Any Spider Experts?

[jasreeve17]

Hello,

The last couple of days I've had a new visitor in my Bangkok apartment.

I really don't like insects or spiders, and this spider tends to block my path to the shower, at about 6am, each morning. Then it hides just inside the wardrobe when I come out of the shower and try to get a shirt out.

(I don't like waking the missus up with my screams...)

I know that it's an awful photo, (I'm not keen to get too close with my mobile phone) but does anybody know what it is?

After an internet check, I think that it's a huntsman (cane spider). If that's the case then I'll leave it alone and let it stay. I've already got a gecko and between them they should keep the bugs away.

Any thoughts would be welcome.

Thanks, Jason

[guardian]

That does look like a hunstman spider like you mentioned. Just have a look at post #17 and see whether the spider in the second picture looks similar to yours. Hope this helps

[jasreeve17]

Guardian,

Thanks for your reply.

To answer you, I'm not too sure... but they look similar. I will try to get another picture tomorrow morning - a better one.

Day 1 - I was too worried to get close, then it raced very quickly into the wardrobe.

Day 2 (today) - I got a bit braver, and closer. I took the above photo, and the spider seemed a bit more relaxed.

Day 3 - I'm going for it; a close up with my new buddy! (I hope that it's not an extra aggressive jumping wolf spider, in a bad mood.)

Thanks, Jason

[jasreeve17]

Boris was blocking my way to the shower again this morning, and I managed to get a slightly better photo before he rushed off (he's pretty quick).

- I think he looks like a harmless (and maybe useful) huntsman spider, but I'm no expert. Does anyone know?

Thanks, Jason

[Jamie]

Difficult to tell from the picture, but it looks like it could be a brown huntsman. Is there any coloration on it? I'm not a fan of spiders, so I would have killed it, or had someone do it for me. You are a braver person than I for having such a house guest.

[jasreeve17]

Difficult to tell from the picture, but it looks like it could be a brown huntsman. Is there any coloration on it? I'm not a fan of spiders, so I would have killed it, or had someone do it for me. You are a braver person than I for having such a house guest.

I'll check the colour out properly tomorrow morning.

If Boris keeps his distance, and I get to know his routine then I'd be happy to let him stay. My worry is that he'll hide in my shoe, or wake me up by running accross my face, or surprise me by hiding under the soap...

[Jet Gorgon]

Body looks big for a hunstman. Is the body gray and puffy, Jas?

Had many in Thai bathrooms and they never harmed me. I let them live next to the shower and they left me alone. Good bugmeisters. And good karma too, I expect.

I remember an English tourist lad who refused to use the toilet in a friend's bar because of a "huge" spider in there. I went to do my duty, and found a long-legged baby (three inches in diameter?) on the wall; small body with skull and crossbone type image on the body. Fascinated me, and he/she only had five legs. Stayed on the wall five inches from my nose the whole time I squatted to do my biz.

Not as shocking as having two quarrelling geckos fall from the roof onto your head.

[sbk]

We had a giant spider in our bathroom, some kind of hunting spider as well as it jumped on and ate a big cockroach. That big guy was welcome in my bathroom.

[jasreeve17]

Body looks big for a hunstman. Is the body gray and puffy, Jas?

Had many in Thai bathrooms and they never harmed me. I let them live next to the shower and they left me alone. Good bugmeisters. And good karma too, I expect.

I remember an English tourist lad who refused to use the toilet in a friend's bar because of a "huge" spider in there. I went to do my duty, and found a long-legged baby (three inches in diameter?) on the wall; small body with skull and crossbone type image on the body. Fascinated me, and he/she only had five legs. Stayed on the wall five inches from my nose the whole time I squatted to do my biz.

Not as shocking as having two quarrelling geckos fall from the roof onto your head.

Hi Jet,

I'll try to get closer and improve my picture tomorrow morning - I know where Boris will be (I suspect that he's a bit of a voyeur, as he likes to watch me in the shower...) I will specifically check out the colours. I'm usually tired and slitty eyed at 6am, thus I've not been able to clearly see the colours. If I turn the light on I get assaulted by my sleeping beauty...

Jason

[jasreeve17]

We had a giant spider in our bathroom, some kind of hunting spider as well as it jumped on and ate a big cockroach. That big guy was welcome in my bathroom.

I'm thinking much the same. After a glut of cockroaches at the weekend, I've not seen any in the last three days!

I just don't want to get a shock from the spider... ( Boris sleeping in my underpant draw, is a worry)

[leisurely]

Spider in pants drawer a worry ? You should try putting a pair of knickers on that you've just taken off the line and wondering what that bobbly feeling is. Answer, around 20 gekko eggs in the gusset . I was seriously concerned that a stray egg may have found a route up my wizzway and I would be hatching a gek. I have never spent so long with the shower attatchement pointed up there before

[Gary A]

We had a big spider in the bathroom too. The first time I saw him I must have surprised him because he jumped about 6 inches straight up in the air and then ran under the washing machine. The next time I saw him I called my wife to have a look. She told me that if I didn't bother him he wouldn't bother me. She said that SURE he can bite but he is not poisonous. I hate mosquitos and flies but I'm not fond of spiders either. I did get used to him so I let him alone. Took gaes are NOT allowed in the house because they leave BIG turds. My wife catches them bare handed and throws them outside. One took gae managed to sneak in and the next day the spider only had seven legs. After that day I never saw the spider again. A day or so after that I had to lift the microwave so my wife could catch the too gae to throw him outside. I did surf the Internet and I'm pretty sure he was a huntsman.

[chonabot]

As a Spider enthusiast for the last 25 years [ sad I know..]

I can confirm that this is a type of huntsman spider{ family name Sparassidae (formerly Heteropodidae) }

But huntsman is a generic term for the particular body shape ( crab like ) just as Tarantula decribes any hairy spider with fixed fangs.

Huntsman spiders are to be found on every continent in different guises.

No Huntsmen spiders are particularly venomous and you should not worry about this big chap [ The most venomous sp. is teh Badge Huntsman found in OZ.

They will always flee rather than stand and confront you, all spiders have terrible eyesight to boot.

[Jet Gorgon]

I like all of them, spiders, lizards, geckos, toukays, myna birdies. OK, not a fan of skitters or cockroaches, but they don't like me either. Touks do leave big doo, but it's always in one spot. Put a piece of newspaper there. Touks have sweet faces and big dreamy eyes.

[jasreeve17]

As a Spider enthusiast for the last 25 years [ sad I know..]

I can confirm that this is a type of huntsman spider{ family name Sparassidae (formerly Heteropodidae) }

But huntsman is a generic term for the particular body shape ( crab like ) just as Tarantula decribes any hairy spider with fixed fangs.

Huntsman spiders are to be found on every continent in different guises.

No Huntsmen spiders are particularly venomous and you should not worry about this big chap [ The most venomous sp. is teh Badge Huntsman found in OZ.

They will always flee rather than stand and confront you, all spiders have terrible eyesight to boot.

Thanks for that Chonabot.

Now that I know he won't kill me, he can stay rent free, and we'll try to become friends. If I get a better picture (him sitting on my hand eating a dead roach, or my missus's mother?) then I'll post it here.

Jason

[jasreeve17]

Spider in pants drawer a worry ? You should try putting a pair of knickers on that you've just taken off the line and wondering what that bobbly feeling is. Answer, around 20 gekko eggs in the gusset . I was seriously concerned that a stray egg may have found a route up my wizzway and I would be hatching a gek. I have never spent so long with the shower attatchement pointed up there before

Leisurely, what can I say. - I'm both scared by, and aroused by, your post! Please stop it...

[raro]

...as we're talking about it....was sitting on the sh1tter this morning and when I flushed, a huntsman spider - about 5 cm diameter - jumped out of the toilet bowl...so much about my day...

The other huntsman spider we recently had I thought was taken out by the cat...until I saw it limping around on three legs the other day. The wife is still trying to convince me that they bring good luck. Still waiting for confirmation...

[jasreeve17]

...as we're talking about it....was sitting on the sh1tter this morning and when I flushed, a huntsman spider - about 5 cm diameter - jumped out of the toilet bowl...so much about my day...

The other huntsman spider we recently had I thought was taken out by the cat...until I saw it limping around on three legs the other day. The wife is still trying to convince me that they bring good luck. Still waiting for confirmation...

[Simoo]

its definitely a huntsman spider.

they were used in the movie 'arachnophobia', probably because they are scary looking but are very harmless. i use to catch and keep them as pets when i was a kid. they can bite but it only hurts like a bee sting.

even now im still tempted to buy one of the many varieties of spiders from around the world u can buy as pets in JJ market.

[Phil Conners]

they can bite but it only hurts like a bee sting.

"only"? Isn't that bad enough? Bee sting hurts like hel_l!