huge spider

[wolcott]

I have seen a lot of spiders down here in florida. However, I saw one the other night in the hallway, they gave me the willies. He was on the baseboard, I had just come in. I darted into my room and got the Raid insect spray. I flipped on the hall light and went after this big bastard. He had like a 3 inch spread. He was faster than hell, but I ran him down and squirted him multiple times till he bit the dust. He's in the fridge now (in a marinade- no, in a pill bottle). He had a distinctive marking on his back, at first I thought he was a huge, brown recluse, but I think he may be a HUNTSMAN SPIDER. 1)Can someone please post a pic? I am not very tech literate. 2)Found him on wiki.

[RodB]

Here's one:

[Lawman]

Holy cow!

 

You ran for the Raid..I would have ran for the 12 ga.

[Matts_12GS]

Here's one:

Paging Mr. Foote to white courtesy phone....

[Mike]

Whatever you don't don't open the refrigerator! It's well known that giant spiders that have been taken down with Raid re-animate and grow to gargantuan proportions when exposed to temperatures under 40 degrees farenheit.

 

Oh, the humanity . . .

[wolcott]

Thanks for the pic. The one I have I will be calling the local university about, see if they have an entomology dept. and if, for a fee, they will check his/her pedigree. Mine seems to have a slightly different marking on his back, but there are a few species. Since I'm staying with my folks with this cancer thing I'm fighting, I want to see if we have an infestation. These things really freak you out; I can imagine what my 80-year-old mother would do. I'll be going up into the attic and check it out as well as around the house, garage, etc. Wiki says these things will bite if they feel threatened.

[OoPEZoO]

yeeesh.....I can only imagine the screaming hysterics that would go on in my house if one of those was spotted.

[notacop]

My brother-in-law and wife had an episode at my Mother-in-laws condo in Lahaina, Maui. There was a cane spider in the shower, Cane field across the road were burning. He tried wacking it but it kept crawling around dazed. They slammed the door and wild eyed they asked each other, what should we do now?

Big dudes compared to what they were used to in Spokane.

Fried in a tempura they are as tasty as calimari. Good with fava beans and pineapple wine from the Tedechi winery

[wolcott]

My brother-in-law and wife had an episode at my Mother-in-laws condo in Lahaina, Maui. There was a cane spider in the shower, Cane field across the road were burning. He tried wacking it but it kept crawling around dazed. They slammed the door and wild eyed they asked each other, what should we do now?

Big dudes compared to what they were used to in Spokane.

Fried in a tempura they are as tasty as calimari. Good with fava beans and pineapple wine from the Tedechi winery

 

They are known as cane spiders in Hawaii. Known as rain spiders in S. Africa. Also, known as giant crab spider or wood spiders. The Aussies have them too. Bring "fear factor " back.

[Agent_Orange]

We used to call them barn spiders. But they are not the true 'barn spider'.

 

They are faster than light, and jump like a flea.

[beemerman2k]

I had a pet tarantula back in the late 70's. What a riot that thing was.

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

They are known as cane spiders in Hawaii. Known as rain spiders in S. Africa. Also, known as giant crab spider or wood spiders. The Aussies have them too. Bring "fear factor " back.

 

On the internet they are known as Clock spiders. True: search Wikipedia for clock spider, it'll take you to the huntsman spider page.

 

Supposed to be pics at the above link, but they don't come through, so here:

 

 

 

[ArmyGuy]

If I were to see something like that in my house, I would think, "....hmmmmm, what the heck is that high-pitched wailing sound? Oh wait, that'd be me screaming".

[Gregori]

Geez, I LIKE spiders, and work hard to keep them safe, though I *would* undoubtedly (gently) evict one that big from inside the house.... (Except the Black Widows, those I can definitely live without...)

 

What freaks me out when I find one that big around is: What the heck has it been EATING to get that well fed? (Whatever it is, the spider is more than welcome to keep on feeding on it!)

 

Oh, here's the answer, courtesy of the all-knowing Wikipedia:

In general, huntsman spiders are not regarded as dangerous, and can be considered beneficial because they feed on insects (cockroaches are a favourite). Many Australians will relocate huntsman spiders to the garden rather than kill them.

 

(While not lethal, some varieties will bite when provoked, the effects of the bite may range from relatively mild to quite unpleasant....)

[Gregori]

ROFL:

 

http://www.neatorama.com/2010/01/21/how-not-to-catch-a-huntsman-spider/

[Gary in Aus]

Huntsmans are good to have around house , they not only eat cockroaches but most other unwanted insects.

 

They will bite if you annoy them .

 

We usually entice them to walk onto a piece of paper and then carry them outside .

 

One night one kept running up the sheet of paper and bit me on the finger , the fangs drew blood with holes 14 mm apart , he was a big spider! I now use the broom method where they crawl onto the head of the broom and are carried outside at broom handle length.

 

 

Even though they are harmless , they still make you jump especially when they walk across the windscreen of your car , you flick the wipers to knock them of ,then you realise they haven't moved and are on the inside of the windscreen.

 

I have had one crawl across my tank while riding and one crawl across my windscreen on the RT, they are fairly common.

 

Sydney funnel webs are the ones you have to be careful of!

[ArmyGuy]

OMG! That made me jump. I fell out of my computer chair and scared the dog in the process. My wife thought I was having a heart attack. Arachnophobia was the scariest movie...ever.