# I wonder where the spider is? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 5, 2011, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-where-the-spider-is/577303 "2011-04-05T18:41:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [April 5, 2011, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-where-the-spider-is/577303/1 "2011-04-05T18:41:07Z")
Roomie said she saw a ‘gigantic’ spider in the bathroom yesterday. I asked her how big, and she indicated something a little smaller than a dinner plate. I suspect in reality it might have been a couple of inches. I said, ‘Ah! Giant house spider.’ I had a look round and didn’t find it. At least it wasn’t on the overhead anymore, where it could have pounced on her. Since I didn’t find it, she felt it was safe to use the toilet. And that’s when and where the spider appeared! No, just kidding. She’s not one of those people who screams when she finds a spider. Unless it’s a black widow, which she hates, and which do not live up here (IME). Since she knows I don’t like killing spiders, and take them outside (which will probably kill them, but at least they have a chance), she’ll ask me to catch them for her. I assured her that giant house spiders are said to eat hobo spiders (which I’ve never knowingly seen), so they’re good to have around. Still, I wonder where the little darling got to. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-where-the-spider-is/577303/2 "2011-04-05T18:48:47Z")
Check the water spout. ---
**Author:** ![dawson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@dawson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dawson)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-where-the-spider-is/577303/3 "2011-04-05T18:50:54Z")
On Broadway? ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-where-the-spider-is/577303/4 "2011-04-05T19:00:30Z")
It was a lovely little spider, And it went wherever I did go. ---
**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:** [April 5, 2011, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-where-the-spider-is/577303/5 "2011-04-05T19:02:32Z")
That sounds a bit fishy, **Sicks Ate**. ---
**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:** [April 5, 2011, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-where-the-spider-is/577303/6 "2011-04-05T19:45:50Z")
I can tell you as a spider hater, the difference between a spider a couple of inches and as big as a dinner plate is purely academic. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Gedd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gedd/32/4938_2.png) [@Gedd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gedd)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-where-the-spider-is/577303/7 "2011-04-05T20:12:44Z")
Tell your roomie she probably ate it in her sleep. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-where-the-spider-is/577303/8 "2011-04-05T20:14:24Z")
> [@Gedd](#): > > Tell your roomie she probably ate it in her sleep. Yeah, it was one of the four spiders a month or however many it is that you’re supposed to swallow in your sleep. ---
**Author:** ![Al\_Bundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@Al\_Bundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al_Bundy)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-where-the-spider-is/577303/9 "2011-04-05T20:18:44Z")
It was probably what we call a daddy-long-legs. The weight and mass of a spider has to be very tiny. They can disappear into a crack. When I find one stuck in the tub, I help it out with a piece of paper. I don’t care where it goes after that. ---
**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:** [April 5, 2011, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-where-the-spider-is/577303/10 "2011-04-05T20:25:37Z")
While we do have large numbers of daddy long-legs in the area (mostly the spider, I’ve only seen a couple of harvestmen in the region in over seven years), I doubt it was one. I don’t think she’d give a second thought to one of those, and she’d be able to readily identify it. The only large spiders I’ve seen up here, aside from large daddy long-legs, are the giant house spiders. They normally stay low, but I’ve seen them above my head on a few occasions. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-where-the-spider-is/577303/11 "2011-04-05T20:27:44Z")
Good god. I’m never living in an area where the common name of a spider is “the \*giant \*house spider.” I’m sure the Seattle area is very nice. I’m never living there. Indeed, this is why I live in Minnesota. The winter sucks, to be sure, but it keeps the size of the spiders down. We still have big ones around, but they’re not commonly found in our houses. Ewww. ---
**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:** [April 5, 2011, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-where-the-spider-is/577303/12 "2011-04-05T20:28:25Z")
You keep saying “giant house spider” in a normal conversational tone, instead of shrieking it appropriately - “AAAAAAH! GIANT HOUSE SPIDER!!!11!!!” ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-where-the-spider-is/577303/13 "2011-04-05T20:30:07Z")
What? There really is such a thing as a “giant house spider”?? ::looks around nervously:: ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-where-the-spider-is/577303/14 "2011-04-05T20:39:02Z")
Yes, but if you’re a giant, they’re known as tiny house spiders. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-where-the-spider-is/577303/15 "2011-04-05T20:42:43Z")
Hey, it is probably on the ceiling. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/2wQFwvFX2hg/maxresdefault.jpg ""Spider on the Ceiling" (6-minute short film)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wQFwvFX2hg) 😃 ---
**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:** [April 5, 2011, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-where-the-spider-is/577303/16 "2011-04-05T20:44:20Z")
> [@Snickers](#): > > Good god. I’m never living in an area where the common name of a spider is “the \*giant \*house spider.” > [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > You keep saying “giant house spider” in a normal conversational tone, instead of shrieking it appropriately - “AAAAAAH! GIANT HOUSE SPIDER!!!11!!!” > [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > What? There really is such a thing as a “giant house spider”?? > > ::looks around nervously:: [Giant house spider](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_house_spider)🙂 ---
**Author:** ![FrancisCastle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b4bc9f/32.png) [@FrancisCastle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FrancisCastle)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-where-the-spider-is/577303/17 "2011-04-05T20:48:34Z")
So I had to google it to see what it looked like. If I had these spiders in my house, I would have to move!! :eek: (or I just could have followed the link, but I post slow) ---
**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:** [April 5, 2011, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-where-the-spider-is/577303/18 "2011-04-05T20:50:01Z")
> [@FrancisCastle](#): > > So I had to google it to see what it looked like. If I had these spiders in my house, I would have to move!! :eek: They’re not so bad. They’re not even particularly ‘giant’. I once had one crawl across my foot while I was brushing my teeth. He patiently waited until I finished, and I put him in the penalty jar to release later. ---
**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:** [April 5, 2011, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-where-the-spider-is/577303/19 "2011-04-05T21:45:04Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > [Giant house spider](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_house_spider)🙂 I’m guessing you live near Seattle. ---
**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:** [April 5, 2011, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-where-the-spider-is/577303/20 "2011-04-05T21:49:11Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > I’m guessing you live near Seattle. Closer to Vancouver, BC. Still in the States, though. 😉 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-where-the-spider-is/577303.md?page=2)