Quiet_Hollow Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 So it's early morning and I'm typing this out, beer-in-hand. Woof! I gotta calm these nerves.... We just had our first run-in with a Huntsman spider. I'm plugged into the laptop for the night surfing for car parts while wearing my earbuds. The GF is already in bed for the night. I'm jamming away when I swear I could hear something like a howling animal in the background, so I pause the music. The muffled howling continues. It is my cat. So I scan around for her, to see what all the fuss is about. It's dark in the living room and I have the range hood light set to "dim/night"...so I'm looking for the cat and she's near the kitchen staring straight up at the ceiling. When she spots a bug she'll typically stare straight at it and chatter and get all excited. I'm in my living room chair looking at the cat just about to ask her what she sees when I glance up at the ceiling. "F**k Me!" [:|] Last time I saw a spider that big was a tarantula I crossed paths with in New Mexico. That was outdoors, broad daylight, on the pavement, and I was wearing boots. This was inside my house, at midnight, and I'm was / am only wearing shorts and a t-shirt. This was personal. "Where the f*** are my socks? Socks, check! Hmmm....pants? Yeah good idea. Don those too!" "Weapons? Er, check??" I take a look around. [:S] Place is pretty spartan at the moment. "S**t, we just moved here....I don't have anything, really." But it didn't matter, because Hunstman spiders are aptly-named. I saw him.....and he saw me. Time to split. I tried to haphazardly whack him with a sandal, but whoa dude! , can these things haul some serious ***...besides it's late. It retreats outta sight for the moment, so I spend the next half hour sweeping the apartment, clearing rooms as I go. I found a small silverfish in the second bedroom, but nothing else. It still must be in near the kitchen. I'm thoroughly spooled up at this point. So I shut off all the lights, and get back on the 'puter. Reasoning that if things are comfortable enough, this prowler just might be willing to head back out for another round at the buffet if given a chance. A half hour goes by and I head over to the dining area to take a quick sweep of the kitchen with the Surefire and a roll of newspaper. What quickly caught my attention tucked up in the corner of the kitchen, was not the sheer amount of real estate this sucker was occupying. Heck no, it was the reflection of its eyes that I could spot from from clear-across-the-house! A crystal blue-green shimmer like the nightime gaze of a whitetail deer, except no, this was from a friggin' spider! [:|] It appeared relatively cool for the moment, so I went and flushed the woman type outta bed again. "See, look over there!" <shining the light> ....as if that was even needed....sprawling a full five inches in diameter, it looked more like a wad of black speaker cable with eyes. "S**t! Shhhh**t! I'm going back in the other room! I can't look at that! Oh my god! Get rid of it! Let me know if you kill it! Sh**t!" She retreats to the bedroom. This species is a tank. Moves like lightning and has armor. Newspaper or my roll of toweling wouldn't kill it. Heck, that's a welcome massage for an animal this size. "Oh hey there Mr. Spidey! Got an itch? Here lemme get that for ya!" "Oh yeah right there's the spot, thanks!...Bounty picker-upper?...Excellent choice!" [Y] No, crushing this thing required something stronger than that exoskeleton. So I scoured around a bit. Bike pump, bingo! "Yeah! that should mess it up!" So I climb up on the counter tops, with the bike pump, and flashlight. "I'll just take a quick jab at it with this metal cylinder and we can call it a night, Capiche?" I'll repeat again, H-U-N-T-S-M-A-N. Not only does thing deftly avoid my jousting attempts...It takes a soaring leap clean off the cabinetry, straight at me, and onto the top of the refrigerator. "Weeeee! Charge!! Muthu F**ka!" At that point, I cashed in my man-card and nearly crapped my pants while taking an about face off the counter top. She pokes hear head in from around the door.."Did you get it? Did you get it!!??" "No" I mutter under my breath, dusting myself off. I shine my light on fridge, and the spider and I play Marco-Polo around the ice box for a minute until I loose sight of it again, for the second time. So this by this time, she ain't going back to bed either, and at least now I've got some active support. We rally. "How are we going to kill it?" "I dunno. Thing's quick....an athlete. It lunged at me. Dumb-near took my face off." We were just about to investigate it on the web to try to identify it, when it reared back out from behind the stove. "Good grief, stay out of the toaster!!" I think to myself. I grabbed the bike pump again and took another poke at it. Nope. Again, the spider wouldn't have anything to do with that. Juke left, juke right..but this time it scampered onto the stove top. 2 potatoes and then the gears clicked! "Dinner is served!" "Honey get your hairspray, quick! quick!" In less than one short count I snatched my lighter and was promptly handed the aerosol. It didn't stand a chance against the dragon's breath on the enameled surface of the stove. Foomp! Two legs gone and a retreat ensues. "Fox four!" Foomp! Foomp! Scratch the other six, and it was all done. We inspected the remains. "Yup, male Huntsman." A hug and kiss goodnight from the gal, treats for the kitty, and here I sit...the adrenaline rush finally subsiding. Never had a spider that big indoors before. Just had to get that one off my chest while I simmer down. New territory for me. If you've got a good spider story...would love to hear about it. 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Coytee Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 Finger typing on an iPad, or my response would be several words longer.......cripes dude, THAT is a spider. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billybob Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 Good Hunting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheltie dave Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 Holy sheeeet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billybob Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 BTW, guessing the cat got a reward... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oscarsear Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 Read up on the huntsman spider. They're considered to be the largest (not the heaviest) by leg span of all the arachnids. They're fast and are not supposed to be especially aggressive towards humans. Big bug eaters, etc....... Recently they discovered that the males actually make sounds when they sense female pheromones. Using their legs and their abdomens they make 'come hither' noises for the ladies. Eeeeew! Over the years I've had many spider run-ins. The Hobo spider in the northwest prefers the indoors in fall and they are famous for biting 1st and asking questions later. And their bites always go necrotic. My oddest experience was in a condo. It was tucked in among some large eucalyptus trees. One morning I looked over into my kitchen and on the counter was this absolutely massive spider. It was literally horror film huge like 18 inches across. I froze in place and examined the situation closer. It turned out to be a shadow. Between two trees, up about 20 feet, a large orb weaver spider had constructed a web that spanned across an open space. As they do, he (or she) was on duty - sitting upon the web and the sun cast a perfect shadow directly through my kitchen window and on the countertop. The wind would blow and the shadow would move. That was startling. The huntsman are indigenous to Florida type climes. I doubt if this one was a loner. Maybe you should just accept the idea of cohabitation? You could name them, mebbe put them on leashes and take them for walks. The Gf could make them little outfits, with hats and things. Think of the You Tube hits and the $$$$$. I think you've got a gold mine there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 Great story, I felt that I was right there with you. That's one NASTY spider. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 Recently they discovered that the males actually make sounds when they sense female pheromones. Using their legs and their abdomens they make 'come hither' noises for the ladies. Eeeeew! ...insert cat-call whistle here.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 That is a beast. Had an encounter with one of those prehistoric arachnids not long after my wife and I got married. I got up in the middle of the night to relieve myself. Finished my business and looked up at the "shadow" above our bed and could not believe my eyes. This thing looked to be about 6 inches across but in reality "only" 3 inches. Any size spider above my bed while I sleep is big to me. My wife woke up to this thing staring down at her and to this day I have never seen her move so fast. Hunted down a broom and tried to wack it and low and behold, the darn thing crawled right into the ceiling fan which is directly above where we sleep. Needless to say we did not sleep that night until the beast was killed or captured. This creepy crawler finally(1.5 hours later) emerged from it's temperary lair and I pummeled it with a concentrated blast of Lysol disinfectant. It dropped from the ceiling to the carpet and scurried under the chest of drawers. We then felt safe enough to attempt to get some sleep and when daylight came, found the slain carcass belly up on the bathroom floor. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tube fanatic Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 My wife freaks out when she sees the usual silver dollar sized wolf spiders, or 2" long centipedes, which are prevalent around here. If she ever encountered something that big she'd leave and not come home again...................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 A different 'scare in thenight' happened to an acquaintance ofmine. A woman I used to work with had escaped from Germany as a 16 year old, hours ahead of the Russian Army. She ended up marrying an American soldier, and some years later they were living in Spain. They movied into a new highrise, that had gas appliances, with all of the piping running vertically through a pipe chase. Since there were gas lines, where they passed through each apartment (in the kitchen), they had vents, or would when everything was finished up. In the middle of the night, Lydia wakes up to go use the toilet. They had a small dog that slept at the foot of the bed, and he normally slept through anyone getting up in the night. So she's sitting on the toilet and feels him against her foot. Thinking it strange that he followed her into the bathroom, she reaches for the light switch to see more clearly. It was a large Norway Rat and not her dog. Needless to say, she freaked. Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seti Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 Great story, I felt that I was right there with you. That's one NASTY spider. Put a leash on him and take him for a walk.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilbert Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 Great story, I felt that I was right there with you. That's one NASTY spider. Put a leash on him and take him for a walk.... Holly crap, I just soiled my skivvies. Time to break-out the deer rifle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islander Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 Yikes! I'm glad huntsman spiders aren't found in Canada. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huntsman_spider I'd rather deal with lynxes and cougars. At least they're never found in your home. Hardly ever, anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Matthews Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 "Weeeee! Charge!! Muthu F**ka!" That was hilarious! I know exactly that feeling! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 man, i hate spiders. glad you hunted that one down. flamethrower. good for you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyrc Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 Let's see. When I was about three years old, I was watching my father work in the garden. He was a big, mesomorphic guy, and afraid of nothing, I thought. He bent over and took a drink of water directly out of the outdoor faucet, then proceeded to dance around the yard, spitting. The Black Widow finally let go, and came shooting out of his mouth. It didn't bite. That is probably responsible for my being a lifelong arachnophobe. When I was in college, I worked over the counter in a shopping center filled with people we called The Rockridge Irregulars. They would sometimes come in and show me their scars. I don't know why. One pulled up her pants leg, revealing a nasty scar about 6" long. Violin spider. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billybob Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 Let's see. When I was about three years old, I was watching my father work in the garden. He was a big, mesomorphic guy, and afraid of nothing, I thought. He bent over and took a drink of water directly out of the outdoor faucet, then proceeded to dance around the yard, spitting. The Black Widow finally let go, and came shooting out of his mouth. It didn't bite. That is probably responsible for my being a lifelong arachnophobe. When I was in college, I worked over the counter in a shopping center filled with people we called The Rockridge Irregulars. They would sometimes come in and show me their scars. I don't know why. One pulled up her pants leg, revealing a nasty scar about 6" long. Violin spider. I have had black widows come out of faucets twice in my memory. Have to be careful with idle faucets, it seems around Florida. Imagine you dad felt fortunate, to say the least. My dad was bit on on near his posterior and they said if he lived by daybreak, he would make it. 1930 or around then. The Brown Recluse is another necrotic biter. Nephew and GF found out not long ago. Wow, scars! My spider story is more than one. My dad was building a house and took me along when a kid. This Tarantula like, huge spider was on the ground. Dad may have pole-axed it with a 2X, cannot remember. Less afraid by far of spiders and snakes after working under houses and other places. Never saw a snake under a house, while there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebes Posted August 3, 2013 Share Posted August 3, 2013 Great story and well told! It's about time somebody on this forum learned how to tell a proper tale. Mine was when I was a kid my Grandfather took us fishing. I'm scooting under the low end of a bridge to get to a deep hole to cast into. I duck low, straighten up and a hands breath in front of my eyes is this big, thick bodied hairy thing. Must have been at least the size of an elephant, or so my fevered imagination told me. In actuality, (I've seen several more since that time) the body was about an inch or more but thick and beefy. Now what you expect from a spider is mostly legs, and legs, and legs. You'd think since I am a leg man I'd like them more, but there is something about a spider that can give me the willies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricktate Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 My bite was only noticed when I got home from work I was eating supper went to stand up pushed chair back with my legs. It hurt like heck rolled up pant leg there was. red area about size of fist on my calf. I knew something had to be done fast. Went to bedroom sat on floor got both palms on calf pushed like popping a zit. The fluid almost hit the ceiling I squezzed the heck out it. It never got sore healed up pretty fast to. From then on I learned anything in you not suppose to be there get it out anyway you can. I can't imagine what would have happened if I did not bump it with that chair. Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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