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Kill it with fire! [Spider Identification]
Grundlestiltskin
Behind you!Registered User regular
Behind you!Registered User regular
Hi all,
Recently moved (moving?) from Boston to the Seattle area. We are in the process of closing on a house here and I was doing the final walkthrough when I found that the house was already inhabited:
It was the biggest spider I've ever seen, and not something I ever want to go remotely near. It was about the size of a hackey sack, maybe a little bigger. Google suggests that it might be a Giant House Spider (which reading about will give me nightmares forever, thanks #2 fastest spider in the world) or a Hobo Spider, which is actaully poisonous.
Can anyone tell from the blurry pictures? Should I call somebody? An exorcist maybe?
If someone could ID this one as well I'd be grateful. There's a bunch of them right outside our temporary housing:
Recently moved (moving?) from Boston to the Seattle area. We are in the process of closing on a house here and I was doing the final walkthrough when I found that the house was already inhabited:
It was the biggest spider I've ever seen, and not something I ever want to go remotely near. It was about the size of a hackey sack, maybe a little bigger. Google suggests that it might be a Giant House Spider (which reading about will give me nightmares forever, thanks #2 fastest spider in the world) or a Hobo Spider, which is actaully poisonous.
Can anyone tell from the blurry pictures? Should I call somebody? An exorcist maybe?
If someone could ID this one as well I'd be grateful. There's a bunch of them right outside our temporary housing:
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Incidentally, hobo spiders aren't actually poisonous OR venomous, so even it was a hobo spider, you'd be safe.
The danger of hobo spiders is vastly overstated, and is actually a very weird story....my PhD advisor did some work on the subject, and it's a real doozy.
The second picture is some kind of orb weaver, probably a member of the Argiope genus of orb weavers. Not deadly, have a decently painful bite, but just let them alone and they'll be fine.
Especially if you just moved to Seattle area, the Argiope spiders are out in force- a lot of my entomology friends in the area have been posting pictures of them en masse
He works for the USDA out in that area, and is someone I know in professional circles by reputation as a great guy, and he makes really informative Youtube channels about spiders and their non-danger.
EDIT: for context, he has videos where he takes a giant house spider or hobo spider and tries to induce them to bite him. neither does, even when he holds them against his arm.
Shoo them out of the house with a broom? As to "stopping them from getting in"....well that's harder.
Make sure all doorframes are well sealed, and that any openings to the outside are also well sealed. Especially seal up doors to basements and garages. Make sure the outside of the house is sealed as well (so they can't get into places like attics and walls. It's hard to say without physically looking at your house to see where they could be getting in from....
I always respect a spider
Spiders are great as long as they exist in that "out of sight, out of mind" capacity.
It's just hella easy to spot spiders in an empty, white house.
My policy for spiders has been: if it builds a web in an out of the way place, it can stay and eat any bugs it finds.
If it's standing peacefully or slowly roaming around, I put it in a cup and set it outside.
If it is running very very fast, I smash it to death.
And if it has the appearance of a black widow, which I've never actually had in my home, I would very carefully smash it. We have a pretty common lookalike breed here that doesn't have the red hourglass, but Eastern WA does have black widow populations and very occasionally Western WA gets them too. I've never seen a black widow in my life, but it's something to be aware of.
Most dangerous spiders here are both very rare, and very shy. Here is the health departments rundown on what to look out for. The only real problem you are at all likely to have with spiders is if one of you is very afraid of them. If so, the other person will probably need to get comfortable dealing with the spider situation, but an exterminator is unlikely to be a good investment unless it's a grade-A phobia.
A housespider and an orb weaver.
Frankly i'm surprised you've never seen them before. Did you move a long distance or between different climates? (Is Boston - Seattle far? dumb yurper here)
Imagine travelling from Spain to Ukraine. And back.
Do not engage the Watermelons.
This. The worst we get in Boston proper is tiny black spiders and house centipedes, and the occasional cockroach.
The thing about the Pacific Northwest (having just come from there), is that a lot of spiders have a lifespan of several years (especially the bigger ones).
Of course, this means that during the cold months they need to find a place to shelter....and your home is typically nice and warm and full of other insects sheltering from the cold.....
So be prepared to find larger-than-average spiders overwintering in your home.
It's really a pacific northwest thing. Enjoy????
Don't worry about them, most are incapable of biting or are non-venomous, and are very reluctant to bite. Most annoyance is that they love to build a nest right at eye level in doorways.
and they will eat all of your mosquito and flies in the area.
Ugh. I hate glue traps. Those things are fucking evil.
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Cruel for mice, but great for bugs.
I....um
Also cruel for bugs QQ
At least this is what I'm choosing to believe.
yeah but fuck bugs
Actually you just ate it in your sleep.
But not before it laid its eggs in your face.
(*Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark image here*).
IDK what the first one is, but the second one is definitely some kind of orb weaver.
Does your new home have a basement? That will likely be the real spider adventure for you.
The ones you DO see will be the ones that have successfully defeated all rivals, of course, so they will be the strongest ones.
I let the ones in the garage live, and any that I find in our house and can get out to the garage before my wife sees them. Any she sees has to die with the force of boot, of course, and that's where the whole Super Fast thing comes in because the little buggers can scurry.
This would certainly explain the pile of spider parts in the corner.
Kinda makes me afraid to pet my cat if i saw that.
Well, that's horrible :?