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Giant Huntsman spider found in Scottish shipping container

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S

supernormal

Member
Blue Submarine No. 6 said:
from Wikipedia:
The giant huntsman spider (Heteropoda maxima, "the largest") is a species of huntsman spider (Sparassidae), a family of large, fast spiders that actively hunt down prey.[2] It is considered the world's largest spider by leg span,[2] which can reach up to 1 foot (30 centimeters).[3]
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That's gotta be a mistake. What in the actual fuck. I've seen Spiders as big as 7-8 inches and thought the world was gonna end.
 
G

GhaleonEB

Member
Htown said:
No. No. No.

I don't give a FUCK what lighthearted song you put behind that shit. That is creepy as shit. Who the fuck wants that crawling all over their arm and THEIR FACE ARE YOU KIDDING ME
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You know that giant orb weaving spider that caught the bird in Austrailia that everyone flips out about?

They're docile too.

supernormal said:
That's gotta be a mistake. What in the actual fuck. I've seen Spiders as big as 7-8 inches and thought the world was gonna end.
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https://www.fugly.com/pictures/57409/clock_spider.html
 
S

SkywardBeam

Member
orava said:
Spiders are so cool. I'm very envious because in my country, we only have tiny ones.
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Second that. Concerning the variety of spiders, Central Europe is a rather disappointing place to live in :/
I'd really love if some of these foreign spiders would settle here. The Giant Huntsman in that YT video linked here looks incredibly cute :3
Also I'm always baffled by all the irrational disgust and hate people direct at spiders. There are probably a bit more than a handful of spiders that can actually 'harm' a healthy grown-up human, and only in self-defense or when provoked. Elephants for example kill far more people per year than spiders. But most people actually love them. Hell, that nasty little mosquito that flew in my bedroom last night caused me more pain than all the spiders I've met in my life combined!
Try showing these cute little eight-legged creatures a bit more love, they certainly deserve it.
 
R

Rival

Gold Member
The funnel web spider is a straight up nightmare. And if I saw one of these big ass spiders in my home I'd move. No doubt about it.
 
H

Hyllian

Member
HyperCroutons said:
When I worked at a grocery store we use to get shipments of bananas from the tropics and there sometimes be big dead spiders or other tropical insects in the shipment. They were never alive though but I would screech if I saw one of those alive in a batch of bananas.
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Brazilian-Wandering-spider.jpg


halloween1.jpg


bannerpic1.jpg


It has the most dangerous venom.
 
S

Stasis

Member
Htown said:
No. No. No.

I don't give a FUCK what lighthearted song you put behind that shit. That is creepy as shit. Who the fuck wants that crawling all over their arm and THEIR FACE ARE YOU KIDDING ME
Click to expand...

Lol. I have no problem doing this. I love spiders. My house is a no-kill zone, we take them outside or just leave them be. Even my gf respects that now and she used to be terrified. She even likes cute lil jumpers now, picking them up and handling them. I still get called in for the bigger ones.

Spiders are awesome. Except for the ones that can kill you in a few hours. I'd avoid those. I'm happy the huntsman was handed in rather than automatically killed. Hate that "instant death for anything not cute and furry!" mentality. Calm down.
 
F

Funyarinpa

Member
Ban Puncher said:
Huntsman spiders are scary looking but pretty harmless.

The Sydney Funnel Web spider however is pure nightmare fuel

SGCbMLY.gif
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It's four in the morning and I was debating whether or not to go to sleep, thanks for making the decision for me.

edit: It's like my second time seeing that girl gif. Once was enough for a lifetime...e_e
 
G

GhaleonEB

Member
Stasis said:
Lol. I have no problem doing this. I love spiders. My house is a no-kill zone, we take them outside or just leave them be. Even my gf respects that now and she used to be terrified. She even likes cute lil jumpers now, picking them up and handling them. I still get called in for the bigger ones.

Spiders are awesome. Except for the ones that can kill you in a few hours. I'd avoid those. I'm happy the huntsman was handed in rather than automatically killed. Hate that "instant death for anything not cute and furry!" mentality. Calm down.
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Yeah, our house is the same. I can credit my younger daughter for her tremendous empathy toward animals. I'm arachnophobic, and we have a pet tarantula. Go figure. It's helped me come to appreciate spiders. These days we (well, I, everyone else won't touch'em) catch and release spiders and other bugs outside. I actually let the ones my kids are freaking out about alone; they're busy killing bugs, which is a-okay with me.
 
E

Extra Sauce

Member
SealSqueal said:
Haha, Huntsmans are big but pretty chill spiders actually, unlike some other fucker varieties. They keep to themselves and mostly hang out around the ceiling waiting to chase down insects. I believe they get the name from the fact they don't spin webs, but just roam for prey instead.

Edit: beaten like a mofo
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Interesting. I've always been welcoming of spiders in my house because I hate all the insects they prey on. Maybe I should upgrade to the Huntsman model.

Who am I kidding I probably could not handle seeing one of those giant fuckers race around.
 
S

scabro

Member
only spiders that sort of scare me are the really venomous ones, particularly if theyre very small.

hunstmen just seem cool to me. like peacock spiders

tumblr_inline_obkcojcEeI1rduxlo_500.gif

OKRRfmN.jpg
 
F

foxuzamaki

Doesn't read OPs, especially not his own
zorlaczerohero said:
As to a Huntsman killing a Funnel-web, it would depend on situation. A Huntsman walking past a Funnel-web hole would be ambushed and killed but one coming across a wandering Funnel-web would be much faster and could probably take it, if it was going to bother at all.
Funnel-webs are basically east coast, the most common is the Sydney variety, which is in NSW. There are similar spiders like Mouse Spiders and Trapdoor Spiders elsewhere.

Australia has deadly critters for a couple of reasons, much of it is harsh terrain, a predator has to kill fast to avoid losing prey. Marsupials have much slower metabolisms than rodents so snake venom has to be much more potent. Also it's somewhat cut off and undisturbed ecologically so primitive species like Funnelwebs could compete with modern species without massive changes in ecology occurring they couldn't deal with. All this is conjecture to be honest, it may just be bad luck.

We get Funnel-webs in the back garden, just don't let the kids out without shoes and they're rubbish climbers so as we have stairs to every entrance I don't worry too much about them getting in. They spend 90% of their time in a hole, only going out to find a mate or if they get flooded.

Here's one my son is commenting on that the neighbour found in his garden. This one went off for venom milking, you can drop them at any local public hospital.
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haha, you just let your son say big ass around you?
 
A

Alienfan

Member
A few years back I was staying at my friends house in Australia, when one night as I crawled into bed, I noticed a slightly prickly feeling on the bottom of my feet - realising I was in Australia, I quickly leaped out and bed and ran for the light switch. Sure enough, it was a giant fucking huntsman. My life had not prepared me for a moment like this, and so I ran for my friend. What really surprised me though, was his reaction, he was so casual about the whole spider ordeal, telling me they find huntsmen in their house at least a couple of times a year. He basically chased it out wearing nothing but socks.

Apparently they're not poisonous, but still, I have no idea how people live in Australia.
 
O

old manatee

Banned
Stories where a giant creature makes its way across the world in a bunch of bananas or whatever are terrifying because you know that the worker who found it had no frame of reference.

If you live in a country with Giant Huntsman spiders it would still be scary, but you would at least know what it was. To just open a crate in a country with normal spiders and see that thing moving around would make me feel like I had gone completely insane. Like I was seeing a Dark Souls enemy in real life.
 
C

commedieu

Banned
Alienfan said:
A few years back I was staying at my friends house in Australia, when one night as I crawled into bed, I noticed a slightly prickly feeling on the bottom of my feet - realising I was in Australia, I quickly leaped out and bed and ran for the light switch. Sure enough, it was a giant fucking huntsman. My life had not prepared me for a moment like this, and so I ran for my friend. What really surprised me though, was his reaction, he was so casual about the whole spider ordeal, telling me they find huntsmen in their house at least a couple of times a year. He basically chased it out wearing nothing but socks.

Apparently they're not poisonous, but still, I have no idea how people live in Australia.
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Yeah. I'd have shit myself. Literally.
 
Dr. Buni

Dr. Buni

Member
While spiders and spider facts tend to be fascinating, spider related threads are so obnoxious, it is always the same "kill it with fire" and "nope" garbage. Geez, people.
 
V

Valkerionseven

Member
We have them here in Japan, have not seen one myself personally but others have and posted pictures. We also have giant spider collecting/fighting as well here in Kyushuu lol. Gonna lose my fucking shit the first time I see one.
 
R

rgoulart

Member
This is the worst thread I've ever seen. I don't even know why I opened it.

It will give me nightmares for weeks to come.
 
L

Lorcain

Member
zorlaczerohero said:
We get Funnel-webs in the back garden, just don't let the kids out without shoes and they're rubbish climbers so as we have stairs to every entrance I don't worry too much about them getting in. They spend 90% of their time in a hole, only going out to find a mate or if they get flooded.
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That's what they always say about zombies. I'm not so sure.
 
H

human onion

Banned
If there's one thing I'll never understand, it's fear of spiders. They do nothing to me, and they're pretty cool. I hate red ants though.
 
I

Iva Demilcol

Member
Ban Puncher said:
The Huntsman is non-venomous and will always run away from a human.

The Funnel Web is one of the deadliest spiders in the world (it's venom only affects humans too) and it is highly aggressive so it will chase you down. It also bites repeatedly. Anti-venom is mandatory if bit and it is in short supply.
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Tell me where are those from so I never even consider visiting by mistake...


Edit: so they are from Australia... okay, why I'm not surprised?
 
M

MogCakes

Member
I remember once when I was a kid in primary school I came across a tarantula while riding my bike home. I instinctively turned my wheel towards it and ran it over - years later, I refuse to kill spiders if I can help it. There are probably around 50 living in my apartment with me right now, we have a mutually beneficial partnership. Haven't had to worry about roaches or any pests, aside from the occasional fruit fly.
 
M

Mar

Member
Sydney resident here, and yes huntsman's are a weekly occurrence. We are just a few days into spring and I've already seen a couple around the outside of the house. Haven't seen them inside yet but that will happen as it gets warmer.

They are chilled spiders and generally don't move when they know you are watching. But if you try and kill them they are fast and try to run away. I don't like to admit but I do kill them if they are inside, as I don't want to risk my dogs getting bitten and becoming sick (or eating the spiders which might also make them sick!). They also can get into annoying places such as on your towel as you get out of the shower - I can say I've had the unpleasurable feeling of rubbing a huntsman on myself... It was big, a bit soft and crunchy...

I've thankfully only ever seen one funnel web in my life - yes they are super aggressive and chase YOU. It's not fun trying to squash a spider as it's chasing you around the living room.
 
H

HazySaiyan

Banned
Was planning on a move to Scotland soon.

Not gonna bother now.

Mar said:
Sydney resident here, and yes huntsman's are a weekly occurrence. We are just a few days into spring and I've already seen a couple around the outside of the house. Haven't seen them inside yet but that will happen as it gets warmer.

They are chilled spiders and generally don't move when they know you are watching. But if you try and kill them they are fast and try to run away. I don't like to admit but I do kill them if they are inside, as I don't want to risk my dogs getting bitten and becoming sick (or eating the spiders which might also make them sick!). They also can get into annoying places such as on your towel as you get out of the shower - I can say I've had the unpleasurable feeling of rubbing a huntsman on myself... It was big, a bit soft and crunchy...

I've thankfully only ever seen one funnel web in my life - yes they are super aggressive and chase YOU. It's not fun trying to squash a spider as it's chasing you around the living room.
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Are you fucking kidding me with this shit. And Australians try and claim that it's not that bad, I call bullshit.
 
P

Pics_nao

Member
When I was younger, I went to this local ice cream shop and saw his fucking huge spider in the pistachio. Told my family and no onr believed me. They ended up closing a few days later.

Never again
 
farmerboy

farmerboy

Member
On a hot humid night during summer I went back to work to irrigate some vegetables after dark.

Wandered into the pump shed that measures 10ft x 10ft and walked around some obstacles by feel to get to the light switch. On comes the light and 14 motherfucking huntsmen of various sizes surrounded me.

Killed 2 straight away cos I hate spiders and when I turned on the pump the vibrations caused the rest of them to scurry around.

I'm pretty sure I screamed like a kid but got another 3 of them.

My encounter with a 4ft tiger snake after dark could have been potentially much worse. Got the shakes from shock that time, that's how scared I got.
 
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