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Three tonight so far, none of them that big but not that small if you know what I mean

# 1: Daughters scream followed by her bedroom door banging open, then thump thump thump down the stairs, I was ready with the pint glass - it was on her wall by her bed. Easily captured and thrown onto the front lawn.

# 2: Bit bigger than the first. Noticed movement in the corner of my eye on one of the beams in the living room. Tried to get it in the glass, but the bugger crawed into a corner to make it impossible to get, had the flick the bloody thing with a newspaper onto the floor then chase it around the living room until I caught it. Again safely deposited on the front lawn.

# 3. Mrs DT finishes ironing the kids school uniforms, and asks me to put the iron board back into the utility room. Walk in there with bare feet and immediately tread on something soft and squishy. Poor thing.

Sometimes I really hate september, and October, and sometimes into November.

Bloody spiders, bloody house.
 
Try killing “Number 5” rather than throwing it out the back door.

You might find that you’ve solved your problem with Spydini.

maximus otter

Sorry Max , just noticed your reply.

I normally throw them at the end of my front garden which is quite long - approx 100 yards, so they have very little chance of finding their way back into the house. Although they could well do, I’m no expert on spiders of course.
Maybe someone on this this MB is, and can give me some advise?
 
Couldn't read the story. When the page loaded, enough of the spider showed on the screen to make me immediately close the window.
#$&%@#& you, Swifty! :spider:
 
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Couldn't read the story. When the page loaded, enough of the spider showed on the screen to make me immediately close the window.
#$&%@#& you, Swifty! :spider:
Sorry .. have edited the post ..
 
Couldn't read the story. When the page loaded, enough of the spider showed on the screen to make me immediately close the window.
#$&%@#& you, Swifty! :spider:
Aw but Swifty I like spiders and snakes and what it takes........
 
I used to be a serious arachnophobe in my youth, but almost cured myself during my final teaching practice when I took my class of 11-year-olds out on an impromptu bug hunt. Within moments, there were several spiders being offered up for my inspection on grubby hands. Inside Miss was screaming and running away, but any sign of fear and the children were never going to let me forget it, so outside Miss simply said, "Oh, how cool. Where did you find him? Why don't you go and pop him back in his house?" Ever since I have been able to deal with spiders more rationally - and this from the girl whose sister thought it was funny, as an April Fool's prank, to tell her that there was a spider in the bath and she had to learn to deal with them sometime...

M older son is probably more arachnophobic than I ever was - he can't even bear little ones. His brother is more tolerant but recently discovered a big one sitting on the shoulder of his dressing gown whilst he was eating breakfast, and had to be 'rescued' by his dad. The daughter once told me, "I can't go in the bathroom, there's a spider in there", and when I went to investigate, expecting something the size of Aragog, it took me a while to spot the full stop-sized arachnid motionless next to the loo. Even my husband had a moment of panic in the autumn when a big chap crawled down his arm onto the game controller - it just wanted to shoot something, I'm sure.

A former colleague was once bitten on the bottom by a brown recluse spider whilst sitting on the floor in the southern USA somewhere. She had a hard patch the size of a dinner plate in her buttock for quite a while after that.

And the funniest email I ever received was from another colleague who moved to Australia and went out hiking, only to return to a huntsman spider sitting on the driver's door of his car. (With pictures). There then followed a detailed description of how he explained to the rest of his party that it was totally harmless and removed the interloper carefully to some vegetation, rather than completely freaking out and running round the clearing screaming "We're going to die". My spider sense (ta-dah!) told me that the latter course of action was actually the one he took. :D
 
The scariest spider picture I didn't successfully avoid seeing ever saw was of a camel spider. They look like they're a mile across, but they fit onto camels, so they can't be that big.
It's not just the size, it's something else. Tarantulas don't bother me so much. They are more like eight-legged, tailless chihuahuas or something. Big eyes, furry, odd looking but kind of cute.
 
A mate of mine was in the army (I don't think it is a FOAF tale) and he says a few squaddies burnt their tent down after finding a camel spider in it.

My Scots father-in-law is ex-army. At one point he and his unit were in desert country (Aden?). They had a tent cinema. One night, during a showing, one of these monstrosities ran over a squaddy’s foot:

iu

The FIL says that he’s never seen fifty hairy-arsed Jocks turned so rapidly into a stampede of squealing little girls.

maximus otter
 
My Scots father-in-law is ex-army. At one point he and his unit were in desert country (Aden?). They had a tent cinema. One night, during a showing, one of these monstrosities ran over a squaddy’s foot:

iu

The FIL says that he’s never seen fifty hairy-arsed Jocks turned so rapidly into a stampede of squealing little girls.

maximus otter
I have never seen one before ( thankfully ), 10 legs, does that still make it a spider I wonder ?
 
I have never seen one before ( thankfully ), 10 legs, does that still make it a spider I wonder ?

Solifugae, so class Arachnidae. Though I doubt that the slight distinction would have prevented the mass desertion of the Scots Greys ca. 1966.

Edited to add an anecdote that'll have 'phobes straining their fainting couches:

Years ago a pal of mine used to go on reptile-collecting trips to north Africa. This consisted of him and his mates wandering around hopefully, flicking rocks over to see what was lurking beneath. (Note: Solifugae means "flees the light". You can see where this is going, can't you?)

He learned very rapidly that blousing one's pants into one's socks was good practice, when he turned over the wrong rock and one of the abominations depicted above sought refuge from the light by scuttling up inside his trouser leg...

maximus otter
 
Last edited:
Solifugae, so class Arachnidae. Though I doubt that the slight distinction would have prevented the mass desertion of the Scots Greys ca. 1966.

Edited to add an anecdote that'll have 'phobes straining their fainting couches:

Years ago a pal of mine used to go on reptile-collecting trips to north Africa. This consisted of him and his mates wandering around hopefully, flicking rocks over to see what was lurking beneath. (Note: Solifugae means "flees the light". You can see where this is going, can't you?)

He learned very rapidly that blousing one's pants into one's socks was good practice, when he turned over the wrong rock and one of the abominations depicted above sought refuge from the light by scuttling up inside his trouser leg...

maximus otter
Cheers for the link Max, very interesting.
 
I noticed that too.
Camel spiders aren't true spiders. They are decapods, whereas real spiders have only 8 legs and two short palps at the front.
Yeah as I understand it, two of the solifuge's legs are the same organs as the pedipalps on a spider, and the pincer-bearing arms on a scorpion. Quite a versatile, adaptable organ it seems. I'm an arachnophobe, but have no particular problem with scorpions. Somehow, even pictures of solifuges leave me squirming. They're apparently harmless.
 
Yeah as I understand it, two of the solifuge's legs are the same organs as the pedipalps on a spider, and the pincer-bearing arms on a scorpion. Quite a versatile, adaptable organ it seems. I'm an arachnophobe, but have no particular problem with scorpions. Somehow, even pictures of solifuges leave me squirming. They're apparently harmless.
I am the opposite, not too bothered by spiders but have a real phobia for scorpions, no idea why.
 
We hadn't had any huntsmen in for ages until one appeared a few days ago.
I don't know how it got in but it wandered around for a few days and webs were appearing so when it came near the computer with quite a lot of dust clinging on, I thought it was time it went outside.
 
I had a conversation (one way) with a many-legged something last night - didn't have my glasses so don't know exactly what I was distracting whilst trying to remove from under my duvet. I folded an A4 sheet and scooped up said guest and deposited all into the waste-bin. Got into bed, switched off light. Next 20 minutes spent listening to something trying to scrabble out of the waste-bin. Too tired to set bin on fire.
 
Newly published research has determined that the funnel web spider's extremely toxic venom is an evolutionary adaptation via which the venom of sexually mature male spiders changes to a far more lethal form as they head out into the wider world to find female mates.
We May Finally Know Why Male Funnel Web Spiders Are So Deadly to Humans

Funnel webs are considered one of Australia's most fearsome spiders, but their ability to kill humans is by accident rather than design, our new research shows.

In findings published today, we reveal how the highly toxic and quick-acting venom of male funnel-web spiders is likely to have developed as a defence against predators.

When male funnel-web spiders are young, their venom is potent mainly to insects, which they eat. But once males start searching for a female mate, they must leave the safety of their burrows. That's when their venom becomes potent to vertebrates such as reptiles and mammals – including humans.

So while humans can theoretically die from a funnel web bite, this is just an evolutionary coincidence – our research suggests the spiders aren't specifically out to get us. ...

Scientists have long been puzzled by why these toxins are so deadly to humans, when we and other primates have never been funnel web prey or predator. Scientists were also perplexed as to why male funnel webs appeared to have much deadlier venom than females, and caused most human deaths. ...

Our data revealed how natural selection triggered a change in the venom of adult male funnel webs. When males sexually mature, they leave the safety of their burrow and wander considerable distances to find a female.

This puts male funnel web spiders in the path of vertebrate predators. These can include reptiles (such as lizards or geckos), marsupials (such as antechinus and dunnarts), mammals (such as rats) and birds.

When funnel-web spiders evolved millions of years ago, toxins in its venom mainly targeted their natural prey: insects such as cockroaches and flies. We examined the genetic sequences of all delta-hexatoxins in funnel web venom. We found over time, the venom of adult males evolved to be potent to vertebrate predators. ...

FULL STORY:
https://www.sciencealert.com/one-of...ally-doesn-t-mean-to-target-us-says-new-study

PUBLISHED REPORT:
https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2020/09/15/2004516117

From the Abstract:
... Considering their algogenic effects in mice, potent insecticidal effects, and high levels of sequence conservation, we propose that the δ-HXTXs were repurposed from an initial insecticidal predatory function to a role in defending against nonhuman vertebrate predators by male spiders, with their lethal effects on humans being an unfortunate evolutionary coincidence.

See Also:
https://scitechdaily.com/toxic-masc...of-why-male-funnel-web-spiders-are-so-deadly/
 
A TARANTULA DISCOVERED in a bunch of bananas by a woman in Donegal has been rescued by the ISPCA.

The animal rescue said it received “an urgent call” from a member of the public who discovered a small tarantula in some recently purchased fruit. ISPCA care assistant Leela Voss, who is experienced in handling exotic animals, responded to the call and identified the spider as a Mexican red rump. Voss said the woman had purchased a bunch of wrapped bananas at her local supermarket in Donegal and made the discovery once she got home.

It is about four months old and relatively harmless, said Voss. “Once this little guy matures to adulthood, it can be determined whether it is actually a male or female.” ...

https://www.thejournal.ie/donegal-w...arantula-in-bunch-of-bananas-5250171-Oct2020/
 
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