# Giant house spider! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 1, 2011, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-house-spider/594826 "2011-09-01T04:08:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2011, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-house-spider/594826/21 "2011-09-02T06:17:28Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > It’s just what they’re called. I guess they’re giant compared to other house spiders. They can get quite a bit larger than the one in your picture. Leg spans of over three inches. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2011, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-house-spider/594826/22 "2011-09-02T06:31:34Z")
Why oh WHY must I always look??? ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2011, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-house-spider/594826/23 "2011-09-02T06:43:42Z")
\*\* checks floor, puts feet up on chair rungs \*\* \*\* SHUDDER \*\* ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2011, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-house-spider/594826/24 "2011-09-02T14:53:42Z")
[News anchor taunts meteorologist with spider](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDcjkZxWPtY) ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2011, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-house-spider/594826/25 "2011-09-02T18:08:22Z")
Yes, the Giant House Spiders are fast! Really impressive for a crawling spider. We have them where I work and walking into a dark room then turning on the light and watching them run, sprint, for cover is amazing. From the Wiki: > **[Giant house spider](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_house_spider)** > > The giant house spider has been treated as either one species, under the name Eratigena atrica, or as three species, E. atrica, E. duellica and E. saeva. As of April 2020\[update\], the three species view was accepted by the World Spider Catalog. They are among the largest spiders of Central and Northern Europe. They were previously placed in the genus Tegenaria. In 2013, they were moved to the new genus Eratigena as the single species Eratigena atrica. In 2018, the three separate species were r > [@](#): > > 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.[1] In August and September they and many other spiders in the US are “looking for love in all the wrong places”, spider mating season. ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2011, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-house-spider/594826/26 "2011-09-02T20:56:01Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > [News anchor taunts meteorologist with spider](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDcjkZxWPtY) DAMN! I was just coming in here to post that! ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2011, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-house-spider/594826/27 "2011-09-02T21:06:21Z")
From your Wiki cite - > [@](#): > > 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 properly. Now\* that’s\* reassuring. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Scubaqueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@Scubaqueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scubaqueen)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2011, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-house-spider/594826/28 "2011-09-03T02:05:21Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > [News anchor taunts meteorologist with spider](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDcjkZxWPtY) OMFG!!! that’s the indianapolis fox affiliate. i LIVE here. i watch this channel in the morning before work. how the HELL did i miss this??? it was \*\*this \*\ ***week** , for crying out loud… ROTFLMAO!!! ray, you are my new hero because ganote and o’brien just simply deserve to be tormented!!! LMAO all over again!!! ---
**Author:** ![BaneSidhe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c5a1d2/32.png) [@BaneSidhe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaneSidhe)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2011, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-house-spider/594826/29 "2011-09-03T04:29:35Z")
I rescued one of these types of spiders tonight from the hallway that goes past the laundry room of our house. I would have taken pictures before setting the spider free but it was slamming itself up against the drinking glass I had it in, and I wasn’t about to annoy the spider any further! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2011, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-house-spider/594826/30 "2011-09-03T15:17:12Z")
Back on the friggin’ spiders again, eh, **Johnny**? Haven’t you got enough hobbies that DON’T include the most revolting, disgusting, creepy organisms known to mankind? ETA: 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2011, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-house-spider/594826/31 "2011-09-03T15:19:46Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > the most revolting, disgusting, creepy organisms known to mankind? [Lenny & Squiggy] Hello! [/L&S] ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-house-spider/594826/32 "2011-09-04T04:05:24Z")
As much anxiety and of all the phobias I suffer, I love spiders. They are graceful and generally rather intelligent. I’ve even been bitten by a recluse and I still find myself admiring them up close without the least bit of fear. I love those fat jumping spiders we get around here. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-house-spider/594826/33 "2011-09-04T04:17:02Z")
> [@Rushgeekgirl](#): > > They are graceful and generally rather intelligent. This one reminded me of [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TloAaokveM#t=3m15s). 😃 It was running at full speed and hit an obstacle. (I heard the impact.) Then it was like, ‘Duuuuuhhhh. What now?’ It was quite easy to catch her while she tried to figure it out. ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-house-spider/594826/34 "2011-09-04T04:38:40Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > [Lenny & Squiggy] > > Hello! > > [/L&S] Damn, man. This may be the shortest funniest post in the history of the board. I’ve been giggling like Anderson Cooper for the last five minutes and trying not to wake anybody up. And nobody under the age of about 35 is going to get the joke. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-house-spider/594826/35 "2011-09-04T19:32:48Z")
We had a female dark fishing spider in the barn a couple months ago that had a legspan of 97 mm. I photographed it on the wood siding, then later tacked a machinist’s rule to the same spot and photographed that, then imported both into a CAD package and traced knots and splinters in the wood to transfer the size. 97 mm. Nearly four inches. And this is between Philadelphia and Washington. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-house-spider/594826/36 "2011-09-04T20:03:56Z")
> [@jasonh300](#): > > [http://www.flickr.com/photos/64670843@N05/6104938580/](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. That egg sac could result in about 100 more spiders. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-house-spider/594826/37 "2011-09-04T20:10:26Z")
For all the wonderful things that spiders do, I figure they can do it someplace OTHER THAN MY HOUSE. If I see a spider in my house, it’s gonna die. Period. Thank you very much. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-house-spider/594826/38 "2011-09-04T20:43:00Z")
> [@VOW](#): > > For all the wonderful things that spiders do, I figure they can do it someplace OTHER THAN MY HOUSE. That’s why I have the penalty jar. Caught inside, go to the penalty jar! ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-house-spider/594826/39 "2011-09-04T23:05:18Z")
I use a penalty shoe. Get caught inside, get squished with the penalty shoe. Except for many of the ones in this thread…they would get the penalty flamethrower. ---
**Author:** ![VitrolicBump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a587f6/32.png) [@VitrolicBump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VitrolicBump)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-house-spider/594826/40 "2011-09-04T23:17:18Z")
> [@Hal\_Briston](#): > > I use a penalty shoe. Get caught inside, get squished with the penalty shoe. > > Except for many of the ones in this thread…they would get the penalty flamethrower. I agree with you here. They need to learn that crawling all over me, surprising me in bed and taking a shower with me is NOT ok. Unfortunately, they haven’t learned yet. :rolleyes: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-house-spider/594826.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-house-spider/594826.md?page=3)