!

(snip)It is 1 3/4" wide, making him about 3x5", with his body about 1x1/2". (snip)

Presume you meant "cm." Oh, well, NASA's got plenty more money for Mars probes.

 

[Danger]

Oh, well, NASA's got plenty more money for Mars probes.

...[/color]

 

[Moonbear]

Yikes! I ran into one or two that size when I lived in Cincinnati. *shudders* They do have a substantial survival advantage over the smaller spiders...they're way too big to squish! I had to chase it out the back door with a broom (and then take a shower...I get really girly around spiders and am perfectly willing to turn over spider extermination tasks to a man...or anyone else willing to deal with them...I don't care how they are gotten rid of, just get them out of the house...squish 'em, flush 'em, vacuum 'em, or relocate them outside...whatever as long as I'm not the one doing it...I don't even know why since I used to be happy to play with them as a child).

 

[russ_watters]

Presume you meant "cm." Oh, well, NASA's got plenty more money for Mars probes.

Uh, no. Inches. Ya, it really that big.

edit: Actually, measuring it off the computer screen and scaling (it is about 1.75x lifesize on the screen), it looks like it is more like 2.5"x3.5". I have another pic with him next to a power receptacle and he is almost the same size as the receptacle faceplate (3x4).

So I exaggerated a little. (or maybe they just look bigger when you are staring them in the eyessssssss).

If I see him tomorrow, I'll ask if he'll stand still for a measurement...

 

[hypatia]

eeecckkkkkkkkkkkkkk {faints}

 

[chroot]

If you squash a spider that size, I'd guess you'd get about an ounce of goo. That'd be a hell of a mess.

- Warren

 

[mattmns]

Whew, that thing is huge! That would scare the hell out of me

 

[Astronuc]

My family members don't like spiders, so I have to carry them outside.

 

[Evo]

Well, I swear I had a wolf spider the size of a dinner plate outside next to my heat pump and a neighbor had to come kill it with a shovel because the children were all screaming.

My friend, the spider expert, says "no".

I saw it.

Big as a dinner plate.

He says "no".

 

[Curious3141]

Capture it and keep it as a pet. Spiders make loyal companions and you can spend many happy hours with one curled up snugly inside your lap in front of the fireplace.

 

[Moonbear]

Capture it and keep it as a pet. Spiders make loyal companions and you can spend many happy hours with one curled up snugly inside your lap in front of the fireplace.

Well, that dispels the myth that all furry things are cute and cuddly.

I think I need another shower to get rid of the buggy feeling this thread is giving me.

Actually, my front entry is currently a spider battleground. I don't know where they suddenly came from. They weren't there one day, and the next there's about 2 dozen spiders living there...or their dead bodies left under the other spiders' webs. I'm still contemplating whether I should vacuum them or leave the existing ones to catch any new ones trying to get in. It's the big, brown, predatory ones that make it up the stairs and into the living room that I don't like. They don't have webs, they hunt!

 

[DaveC426913]

I'd take ten spiders over one giant centipede. Giant centipedes make me do the Girly Dance of Wiggliness, usally because I'm, like, 6 inches away from them when I spot them (on the bedroom wall next to my face, on the handtowel in the bathroom that I'm reaching for). yyyYYYyyyYyYYIGG!

Within the last week, I've had to squish two of them in my house that are better than 3 inches long.

 

[Bystander]

Uh, no. Inches. Ya, it really that big.

edit: Actually, measuring it off the computer screen and scaling (it is about 1.75x lifesize on the screen), it looks like it is more like 2.5"x3.5". I have another pic with him next to a power receptacle and he is almost the same size as the receptacle faceplate (3x4).

So I exaggerated a little. (or maybe they just look bigger when you are staring them in the eyessssssss).

If I see him tomorrow, I'll ask if he'll stand still for a measurement...

Uh --- you caught him on the edge of the door --- door's 1 3/4" thick --- the smaller dimension matches --- ?

 

[Moonbear]

Uh --- you caught him on the edge of the door --- door's 1 3/4" thick --- the smaller dimension matches --- ?

Well, men have been known to exaggerate the size of things.



"The one that got away was THIS[/size] big!" What did you think I meant? Get your mind out of the gutter! [/size]

(I'm guessing the difference is when the spider is standing up walking vs. resting all stretched out.)

Yeah, thanks for adding centipedes to the creepy crawlies around here. Though, since I don't live with giant centipedes around, so the only versions I've seen have been preserved and set out for display in a glass dish, I don't mind them nearly so much (except when you get a small, zippy one running around the bedroom ceiling at night...if nobody ever told me they bite, I'd be perfectly content to just watch them, because they're pretty funny looking to me...though, probably wouldn't be thrilled to find one sitting on my washcloth in the morning. )

 

[Astronuc]

I'd take ten spiders over one giant centipede. Giant centipedes make me do the Girly Dance of Wiggliness, usally because I'm, like, 6 inches away from them when I spot them (on the bedroom wall next to my face, on the handtowel in the bathroom that I'm reaching for). yyyYYYyyyYyYYIGG!

Some of those guys have nasty bites, and a quite poisonous. I usually catch them and put them outside. I have only found them in the basement.

 

[scorpa]

Ughhh I hate spiders. We always used to get those massive balloon spiders in our garage, those things creeped me out so bad. In the old house we used to live in snakes would get in through the basement. One day my mom got out of the shower and reached for a towel off the rack and there was a snake on it...she totally freaked out lol.

 

[Evo]

In the old house we used to live in snakes would get in through the basement. One day my mom got out of the shower and reached for a towel off the rack and there was a snake on it...she totally freaked out lol.

I will never enter my basement again. I will never shower again.

See what you did!

 

[scorpa]

I will never enter my basement again. I will never shower again.

See what you did!

I'm sorry just pretend I never brought it up

 

[russ_watters]

Uh --- you caught him on the edge of the door --- door's 1 3/4" thick --- the smaller dimension matches --- ?

With his body 2/3 of the way to one side and the legs on one side touching the edge and on the other side wrapping around. Say he's centered 2/3 of the way across the thickness of the door. That's 2/3*1.75*2= 2 1/3" for his width, give or take.

 

[arildno]

He's a lot cuter than that ugly centipede, I'll give him that.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

I'd take ten spiders over one giant centipede. Giant centipedes make me do the Girly Dance of Wiggliness, usally because I'm, like, 6 inches away from them when I spot them (on the bedroom wall next to my face, on the handtowel in the bathroom that I'm reaching for). yyyYYYyyyYyYYIGG!

Within the last week, I've had to squish two of them in my house that are better than 3 inches long.

dear god... I lived in a really old apt near a wooded area two years ago and the place was infested with large house centipedes, they were huge, ugly and fast. I'd come home late at night, turn on the light and see a few big ones on a kitchen wall. Never again will I live in an old place like that. My roomie and I would use a shoe on them and they'd make a nice stain on the wall. Pretty soon we'd have a nice patterned wallpaper. I remember the first one we killed. It was high on the ceiling and I used a mop to get it. I started bashing it and it fell on my head. I've never screamed like a girl so much. Slaped it out of my hair and it fell to the ground and started bashing it with my feet to kingdom come. I'm still messed up mentally from that day.

 

[Moonbear]

dear god... I lived in a really old apt near a wooded area two years ago and the place was infested with large house centipedes, they were huge, ugly and fast. I'd come home late at night, turn on the light and see a few big ones on a kitchen wall. Never again will I live in an old place like that. My roomie and I would use a shoe on them and they'd make a nice stain on the wall. Pretty soon we'd have a nice patterned wallpaper. I remember the first one we killed. It was high on the ceiling and I used a mop to get it. I started bashing it and it fell on my head. I've never screamed like a girl so much. Slaped it out of my hair and it fell to the ground and started bashing it with my feet to kingdom come. I'm still messed up mentally from that day.

I mean...how awful! The good thing about those big centipedes is they eat roaches, so if you're living in a crappy, old apartment, the roach infestation is less out of control...well, maybe that's not really a good thing, but well, you can have a lovely ecosystem thing going on.

 

[Kazza_765]

You guys are lucky you don't have to live with huntsmen. They're like bloody monsters. Not unusual to see huntsmen 20cm long here. When I was little my cat used to chase them, I'm surprised she was never bitten. I'm actually really scared of spiders, but I'm ok with huntsmen, I guess cause you can see them coming, I hate when spiders sneak up on me.

 

[turbo]

Spiders are not bad! You might think they are creepy, but they are probably not that pleased to see you either. They have a place, as do we.

 

[Moonbear]

They have a place, as do we.

And as long as they stay in their place and out of my place, they can go on doing whatever it is they like to do. They are more than welcome to hang around outside, under the porch lamp even, but when they cross the threshold, they are informed that they are unwelcome guests.

 

[turbo]

And as long as they stay in their place and out of my place, they can go on doing whatever it is they like to do. They are more than welcome to hang around outside, under the porch lamp even, but when they cross the threshold, they are informed that they are unwelcome guests.

Moonie, these fellows are predators, and they might prevent a most unwelcome attack on your home. They are the little "pit bulls" that keep the insect "rats" at bay. Make room for them, and you will be happy They won't prey on you, but on the insects that might invade your space.

 

[Moonbear]

Moonie, these fellows are predators, and they might prevent a most unwelcome attack on your home. They are the little "pit bulls" that keep the insect "rats" at bay. Make room for them, and you will be happy They won't prey on you, but on the insects that might invade your space.

That's why they're welcome to hang around the porch lights. They should gobble the insects BEFORE they get into the house, not leave me cleaning up their messy dinner dishes (i.e., the floor under their web) after the insects get into the house. Spiders just don't clean up after themselves at all.

 

[DaveC426913]

My rule is: if you're not paying rent, out you go. That applies equally to centipedes, spiders, mice and teenagers.



I prolly would have been OK with centipedes if I didn't know that they bite.

Especially at night. In the winter. When they're hungry.


(Which, come to think of it, also applies to teenagers...)