Big spiders Galway?

markesmith

So I'm living in Galway a couple of years now, and I've never seen any big spiders. I'm a bit of an arachnophobe, btw. Dublin and Wicklow seem to have massive house spiders, and I've seen some big ones down home too (Midlands).

September's the month when a lot of them come out of the cold and into the house.

So, have the massive spiders gone West yet?

Sponge Bob

You can chillax until early October .....when they start barking at each other.

scholar007

markesmith wrote: »

I've seen some big ones down home too (Midlands).

Have you now?

JohnCleary

I've spotted this in the past week, the b4stards must be trying to come back inside now that its getting cold again

_Whimsical_

One came a calling to my house last week. He was enormous! With his legs out stretched he was honestly the size of my palm. I was torn between getting my camera to take a photo so I could prove it was as big as I say and killing him. In the end I whacked him I'm afraid... I couldn't risk him escaping and turning in my hair in the middle of the night.
He was the first spider I've ever killed too. Usually I don't mind capturing them and letting them out but this one was frighteningly big.

markesmith

_Whimsical_ wrote: »

One came a calling to my house last week. He was enormous! With his legs out stretched he was honestly the size of my palm. I was torn between getting my camera to take a photo so I could prove it was as big as I say and killing him. In the end I whacked him I'm afraid... I couldn't risk him escaping and turning in my hair in the middle of the night.
He was the first spider I've ever killed too. Usually I don't mind capturing them and letting them out but this one was frighteningly big.

Right, that's not what I wanted to hear at all. Guess I'll have to make the move to Antartica

argosy2006

Biggest one i'v seen,

orangebud

The average person swallows around 8 spiders a year while asleep, but thats just a urban legend or is it BAHAHA

Karona

There was a HUGE one living in my shed, you could even see its shed skin. Blleeeeeuuuggghhhh.

ronnie3585

This dirty cocksucker was strutting his stuff around my house last year;





He was massive, easily the size of my hand. Showed the pics to a friend of mine who's an entomologist and he said it's nothing out of the ordinary.

inisboffin

ronnie3585 wrote: »

This dirty cocksucker was strutting his stuff around my house last year;





He was massive, easily the size of my hand. Showed the pics to a friend of mine who's an entomologist and he said it's nothing out of the ordinary.

we've spotted one or two 'false' black widows in our shed. They're more common than people think apparently, if you look up sightings. Not huge but a teeny bit naaaasteee. Google 'em

_Whimsical_

ronnie3585 wrote: »

This dirty cocksucker was strutting his stuff around my house last year;





He was massive, easily the size of my hand. Showed the pics to a friend of mine who's an entomologist and he said it's nothing out of the ordinary.

Yup, this guy is a definite relation of the one I found last week. He had those big thick legs though the one I whacked may have had longer legs.
They're crunchy little guys....not easy to kill.:(

galah

erks. Guys, please mark this thread as 'NSFW' - I almost fell of my chair screaming, waking half the office...;-P

This is the time of year for them, Aug-Sept.

Apparently they're in search of females, the males are the big ones.
I threw a small female out a few weeks ago.

I'll never forget seeing a male walk across the clothes on my chair last year. I had the light off in bed watching the TV and it caught the corner of my eye.... freaked out i was.

ronnie3585

_Whimsical_ wrote: »

They're crunchy little guys....not easy to kill.:(

There was no need to kill him. Think of all the dirty, smelly, disease ridden bluebottles he could have been laying the smack down on.

markesmith

J*sus, I shouldn't have started this thread at all. That spider in the glass, you can see his eyes :eek:

galah wrote: »

I almost fell of my chair screaming, waking half the office...;-P

Lolz, sounds like a productive place!

renmorescout

Spotted this fella in the garden earlier this evening! Having his tea!

DSC_3399.JPG

Das Kitty

renmorescout wrote: »

Spotted this fella in the garden earlier this evening! Having his tea!

DSC_3399.JPG

We have one of them too, gave him a slight poke and he started shaking the web to confuse me. It was cool.

None of those brown eight legged horses spotted this year yet. Can't wait! :pac:

EGAR

Behind the window box at my kitchen window. Fag box for size comparison. Fast little bugger as well.

GreenFaery

I now refuse to open my bedroom window, some spiders have made a nice home just outside it.

And I keep seeing ones with extremely long legs. They prop themselves up like they're on stilts....

GalwayGaillimh

Jesus thats some big spider! Off the Benson about 4 months myself tell the spider to give them up he will fell alot better!

Ficheall

gilberto_eire wrote: »

Apparently they're in search of females, the males are the big ones.

Really?

Ficheall

Ficheall wrote: »

Really?

Ya i was reading about them last year after finding one.

The females are no bigger than your run of the mill ones, I threw one out the window about a month ago.
The males are meant to be those massive ones who leave to mate around Aug-Sept(ish).
If they come into your house then there's probably a female in there somewhere.

Edit: http://www.uksafari.com/housespiders.htm

Asmodean

Oh you ****ers! Why did I open this thread Was reading in the paper last week that the really cold winter followed by the wet summer has made ideal breeding conditions for the little ****s, meaning they're gonna be a lot bigger this winter than previous years.
They have a habbit of hopping down the wall next to my pc table late at night when they think everyone is in bed. :S

UnleashTheBeast

Thank god I'm not the only one. Last year, for about a month they were popping up nonestop all over my house, not in the typical areas you might think like just outside, they were in bedrooms, in the sitting room, in the computer room... (I'm from Galway City btw).

I hadn't seen them since, until last week when I was on my laptop in our computer room. I was right in the middle of playing a game and I caught something moving on the work service out of the corner of my eye, I knew straight away it was one of those huge spiders, thankfully I located a large magazine and did what had to be done. Since then I've spotted 2 others.... when it rains it pours they say... and I'm sure I'll find more.

I took a few photos of one I found in our garden last year, he was enormous. You know a spider is too big when you can clearly see it's fangs and EYES.

To scale beside a large water bottle and a ball for the dogs.




Look at those eyes....

markesmith

Coming around that time again...haven't seen anything yet, but the apartment feels like an oven at the minute and I get jumpy anytime I feel something on my arm.

Anyone see any mad crazy arachnids down the West lately?

FouxDaFaFa

Oh God, why did I open this thread? Thankfully, I haven't seen any even approaching that size. If anything, there's been less of the "normal" ones too.

joeKel73

markesmith wrote: »

Coming around that time again...

This thread relates to ~ September time....

BhoscaCapall

ronnie3585 wrote: »

There was no need to kill him. Think of all the dirty, smelly, disease ridden bluebottles he could have been laying the smack down on.

Uh I'll take my chances with the **** rubbing disease carriers thanks

harryd2

BhoscaCapall wrote: »

Uh I'll take my chances with the **** rubbing disease carriers thanks

saw a v.big one last night in my shed.. a little less than 2" across.
Will try stick up some photos later

galah

just found there's loads of spiders around - not necessarily big ones, just more of them. Ick. Don't mind them in the garden I guess, but I do object to them moving in...

Also, the cat dragged a may beetle in the other day - have not seen one of those in a very long time!

kevin65

ronnie3585 wrote: »

_Whimsical_ wrote: »

They're crunchy little guys....not easy to kill.:(

There was no need to kill him. Think of all the dirty, smelly, disease ridden bluebottles he could have been laying the smack down on.

Was told growing up that it was bad luck to kill a spider. They are useful creatures, unlike wasps.

inisboffin

galah wrote: »

Also, the cat dragged a may beetle in the other day - have not seen one of those in a very long time!

Cockchafer!:p
Got dive bombed by one yesterday. Apparently they are making a comeback

BhoscaCapall

kevin65 wrote: »

Was told growing up that it was bad luck to kill a spider. They are useful creatures, unlike wasps.

And estate agents.

dan hibiki

BhoscaCapall wrote: »

And estate agents.

And gardai.

BhoscaCapall

dan hibiki wrote: »

And gardai.

That was my first idea, but I bottled it and went for something more middle of the road.

ladhrann

kevin65 wrote: »

Was told growing up that it was bad luck to kill a spider. They are useful creatures, unlike wasps.

Me too! Reading through this I thought I was the only one who was pisreogach at all.

Brad768

2 huge ones on 2 different windowsills in my garage and I could swear they have been there for years lol I swear if they were to come together and fight it would be like watching rats with 8 legs collide.
I forgot about one of them the other day as I moved a box beside the window and it moved at about 15mph. I was out that garage so quick Mr.Bolt would have a hard time keeping up :mad:
Will try and get a photo tomorrow. Time to stick on the 200mm lens though

Doc Ruby

Arachnaphobes look away now

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_house_spider

The Giant house spider (Tegenaria duellica; formerly known as T. gigantea) is a member of the genus Tegenaria and is a close relative of both the Domestic house spider and the infamous Hobo spider. The bite of this species does not pose a threat to humans or pets, although it is the only species of the whole Agelenid family to be able to bite through human skin proper (altogether).

Like most spiders, the spider possesses quite a potent venom to subdue its prey, which is not known to harm humans. Since T. duellica can penetrate regular human skin on normal occasions, the effects of agatoxin are more likely to be felt by the victim. No medically significant reports of its bites exist up to the present date.

With speeds clocked at 1.73 ft/s (0.53 m/s), the giant house spider held the Guinness Book of World Records for top spider speed until 1987 when it was displaced by sun spiders (solfugids) although the latter are not true spiders as they belong to a different order.

Rob A. Bank

Previous post on 07-09-2011, 17:19.

Then on 30-05-2012 13:39 an arachnophobe revives the thread with...

markesmith wrote: »

Coming around that time again...haven't seen anything yet, but the apartment feels like an oven at the minute and I get jumpy anytime I feel something on my arm.
Anyone see any mad crazy arachnids down the West lately?

Masochism or what ?

markesmith

Rob A. Bank wrote: »

Previous post on 07-09-2011, 17:19.

Then on 30-05-2012 13:39 an arachnophobe revives the thread with...



Masochism or what ?

More like mentalness :pac:

foxy_19-89

Just found an absolute beast, about the size of my palm, trying to build up the nerve to go back out to the shed and take a picture. I reckon the latest spell (2 days) of good weather has them out in swarms!

dan hibiki

^^^^^^^
The size of your palm?!!??! i hope you have really small hands! a pic would be great, with something for size comparison?! :cool:

foxy_19-89

Genuinely can't find the batteries for the cameras! Who knows where she will be when I try get the bins out Thursday!? Someone said earlier that the female are the small ones, this one is beside a nest, presumably protecting it?! *SHUDDER*

lucianot

There are lots of these ones around in the bushes, walls, etc, never seen them indoors:

galah

they're called cross spiders (araneus diadematus) - have some absolute monsters 'guarding' our shed and the kitchen back door. *shudder*

There's definitely an abundance of all sorts of spiders this year - anyone know why? Weird weather conditions maybe?

Saruman

Just be thankful we don't have the aggressive house spider (hobo) over here.

Ours are harmless, at most an itchy bump might develop.

That said, according to wikipedia:

The hobo spider is native to Europe, where it is a resident of fields, rarely entering human habitations due to the presence of major competitors, particularly the giant house spider (Tegenaria duellica) which is a common resident of houses and other man-made structures in Europe. As a result human contacts with the hobo spider are uncommon in Europe

Be thankful for our large house spiders then.

lucianot

Crowned spider, interesting name.

foxy_19-89

Finally got the balls to get a pic of this guy, the white nest/food is about the size of a euro for scale

TheCosmicFrog

Come to think of it, I have seen a lot of spiders around recently. After opening this thread, I keep getting twitches on the back of my neck and start batting at it out of a paranoia.

Big Pussy Bonpensiero

lucianot wrote: »

There are lots of these ones around in the bushes, walls, etc, never seen them indoors:

WHAT THE FCUK IS THAT!!???:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek: