Wednesday, August 22, 2012

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!

Tonight  I was terrorized!  Let me start at the beginning. I have been kitty sitting for a friend while she was out of town. I give the kitties food, fresh water, scoop the litter box out,  give the outgoing kitty some lovin' and feed them each a few treats. I had sit down to watch television while eating a dinner when a movement caught my eye.  I instantly froze in terror!
It was a monster of a spider!!! I mean MONSTER!!!! I swear that at first glance he was 2 feet across and was grinning at me!   I HATE SPIDERS!!!

Fortunately I squelched my first reaction to toss anything and everything in sight at it in hopes to kill the creature while screaming bloody murder. My aim is not good and it was too close to the television to risk anything. Besides, this was not my home and I doubt that PL would like to come home and find her things broken and in disarray.
I whimpered and watched it walk up near the window.  I had hoped Chloe the cat would attack it, but my sounds must have scared her and she raced out of the room. Or maybe she is afraid of spiders, too, especially ginormous ones.

Knowing PL is a nature lover I knew she had no bug spray around and there was not a flyswatter in sight.  I thought that maybe if I could find a big enough jar I could place it over the spider and catch it if I did not faint first.  (I was too afraid to faint as I could then picture it crawling all over me!!)
Hunting through her kitchen, I kept one eye on the beast as I was afraid it would try to sneak up behind me and wrap me in spider silk to store me away for a long winters supply of food.  The idea of being sucked dry by a spider sent chills down my spine.
I finally found a mason jar with a lid!  Now anyone who knows how fearful I am of spiders will realize that this feat for me is like leaping out of a plane with no parachute! I whispered a prayer that this hairy, long-legged thing would not jump on me.
I steadied the jar and took aim, then SMACK! it was over the spider. He immediately ran up into the jar!
I was so thankful as I screwed the lid on! Once he was trapped I sat the jar down and started dancing around squealing --Ewwww! Ewww! Ewwww!
When I finally calmed down. I slowly moved closer and began to examine this creature.  When I placed a finger up against the glass, he jumped towards it like attacking! I jumped away, squeaked out a small scream and almost fell on my bottom. Gathering my courage up off of the floor and tucking it back inside me, I moved to the jar again.

I was able to examine this enormous arachnid. Suddenly I realized my camera was in the car, so I ran out to get it.  Focusing through the lens I forgot my fear and began taking photo's of him.  I took quite a few.  I kept wondering where I could send the photo's so someone could tell me what kind of spider it is.  Maybe it is a brand new species!  I think I read in the paper or saw in the news that some lady found an odd one while mowing her yard.I could name it the Roseicuras Ickious. 
When I sat down to relax again and finally eat, I kept feeling like there were other spiders creeping around the room, peering at me from behind furniture.  Chills crawled up my spine and shivers swept down my arms and legs. 
What was that? Every little sound made me jump.  i tried to focus on the television show but my imagination saw things crawling under the couch on which I sat.  I drew my feet up onto it.  The shadows from the weeds outside danced around the room and I kept thinking of other spiders skittering around.  After all, there are many eggs in a spiders egg sac, not just one.  There could be dozens of his brothers and sisters just waiting for the opportunity to tackle me, spin me up into silk and release their sibling to share the feast!!!
Time to go home!!!

29 comments:

  1. Oh Rose, I chortled and chuckled my way through this post. (before I forget great photos) We have a spider called a Huntsman (harmless but HUGE body and legs, verrry juicy) Many years ago when I wasn't quite into letting all creatures live, a huge specimen was on my wall, I was home alone, I was afraid, so I got the flyspray. BAD mistake, I did not know it had egg sac on board and it let it go and I swear with no exaggeration a thousand or at least a hundred tiny tiny babies spread out and down the wall, I was beside myself so vaccuumed them. What else could I do? Now days I would catch it (most likely in a jar) and release it to the garden!

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    1. OMG! I would have fainted! Sounds like a horror movie.

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  2. Tegenaria duellica adult female

    back to thumbnail images
    Common Name: European House Spider

    Scientific Name: Tegenaria sp.

    Family: Agelenidae (funnel web weavers)

    Three species of Tegenaria funnel web spiders may be encountered around Portland-area residences. These are the barn funnel weaver (Tegenaria domestica), the giant house spider (Tegenaria gigantia), and the hobo spider (Tegenaria agrestis).

    All of these spiders build funnel webs in dark, moist areas such as in woodpiles, under rocks, or in basements. Distinguishing among the three species can be difficult, and typically needs to be done with the aid of a microscope or hand lens.

    Size: These spiders vary greatly in size, with the giant house spider the largest of the three species (some are large enough that, from legtip to legtip, they would spread across the entire palm of your hand!).

    Behavior: Funnel web spiders sit in their sheet webs, often within the funnel portion, and wait for prey to enter their webs. The spiders that people most commonly encounter in their homes are adult males, wandering in search of females.

    When and Where to Find: Males are most commonly seen during July–September when they wander in search of females. Indoors, they are most frequently found in dimly lit areas such as in boxes, closets, and storage areas.

    Identification: All three of these spider species are medium brown with variably shaped lighter chevrons on the dorsal (upper) side of the abdomen. These species of funnel weaver spiders cannot readily be distinguished with the naked eye and require examination under magnification.

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    1. I think it must be that spider as the picture looks so much like it!

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  3. R.ickious is a great name and you are a very brave lady! Helen

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  4. Oh dear - poor you. Hope you let the spider go after a while. It's lovely - but BIG!

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    1. I left it for the owner of the home to release later that night.

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  5. I hope you can find out the name of this 8-legged horror. Pretty amazing he's so aggressive. Where is he now?
    Barb

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  6. I think this looks like the picture of the Aggressive House Spider. I'm putting the link here, but you can delete it after checking it out.

    http://www.angelfire.com/mo2/HolisticPM/spiderinfo.html

    Barb

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    1. I sure hope it is not that kind. It looks so much like the one Liz (above) to me about.

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  7. The spider got to be that big by eating all its brothers and sisters.

    You are a brave and wonderful woman! Excellent solution to an icky situation. And fabulous photos.

    I would have smacked it with a shoe while eeeeeking like a giant bat. Eeewwwww¡ You are braver than I.

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    1. I still cannot believe I caught it! When I think on it shivers run up my spine.

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  8. Shades of Shelob! My dad was an entomologist but spiders give me the creeps! You are one brave lady and I'm glad you escaped the spider's larder. eeeeeeeeeeeeeeek! Alice

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  9. Although I "felt" your pain, I have an affinity to the spiders and hoped you let it escape, rather than kill it. In the meantime, I'm battling the fleas my cats have introduced into our house.

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  10. You certainly got found by a big one! I have a great regard for spiders, but feel the same way you do when they invade my home. Once you got to study her awhile, I presume you freed her to the great outdoors?

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    1. I left it for Pat to release as she was coming home. And maybe now it will get Hallie to clean her room!

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  11. My daughter still tells the chilling tale of how one of these ginormous spiders crawled across the blankets on her bed ON HER BIRTHDAY. She was horrified and outraged by its timing.

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    1. You had another!!!??? UGH!! I would think she would want to clean her room out so as to get rid of any more lurking in the mess. Who knows how many may have crawled on her when she was asleep. Some people think it is a breed of hobo that does have bad bite. I do not want that encounter ever again!!

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  12. That looks like one nasty spider you have there. I think what you may have there is a Hobo spider. Google hobo spider and see if you don't agree. Hobo's have a very nasty bite; rots the flesh away. Yikes! Girl, don't you be messing around with them hobos.
    David L

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  13. That's not a spider, that's an alien of some sort!

    LOL at Patricia!

    Pearl

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  14. Awesome Rose! I too, dislike spiders and still cringe at the sight of one inside or out. I like the way you captured it in the jar and on camera. Great post! Thanks for visiting and enjoy the day. Pamela

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  15. I ahem, could have used a spidy alert before reading this, lol, it's the second horrifying post this morning...

    Good for you for not running out the door screaming, honestly I think I might have done that first.

    Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

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  16. Oh Rose, I hate spiders too! This one is a huge thing. If it's not too large I am brave enough to get at least 2, sometimes three layers of tissue; quickly grab and flush it down the toliet. Did that this morning in fact. If their big I have to get the vacuum and suck the baby up. EEK! Spiders are just creepy. Hate the thoughts of one crawling on me. So glad that you and your blood ran quickly home!
    Hugs,
    Jann

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  17. OMG that is a creepy big spider. Way bigger than the one we had recently trying to get in the door!

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  18. Wow, that's a huge spider. You weren't kidding, were you? Thanks for recounting your tale of bravery for us. :)

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  19. LOL, I think I would have reacted the same way! I don't "hate" spiders, but just don't come into my house!

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