Have you ever gone into the bathroom and felt compelled to pull back the shower curtain because you have an irrational fear of something lurking behind it? It’s happened to all of us at least once. While none of us will ever find the boogieman in our showers, if you live in Australia, you might find a Hunstman spider – and that sounds a lot more terrifying.
Cathy Cox, of Perth, Australia, was startled to discover one had taken up residence in her shower. She suspected it was a Huntsman spider, but she still photographed it and uploaded it to an Australian spider identification website.”I have what I believe to be a beautiful huntsman in my shower,” Cathy wrote. She is no longer in danger, but should I relocate her? My heart is racing just thinking about it.”
Users quickly began offering advice in response to Cathy’s post. One user suggested that Cathy move the spider immediately to avoid the unpleasant surprise of the arachnid falling from the ceiling mid-shower. Someone else joked that instead of moving the spider, Cathy should simply surrender her shower to the giant spider and “use the hose to wash now.” Someone else mentioned that the spider’s size made it appear capable of operating the shower on its own.
While Catchy admitted in the comments that she magnified the photos, she confirmed the spider’s body length was about 4 1/2 cm and shared a photo with a better view of its size. She wasn’t comfortable moving the spider because of its size, so she said, “I think I’ll use the other shower for now.” Nonetheless, she welcomed all advice on how to best remove the massive arachnid from its current location.
The Huntsman spider can be found all over Australia. These massive arachnids can reach sizes where their legs span between 10 and 12 inches at their largest! As frightening as they are, and as common a household pest as they are, they pose no real threats to humans. In fact, these large spiders are extremely shy, and when threatened, they will scurry away rather than attack and bite. You wouldn’t want to find one living inside your shower, though.
While their first line of defense is to flee, experts strongly advise against directly handling a Huntsman spider. Just because they don’t typically attack doesn’t mean they can’t bite. In fact, these spiders have a large set of fangs as well as venom, and if you provoke them, you could end up with a nasty bite. Of course, their fangs will cause the majority of the pain and discomfort, not their venom.
Fortunately, Cathy was able to safely relocate the massive spider to a more suitable location (far from her home). She mentioned in the comments that she was finally able to get the spider safely into a jar after much coaxing and sweet-talking. “Jam jar and card did the trick. Now safely outside,” she said. What are your thoughts on Cathy’s discovery? What’s the ugliest thing you’ve ever discovered in your shower? Please let us know!