10
   

It's just a spider... BUT.... help! please.

 
 
Izzie
 
  1  
Reply Tue 7 Oct, 2008 05:18 pm
@dagmaraka,
mmmmmm..... could try..... but this repugnant thing was at my old house - I photographed him.... called the pub at 2am and Jimmy came down and got rid of it.... sheeeeeeeeesh - eeuw... lovable....

http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk41/LzzieIzzie/P1000855.jpg

I have to know where it is.... or else I do really panic it might come near me.

I'm gonna try... maybe I could leave it up for a day or two and just try and make him a pet. (OMG I can't believe I am even thinking of that)
0 Replies
 
Wy
 
  1  
Reply Tue 7 Oct, 2008 05:20 pm
@Butrflynet,
Butterfly, I'm not going to help. Bodega Bay is where San Francsco dumps (sorry, "buries at sea") the cremains of its deceased paupers (whatever the modern equivalent is)...
Izzie
 
  1  
Reply Tue 7 Oct, 2008 05:26 pm
@Wy,
(oh.... that's kinda.... sad a?)

Not a pleasant place to go visit in that respect. Sorry Bodega Bay.
0 Replies
 
dagmaraka
 
  1  
Reply Tue 7 Oct, 2008 05:29 pm
@Wy,
It might just be a type of Daddy Long legs, though it's hard to tell from the photo. The body seems bigger than most daddy longlegs. Sturdier legs, too. But in any case, daddy long legs are useful pests, if not pretty:

Appearance:
Daddy Long Legs spiders are gray to light brown in color. They have a rectangular, elongated abdomen and four pairs of long, slender legs that may be up to 30 times as long as its body, causing them to appear much larger than they actually are.

Size:
The body ranges from 1/10 to ½-inch in length, but with the legs extended it may be up to 2-inches long.

Behavior:
Adults tend to hide during the day and become active at night when they search for food such as plant juices, dead and sometimes living insects. When they move the second pair of legs, the longest, touch the surface in search of food. If something edible is found, it begins a teetering motion and tilts its body forward ands grabs its prey.

When a daddy long legs web is disturbed or when large prey gets entangled in their web, it vibrates rapidly in a gyrating motion, becoming blurred and making it difficult for a predator to see where the spider is. It is also helpful for capturing insects that have brushed their web and may still be nearby. Because of this behavior it is sometimes referred to as a “vibrating spider”.

Habitat:
Daddy long legs spiders hang inverted in messy, irregular, tangled webs. These webs are constructed in dark and damp recesses, in caves, under rocks and loose bark, abandoned rodent burrows, and undisturbed areas in buildings and cellars, hence the common name "cellar spiders".

Certain species of daddy long legs invade webs of other spiders and eat the host, eggs, or prey. In some cases the spider vibrates the web of other spiders, mimicking the feel of struggling prey, to lure the web’s host out in the open. They are known to attack and eat Redback and Huntsman spiders.

Interesting Fact:
If the daddy long-legs is in danger of being caught, it can break off a portion of its legs and then escape while the detached legs continue to quiver in front of a confounded predator. Daddy long-legs can grow new legs to replace the broken ones. Also, it should be noted that the name “daddy long legs” is also applied to two distantly related arthropod groups: harvestmen-which are arachnids and not spiders-and crane flies, which are insects.

Control:
These spiders are harmless to man as their jaws are unable to penetrate human skin, and the venom dose is also too minute. Their venom is neurotoxic but is only deadly to its prey. They are sometimes left alone in the home as they control various insect pests such as mosquitoes, flies, ants and moths.
dagmaraka
 
  1  
Reply Tue 7 Oct, 2008 05:36 pm
@dagmaraka,
Upon a closer inspection, it looks quite like the Common House Spider. .. or the Tengenaria Gigantea if you prefer a latin name for your beast of honor.

Does this look familiar?
http://www.wildlifeuk.net/attachment.php?aid=87
Izzie
 
  1  
Reply Tue 7 Oct, 2008 05:39 pm
@dagmaraka,
Yep.... these have manky looking tatty dirty old BIG thick webs.... they aren't houseproud at all.

We call them house spiders here - the mothers really are "muthers" and huge.... brown and hairy. The PaPas are black and smaller and brave to even attempt dropping by for tea with the "muther".

Our daddie long legs are slightly different to harvester. They have long long legs and small bodies, but the harvesters have round brown bodies, tho small compared to their legs. Arkansas was covered in them - everywhere. Our flying daddy long leg insects - no probs, can pick them up and put them out without a second thought. 6 legs, 2 wings, no hairy bits or pedipals!

Will keep you posted on 8legged freak in the garage and let you know how I proceed - who knows... I might just be brave and let it stay








(maybe not.... but tonight it's got a home!) ack

Thanking you all - and thanks for that Dag.

off to zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz xx
0 Replies
 
Izzie
 
  1  
Reply Tue 7 Oct, 2008 05:40 pm
@dagmaraka,
oh my..... jumped out my skin....

yep.... that's the beast!!!!!!

UGLY! Nope, never gonna say it's pretty.

mismi
 
  1  
Reply Tue 7 Oct, 2008 05:44 pm
@dagmaraka,
I thought Grandaddy Longlegs were a type of mite, mistaken for a spider...shows you what I know. I pick those up all the time. I have three boys - we are not afraid of certain types of spiders - not the Grandaddy's anyway - or what I thought was a Grandaddy. But as far as the big hairy ones and roaches - well - we all run screaming from the room for Daddy in that case. yuck.

Izzie - that pic makes that spider look HUGE. We have wood spiders and house spiders. They are harmless -but ugly and creepy. We also have black widows and brown recluses. I have had to teach the boys to be VERY careful before picking up any kind of bug. We have bug vacuums for that so they don't have to touch them...

dagmaraka
 
  1  
Reply Tue 7 Oct, 2008 05:47 pm
@mismi,
There are NO huge spiders in the UK. The website says so. In fact, the house spider is among the biggest. Almost none are harmful in any way to humans... only helpful around the household. Have a heart, they're only trying to help :-)
0 Replies
 
dagmaraka
 
  1  
Reply Tue 7 Oct, 2008 05:53 pm
@Izzie,
Right. But did you know that the muther sacrifices herself for her young? She drums against the freshly uhhh...clawed out spider hatch with her legs until her kids are irritated enough to eat her. She also lays a few rounds... and will let the first round of hatchlings eat the round of eggs.... kinda like, what was that family? Dawsons? Dobsons?
0 Replies
 
mckenzie
 
  1  
Reply Tue 7 Oct, 2008 11:49 pm
Shudder .... another one here who's terrified of spiders. Probably because I woke up in the middle of the night, once, when I felt one crawling on me. I was a child and screamed the house down. My poor mom came running in and found it in my bed. Yuck, yuck, yuck!

If Mr. M is home when a spider is located, he'll trap it and set it free. I can't get that close. The vacuum wand works for me.

When our children were growing up we took them to a spider exhibit at the museum. I remember reading there that one is never more than three feet from a spider. I've always remembered that ...

0 Replies
 
roger
 
  1  
Reply Wed 8 Oct, 2008 12:38 am
@Izzie,
Yes, and thanks for remembering. Princess was not your average spider, hence the name.
0 Replies
 
Mr Stillwater
 
  1  
Reply Wed 8 Oct, 2008 02:07 am
Lawdy, lawdy - a harmless (but big) sort of house spider....

In Orstraylia we got spiders, and they don't screw around waiting for the boyfriend to turn up with the vacuum cleaner....
http://www.fizzicseducation.com.au/Online%20Store/large%20images/Funnelweb.jpg

OK - you are excused for getting somewhat anxious (ie shitscared) by these lovelies. Funny thing is - it's the males who are the dangerous ones....
0 Replies
 
Mr Stillwater
 
  1  
Reply Wed 8 Oct, 2008 02:13 am
Actually, an announcer on the ABC (National Broadcaster) many, many years ago may have had the same reaction as you to all things spidery. He told the audience that a young woman had been "bitten on the funnel by a finger-web spider"
roger
 
  1  
Reply Wed 8 Oct, 2008 02:24 am
@Mr Stillwater,
Am I counting wrong, Stilly, or does that creature have 10 legs?
Mr Stillwater
 
  1  
Reply Wed 8 Oct, 2008 02:38 am
@roger,
Quote:
Re: Mr Stillwater (Post 3429629)
Am I counting wrong, Stilly, or does that creature have 10 legs?


Yes - it is little known fact is that they are the only metric spider in the world.

Jeez mate !! These fuckin' things will lie at the bottom of a swimming pool for like weeks waiting for you to enjoy a shark- and crocodile-free dip. Then boom! You're floating belly up and scaring the kiddies!!

Bit like counting the teeth on a grizzly as it snacks down on your left leg. They can have as many ******* legs as they want!! Just don't use them to walk into my house!!
0 Replies
 
dagmaraka
 
  1  
Reply Wed 8 Oct, 2008 03:05 am
@roger,
i think the first two are the, uhh, what are they called, not polyps...the palpables? no....the the the...those things, you know.

EDIT: I guess they are legs after all. I need coffee. stat.
0 Replies
 
OmSigDAVID
 
  1  
Reply Wed 8 Oct, 2008 03:46 am
@Izzie,
Quote:
it’s a big disgustingly fat horrible hairy b*stid of a spider
in the garage above the washing machine and dryer

And it’s giving me major heeby-jeebies

I don 't mean to sound unsympathetic, but
is this RACIAL INTOLERANCE ?

It sounds like u 've been discriminating against him
with that chemical spray, because of his membership in that race.
dagmaraka
 
  1  
Reply Wed 8 Oct, 2008 03:53 am
@OmSigDAVID,
i think you mean species. not race.
OmSigDAVID
 
  1  
Reply Wed 8 Oct, 2008 04:04 am
@Butrflynet,
Quote:

Nah, not irrational at all. I begged my mom to let my brother and I
see Hitchcock's movie The Birds when we were very young.
After days of begging and temper tantrums she finally decided
to take us and then when we were scared to death made us stay
and see the whole thing to the end so we'd know that everything
turned out alright.

To this day, about 45 years later I still have a phobia about Bodega Bay.
I'm just fine with birds and every other symbol of fear in that movie
but the town itself, gives me the heebee jeebees.
I've tried forcing myself to get over it by driving by the town,
determined to drive right through main street, but I couldn't talk
myself into getting over to the right lane in time for the exit ramp
and then kept going without looking back.

I saw that movie.
I wonder how Hitchcock got the birds to co-operate ?




Quote:

It's irrational but it's mine. Yours is spiders.
The difference is my phobia doesn't crawl around my house with all its relatives.

I had a fairly large bird get into my house a few months ago.
I just opened the back door, and he took the hint.
I think he was a libertarian bird.





David
0 Replies
 
 

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