Finding Huge Spiders Everywhere

[rhetoricfemme]

Hey All,

Could I please get some help? I don't know why this is the weekend for the major spider parade in our house... But in the last two days we found something like six huge brown spiders in our house, and I think more than one kind? I've got two in containers to show management when they open back up tomorrow, but for now I can't even find a picture of this guy on the internet.

I put the picture I took of it behind a spoiler tag in case someone doesn't want to look at a spider...

[spoiler][img]http://i790.photobucket.com/albums/yy188/hallchc/Random%20Stuff/DSCN3189.jpg[/img][/spoiler]

When it's standing normal, it's probably about the size of a half-dollar. It doesn't seem aggressive, and it turns over on its back to play dead.

We're finding them in every room of the house, and they're not shy at all. Middle of the living room floor, back of the couch, the pack and play, kitchen bathrooms... And we've had two huge webs spun into our doorways in the past week. One web took up much of our sliding glass door, and the spider had that thing up in no time at all.

Does anyone know what kind of spider this is? I just need to know if this thing is poisonous because we've got a little one, and I'm not about to take chances with him.

Thanks!

Edited May 31, 2010 by rhetoricfemme

[Catholic Fox]

Possibly a wolf spider

[b]Venom toxicity[/b] - the bite of the Wolf Spider is poisonous but not lethal. Although non-aggressive, they bite freely if provoked and should be considered dangerous to humans. The bite may be very painful. First aid and medical attention should be sought as soon as possible, particularly as to children or the elderly. [b]Spider Identification[/b] - an adult is 1/2 inch to more than 1 inch in body length - mottled gray to brown in color, with a distinct Union Jack impression on its back. The female carries it's young on its back. [b]Habitat[/b] - this spider is a ground dweller, with a burrow retreat. It has a roving nocturnal lifestyle to hunt their prey and can move very rapidly when disturbed. Commonly found around the home, in garden areas with a silk lined burrow, sometimes with a lid or covered by leaf litter or grass woven with silk as a little fence around the rim of the burrow.

http://www.termite.com/spider-identification.html#wolf


I recommend killing it with fire.

[Catholic Fox]

[b]Or maybe a Hobo

Venom toxicity[/b] - although the bite of the hobo spider is initially painless, the bite can be serious. After 24 hours, the bite develops into a blister and after 24-36 hours, the blister breaks open, leaving an open, oozing ulceration. Typically when the venom is injected, the victim will experience an immediate redness, which develops around the bite. The most common reported symptom is severe headache. Other symptoms can include nausea, weakness, fatigue, temporary memory loss and vision impairment. In any case, first aid and medical attention should be sought, if bitten, as and when any adverse health effects are observed. [b]Spider Identification[/b] - they are brown in color and the adults measure roughly 1/3 to 2/3 inch in body length and 2/3 to 2 inches in leg span. Their abdomens have several chevron shaped markings. Males are distinctively different from females in that they have two large palpi (mouth parts) that look like boxing gloves. Females tend to have a larger and rounder abdomen when compared to males. [b]Habitat[/b] - they can be found anywhere in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah and Colorado. They rarely climb vertical surfaces and are uncommon above basements or ground level.

[rhetoricfemme]

Sigh, yes. Thank you, Fox!

I was looking around at termite.com, too, and I these were my best "logical" guesses. I took the captured spider over to my neighbor, and she said they don't have any spiders at all. And that she saw tons of this particular spider when she lived in Tennessee, and she believes it to be a brown recluse. I looked up recluses, and while my spider doesn't look like one, it seems to have the behavior of one. Apparently I should be looking for 6 eyes instead of 8 to tell if it's a recluse.

All I see is... Eyes...

[Semper Catholic]

Wake up in the morning...Giant Spider in the tub... oh it's gonna be one of those days.

[Sternhauser]

[quote name='rhetoricfemme' date='31 May 2010 - 01:11 PM' timestamp='1275329515' post='2121278']
I looked up recluses, and while my spider doesn't look like one, it seems to have the behavior of one. Apparently I should be looking for 6 eyes instead of 8 to tell if it's a recluse.

All I see is... Eyes...
[/quote]

Eyes, just looking at you. It says, "So, do I have 6 eyes, or 8 eyes? To tell the truth, in all the excitement and running and screaming, I've lost track myself. So you've got to ask yourself one question. 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, [i]do [/i]ya, [i]punk?" [/i]

[img]http://herps2art.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/recluse-face.jpg[/img]

~Sternhauser

Edited May 31, 2010 by Sternhauser

[MIKolbe]

looks like a guy i used to do business with.....

[Sternhauser]

[quote name='MIkolbe' date='31 May 2010 - 01:42 PM' timestamp='1275331359' post='2121317']
looks like a guy i used to do business with.....
[/quote]

Did he pay you in dead flies?

~Sternhauser

[MIKolbe]

since the arbitration, I really can't comment.

[Thy Geekdom Come]

[quote name='Sternhauser' date='31 May 2010 - 02:41 PM' timestamp='1275331271' post='2121314']
Eyes, just looking at you. It says, "So, do I have 6 eyes, or 8 eyes? To tell the truth, in all the excitement and running and screaming, I've lost track myself. So you've got to ask yourself one question. 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, [i]do [/i]ya, [i]punk?" [/i]

[img]http://herps2art.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/recluse-face.jpg[/img]

~Sternhauser
[/quote]
Oops, meant to give you a HUGE +1, but hit the wrong one. Someone please correct it.

[southern california guy]

After looking at pictures on Google, I'm betting that it's a Wolf spider.

[img]http://www.city-data.com/forum/attachments/long-island/44627d1246932440-spiders-how-many-too-many-wolf-spider.jpg[/img]

[rhetoricfemme]

[quote name='southern california guy' date='31 May 2010 - 04:28 PM' timestamp='1275337688' post='2121437']
After looking at pictures on Google, I'm betting that it's a Wolf spider.
[/quote]

That seems like a safe bet. All I know is that I'm tired of looking at pictures of creepy spiders trying to match it, and the vacuum cleaner is not leaving my side.

Thanks for the help, I appreciate it!

[tinytherese]

Ick, I hate spider pictures. Why did God have to make such creatures and insects for that matter? Since we're on the topic [b](NO PICTURES PLEASE. I'm way too squeemish.)[/b], in which states of the U.S. can tarantula's and scorpions be found? I hate those things.

[southern california guy]

[quote name='tinytherese' date='31 May 2010 - 02:44 PM' timestamp='1275338697' post='2121459']
Ick, I hate spider pictures. Why did God have to make such creatures and insects for that matter? Since we're on the topic [b](NO PICTURES PLEASE. I'm way too squeemish.)[/b], in which states of the U.S. can tarantula's and scorpions be found? I hate those things.
[/quote]

We've got tarantula's and scorpions here in southern California. I don't know the full tarantula habitat but I saw one up in the high desert. A couple of years ago when I was weeding in the garden I got stung by a little scorpion. It hurt almost as much as a bee sting, but I didn't get any swelling from it. So my impression is that the little scorpions down here are milder than bee stings. At least mine was.

And incidentally, talking about bees, the "killer bee" -- or "Africanized bee" -- is about the only bee you see around here. They've taken over. And I have to say that they were super over-hyped. They're perhaps a little meaner than domesticated Italian bees, but still they're just bees. Some swarms are mean, others are relatively gentle. I know people with hives of them (They just went the cheap wild bee route). However in my opinion they pale in comparison with the Italian honeybees. Italians are much more productive.

[KnightofChrist]

I would agree it's a wolf spider. We use to have them in the house I grew up. Those little guys can get bigger than a silver dollar, and can reproduce in 'healthy numbers', for them anyway. If you wanna get rid of them then find their nests, where they actually lay eggs. Find the egg sack, that looks like a bundle of spider web and burn it or drop it in a cup of alcohol.