She was really fast. I’ll try to get a picture with my crappy camera. In the meantime…
Yeah, I’m about to go to bed and would rather not have horrible nightmares…
Hey! Get back in there, you nut!
Roomie thinks I’m having entirely too much fun. She’s covered the poor thing with a dish towel. I guess I’d better let it go outside.
AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I clicked.
OMG…if you were around I would poke you in the eyes. BAD Johnny. BAD. Creepy crawly feelings. 
Oh, dear…
That seems a normal size spider. I tried putting on my shoe once and a thing like that had crawled inside and hid in the toe.
(And in saying this I am sure those who live in Africa or South America will come back with stories of huge spiders).
Pfft. We grow 'em pretty big in London, too. 
It’s just what they’re called. I guess they’re giant compared to other house spiders.
No spider lives in this home long. I have seen Arachnaphobia 
looks like Boris.
I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: I’m never moving to a place where they’re commonly called “giant” house spiders. The Pacific Northwest is pretty, but definitely not for me.
Ew.
Don’t you have some pretty freakin’ giant spiders in Australia?
Yep, we don’t breed venomous spiders over in the UK but by heck we breed 'em fast.
Those buggers can run!
And I see from wikipedia that we’ve managed to transport them over to the US as well, hah! that’ll teach you for the Colorado beetle and…and…and…Paris Hilton.
Virtually all spiders are venomous, but very few are harmful to humans.
They sure can run! The fastest true spider, apparently. There was one last year I had to come back for, since it got away the first time. The one last night was particularly active. It didn’t like being cooped up in the penalty jar at all! I was concerned it wouldn’t stay in the baking dish long enough for me to get a picture. Indeed, it got out a few times and I had to put it back in. Photographing restless spiders is hard, especially when you have a ‘snapshot’ camera.
from time to time, the superkitties have occasion to cross paths with them at casa scubaqueen.
i generally try to intervene and get the spider to the great outdoors if possible. if i don’t, i get the fun of scraping up the remains after they’ve tortured the poor thing into its grave.
spiders don’t bother me and i’ll often leave them to themselves if they’re out of reach of the kitties (except for brown recluses. those i’ll reduce to a greasy spot in a nanosecond). they reduce any bug issues inside the house to a non-issue.
however, if we’re talking bugs - and more importantly - bees, NOW there’s a problem. you know that scene in the second indiana jones movie where the blonde gets all those bugs on her?? :eek::eek::eek: i had to leave the theater until that scene was over. it’s a wonder i didn’t run screaming up the aisle. 
Scuba, I actually like bees…as long as they aren’t africanized. I’m not allergic so that may be one reason. Another is that I know they aren’t harmful to me and the environment (for the most part). I have been stung but only once. Spiders…they just freak me out, with their eight parts and some are hairy, scuttling butts and relentless stalking. Bees don’t do that to me. Well, they sometimes land on me, but fly away. There is a respect between us. 
Preach it, VB. My dad’s got hisself a fear of bees, while I’ve got mine of spiders. One time, Dad asked me if I could help him get a wasp’s nest out of the scoop of his tractor, and I was all “No problem!” Grabbed me a broom and off we went, me dealing with the nest (it was empty) and Dad keeping his distance.
He kills spiders for me, I get bees for him. It works.
We don’t get bees in the house. I’ve had a couple of wasps on occasion. Spiders can be quick, but they tend to stop. They’re easy to catch. Wasps are slow, and can be dispatched readily. What I don’t like are the moths the size of that spider. They’re spastic. They won’t sit still. They fly in your face, and bounce off the inside of the hanging lamp. It’s a chore to catch them. I catch them in the penalty jar and take them outside. They’d be too messy to squash.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/64670843@N05/6104938580/
My son saw this crawling across the kitchen floor last weekend. It was about the size of a tennis ball and appeared to be carrying some sort of egg sac.