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Spider Chatter

From the lens Huntsman Spider - Heteropoda Maxima - Giant Spider.

Have anything to say about Huntsman Spiders or spiders in general? Do you collect them? Do they freak you out? Got any cool spider videos or links?

Please share with everyone, and if you enjoyed this lens, please rate it at the top and favorite it on the side - Thanks!

  • Whitwillow May 31, 2012 @ 10:51 pm | delete
    Enjoyed the lens.
    Our bathroom is home to a lovely big huntsman.
  • pensivetwirl Apr 25, 2012 @ 11:23 am | delete
    Absolutely beautiful creatures!
  • mamabush Apr 13, 2012 @ 10:14 pm | delete
    Ewww...that is a BIG spider! Hilarious video! :)
  • hntrssthmpsn Mar 19, 2012 @ 10:20 pm | delete
    Creepy-crawlies give me the heebie-jeebies, so I'm totally fascinated by them! Sort of like zombies, but smaller, and more frequently encountered. So far. The Huntsman Spider's got my skin twitchin' and my spine shiverin'... coooooooool :)
  • Rina - Cape Town South Africa Jan 13, 2012 @ 2:18 am | delete
    I had to catch one of those guys last night - 13+ cm across - because my daughter would not go back into her room, Caught it and drove 5km to release it in the wild. Aren't I a brave mother?
  • fullofshoes Jan 3, 2012 @ 9:00 am | delete
    Your lens was great and very humorous despite the subject. I am not a fan of spiders but somehow this particular type seems less scary now. :)
  • autofanatic Dec 2, 2011 @ 12:42 am | delete
    Oh, that last video was hilarious! Great fun. Nice lens, too!
  • khemo53 Nov 22, 2011 @ 9:44 am | delete
    What a great lens. I really enjoyed the videos. We have a spider that looks a lot like the huntsman only very much smaller and extremely poisonous called the Brown Recluse.
  • bfaz10 Nov 12, 2011 @ 8:27 am | delete
    So thats what that was.....
  • god11222 Oct 25, 2011 @ 2:30 pm | delete
    ?????????freaky
  • god11222 Oct 24, 2011 @ 2:40 pm | delete
    moo
  • god11222 Oct 24, 2011 @ 2:22 pm | delete
    portallllll
  • toma1111 Oct 24, 2011 @ 2:16 pm | delete
    they are so big!
  • Heyman Sep 28, 2011 @ 4:49 am | delete
    here in maldives. we got plenty of huntsmen spiders all around the houses, maily in the local islands where houses are built with reef stones. but its cool to reside in them. all praise is to God (Allah) who set maldives away from dangerous insects and animals. and also no winter and autumn. just summer and rainy season.
  • betta_addict Jul 10, 2011 @ 5:04 am | delete
    i'm scared of spiders. good thing the Huntsman Spider is harmless. LOL!
  • Donnette Jul 7, 2011 @ 8:07 am | delete
    Living in South Africa these spiders, which we refer to as "hunting spiders" are very common. I have taken some beautiful pictures, and also videos of them - although I hasten to add that if there is ONE thing in this world that scares the living daylights out of me it's a spider. We get them quite large here also, can be up to around the size of an adult hand... thank you for this interesting lens.
  • StephenC May 18, 2011 @ 10:47 am | delete
    That spider's pretty creepy. Still enjoyed it. Good lens!
  • cdcraftee Apr 4, 2011 @ 10:10 pm | delete
    We have had one living on our Kitchen/Dine wall for about 6 weeks now. We've named him/her Steph (for Stephan or Stephanie - whichever!). I was told that they are considered lucky to have in your home. Never heard this before. Do you know?
    Up until now, we have always taken them outdoors and 'parked' them safely under bushes (with sheet of paper and glass - not as brave as first video expert!)
    Steph is truly fascinating - so glad to have the opportunity to watch him/her.
    Nice lens - really enjoyed to learn more about this great spider..
    Christine
  • JHFSEO Apr 5, 2011 @ 12:34 am | delete
    Lucky, I don't know. Harmless, certainly. As long as the family pets or kids don't try to get at them, yours should be safe and Steph will earn his/her keep in bug eating. Thanks for sharing, Christine!
  • jackiebolen Feb 27, 2011 @ 9:35 pm | delete
    A well-deserved purple star!
  • JHFSEO Feb 28, 2011 @ 8:04 am | delete
    Thanks, Jackie!
  • jackiebolen Feb 27, 2011 @ 9:35 pm | delete
    A well-deserved purple star!
  • fashionality Feb 19, 2011 @ 3:11 pm | delete
    Super scary!
  • vallain Feb 14, 2011 @ 7:58 am | delete
    How did you get interested in spiders? Tell us a little more about you (in relationship to spiders).
  • JHFSEO Apr 5, 2011 @ 12:37 am | delete
    Spiders are fascinating. They get a lot of abuse socially due to being rather scary, but the vast majority are harmless to us, and helpful in keeping down the bug population. Even the dangerous ones are rarely in direct contact with us, but being educated is important, so I'm happy to educate and share my love for freaky eight-legged friends.
  • vallain May 14, 2011 @ 6:47 pm | delete
    I'm back to give this lens an angel blessing. It will be featured on The Best Insect Pages on Squidoo.
  • JHFSEO May 14, 2011 @ 9:08 pm | delete
    Hooray, thanks Val!
  • eacmacro Jan 13, 2011 @ 11:31 am | delete
    Seems that understanding something has a lot of power. I have always been interested in exotic wildlife, and spiders tops the fascination. So, what did I do on my 13 birthday when I arrive home I arrive home to find a chilean rose sitting on the dining room table (outside of her container, mind you)? Given that this was my virgin encounter with this animal that was pretty much larger than my hand, and that my father said, "Get that thing off my table", I had no choice but to shoo her into my hand. Later, she could be seen roosting on my head. Those were the days
  • JHFSEO Apr 5, 2011 @ 12:40 am | delete
    That's a big beautiful spider you have there. Plenty of people have spiders as pets and they are quite content to crawl on you and just hang out. Plenty of pet stores have them, so people should be more used to them and open minded. I'm glad you could enjoy yours, and if memory serves they can live to be 10-15 years old. It's like owning a cat or dog, but you can keep them in a terrarium!

    Thanks for sharing!
  • stuhaynes Jan 3, 2011 @ 6:05 am | delete
    Really interesting well written lens with lots of content. I don't particularly like large spiders, but this was quite fascinating. Excellent
  • hotweb Jan 1, 2011 @ 8:04 am | delete
    Spiders - Shudder the thought of meeting one that's bigger than 1 inch across
  • jennynazak Dec 16, 2010 @ 4:46 pm | delete
    Spiders are amazing! I particularly love the stats and pics of giant spiders. A foot across - wow! Not that I'd want to meet one in the wild unexpectedly while walking barefoot, but it would be really cool to observe one in its habitat. I have to admire a creature that can keep track of eight legs!
  • QuestForHozro Nov 4, 2010 @ 10:05 pm | delete
    This is just too freaky!!
  • JHFSEO Oct 17, 2010 @ 6:46 pm | delete
    No, but you do have widows and that's bad enough, recluses too I think. Watch your woodpiles and dark corners. Thanks for coming by, OhMe, and I will lensroll you back. Cheers!
  • OhMe Oct 17, 2010 @ 5:17 pm | delete
    Wow, I am glad that we don't have the Heteropoda Maxima in the Southern USA. We do have Writing Spiders so I am lensrolling this to my lens about them.
  • Oct 6, 2010 @ 3:37 am | delete
    I live in Tasmania, Australia and the creepy things are everywhere. They not only run really fast, often right at you, they lose their grip on walls and ceilings and fall on your head. I know they're harmless, but when a big hairy spider falls on my head all rational thought disappears and I turn into a big girlie screamer
  • JHFSEO Oct 6, 2010 @ 11:13 am | delete
    Thanks for visiting, Grace!

    It's bad enough when they're being creepy-crawly, but when they're clumsy too, that doesn't inspire confidence in the spiders, or security in being spider-free on any given day. Living in Australia, where it seems like everything but the roos and koalas are venomous, it seems like you have other spiders to worry about, too. Maybe the huntsmen keep the widows, orb weavers and other nasties away. Brr! Now I have to sleep with a stick tonight.

    Protip: Falsetto screaming has no effect on spiders. My extensive study will be published next month in Hysterical Bug Reactions Quarterly.
  • Ramkitten Sep 22, 2010 @ 11:41 pm | delete
    Oooo, this gave me the heebie-geebies. I've gotten a LITTLE used to big, hairy spiders, since I've seen a fair share of terantulas in the past seven years that I've lived in Arizona, but I still would never be able to hold one in my hand. *shiver* While I was in Nepal recently, I opened the door to a bathroom, and the biggest spider I've ever seen fell (or jumped) from the ceiling to the floor, and it made a big *plop!* sound when it did. Needless to say, I didn't go it. Ugh!
  • fanfreluche Sep 14, 2010 @ 1:34 pm | delete
    I hate spiders, but for some strange reason I am reading books about them, watch documentary about them and now read lens about them. Still scared. But this spider it is the first time I read about it.
  • JHFSEO Sep 14, 2010 @ 2:27 pm | delete
    Thanks for stopping by! I would add watching Arachnophobia to the mix. It features (alot of) them and is an entertaining flick besides. Always gives me the creepy crawlies but I come back for more.

    These guys are worth talking about because they're basically harmless and, among the myriad varieties of spiders, fascinating. Still they can be super creepy and sneaky, even for spiders.

    Cheers!
  • Robert, rccolaone@gmail.com Aug 30, 2010 @ 12:53 am | delete
    Help! This is driving me crazy. In Viet Nam there is a giant spider that makes webs between trees. These webs can be-10 ft by 10-ft. The spider is very large--leg span can be 15-in by 18-in. They are black with red or orange spots, with white rings around the spots. I saw them in rubber plantations in 1970. I'm trying to find pictures of this spider. Can anybody help me?
  • JHFSEO Aug 30, 2010 @ 1:58 am | delete
    Wow, no idea on that guy. If he's building between trees it could be an orb weaver. Black widows do get orange-red spots on their back as well, but don't usually grow that big (in the U.S.)

    Try http://www.spideridentification.org/forums/. They are very helpful and knowledgeable there.
  • Apr 1, 2010 @ 2:25 pm | delete
    This lens is awesome. I love it. I am going to tell my editors on my Thai News website to write something about this lens and probably feature it.

    I will comment here again once we do.

    Great Work
  • JHFSEO Nov 12, 2009 @ 7:36 am | in reply to victor | delete
    Well, I'm glad yours is not aggressive. Try crickets as food, they're more likely to be what the huntsman would find in the wild (moths would be too hard to catch).

    Good luck.
  • victor Nov 12, 2009 @ 3:31 am | delete
    lier lier and lier! they r not agressive cuz i found one in front of my school, i pet it, i pick the spider up everyday, and never bite me before

    i just wanna know how can i make a habita for her, her aquarium is about 32cm length, 22cm heigh and 18 depth (deep)

    the tank have dry soil, a a cork bark cave that i got in the pet shop, 2 stick
    pls e-mail me victorhugomuzi@gmail.com because i wanna know how to look after it, and i feed it with my moths, but the spider doesnt eat it i dont know y!
  • Cory Oct 3, 2009 @ 2:42 am | delete
    I used to get these in my old rent house during the winter and fall here in Louisiana.They are extremely fast and good at hiding.I found that they can get quite aggressive if stuck in your house for extended periods of time.I had one for two months and could never catch it because it would retreat under my kitchen sink.As it lost weight from not having enough insects it became more irritable.I finally caught it and released it in a field.I think they are really cool but I find it hard to sleep when there is a giant hungry spider roaming my house and I got bit by one once and yes you do get a mild fever and heightened pulse rate.
  • UH Student Aug 26, 2009 @ 7:35 am | delete
    I just rescued a bunch of other girls from one of these in our bathroom. It's a female with an egg sack underneath and right now she is sitting in my ziplock container with her babies hatching like mad. I kid you not there must be about 50 or so in there and when I caught her there were none in the jar. I live on the campus here and we have a ton of various creepy crawlies such as cockroaches and centipedes but this takes the cake.
  • merri Aug 6, 2009 @ 5:54 pm | delete
    when i lived in hawaii i saw 2 giant spiders. 1 was straddling a corner in somebody's room and the other was under a guys car and you could see the legs poking out from behind both front tires. what was that? its body was about the size of a dinner plate and it's legs were looooong!
  • Aussie Bob Jul 1, 2009 @ 2:11 am | delete
    If your keen to keep spiders out of the house the best remedy is chooks. A flock of chickens will mop up any critter big enough to eat within a 1 mile radius. Just be sure and roost them away from the house if you have a snake problem as well.
  • JHFSEO Jun 7, 2009 @ 1:07 am | in reply to Shea | delete
    I don't know of a good cane spider repellent offhand, and I've heard that they seem to be fairly resilient to Raid and other bug poisons. I would definitely talk to an exterminator on the island as they might have just the stuff to keep your house spider free. Look on the bright side though, they are harmless, and should keep down the roach/bug population.
  • Shea Jun 6, 2009 @ 7:36 pm | delete
    HI, I live in Maui Hawaii ad as we call these little creepy crawleys Cane Spiders. I've been seeing them inside and out sde of my home and I have to admit Im definantly not a spider person.So I was wondering if you knew of anything other than me calling an exterminator that I could spray outside and inside of my home so I dont see them in my or my kids rooms anymore.If you have any remedies or suggestions I could do myself that you know these types of spiders dont like and could do that wouldnt have to include allot of $ and an extermnator I would be sooo greatfull. Much Mahalo!

    Desprate, Sheana
  • Tammy May 23, 2009 @ 3:19 pm | delete
    We just found one of these on my daughter's ceiling.
    Yuck!
  • aj2008 May 17, 2009 @ 8:46 am | delete
    Spiders dont worry me but I am glad that the UK Huntsman spider is not as big as the ones on this lens!
  • Oosquid Apr 25, 2009 @ 9:46 am | delete
    Wow! That's some spider. Harmless or not, I'm glad we don't have them around here, at least I've never seen one. 5 stars.
  • JHFSEO Jan 2, 2009 @ 7:52 am | in reply to Gremlin | delete
    Thanks for sharing, Gremlin. I figured you'd see more in the winter and after a rain, but good to know. I'd love to hear some of your stories and post some of your pictures!
  • Gremlin Dec 31, 2008 @ 6:01 pm | delete
    I get regular visits by huntsman spiders. Here's a bit of what I have learnt. In the warmer months I'll get visited at least 2 or 3 times a week - always at night. In the colder months sometimes I can go a week without seeing one. Oh and I never see them after heavy rain. I have many freaky stories! Anyway, being that it is my house and not a spider hotel, I have declared war.
  • JHFSEO Dec 28, 2008 @ 11:04 am | in reply to Danny | delete
    Danny, the huntsmen in your room shouldn't be a threat to you, but I would be creeped out by that many, too. As you find them, you could probably relocate them somewhere else, like a shed or just outside and they will find a new home (if not come back inside).

    If you're finding eggs, you may want to contact someone locally who studies spiders, insects and the like and have them removed. If they aren't huntsmen, they could be eggs for something more dangerous, and you don't want to wait to see what they are!

    The other option is to call an exterminator, which is unfair to the spiders, but it's your house and something has to give. Call people who study bugs first, and call the exterminator as a last resort.
  • Danny Dec 28, 2008 @ 1:02 am | delete
    Hi ummm.... we have about 100 tiny baby huntsman in our house and i am so scared that sometimes i actually have to sleep in my brothers room as they are always in my room!

    the worst part is that there is loads of little black balls in the bathroom but we dont know wether they are huntsman eggs or not !!!!!!! what should i do plz help!!!!!....ummm thanks danny
  • tdove Dec 16, 2008 @ 5:15 pm | delete
    Thanks for joining G Rated Lense Factory!
  • Max_Normal Apr 1, 2010 @ 8:35 am | delete
    Some people are suggesting that we get these in the UK or Westerm Europe. We do not at all. occassionally the grass spider or nursery spider is wrongly referred to as huntsman. We do have very common fairly large house spiders in the south of England (tegenaria) which grow up to 5" leg span, but these are unrelated.

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JHFSEO

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