Spiders!

[Intuit]

FWIW, the large and aggressive brown spiders that invade homes in the drylands of the PNW aren't looking for food.

They're newly adults that hatched in the spring and mature by late July.

They're looking for Spider Nookie.

[depravitea]

They're looking for Spider Nookie.

Yeah, well, they're definitely not allowed to do that in front of my son!
lol

[Victoria]

I have noticed more spiders this year too. I don't mind them so much downstairs, I'll usually let them be. Daddy long legs I always let be.
But anywhere near my bed and they have to go, one way or another,
gone.

I don't like spraying because of the cat. Who is no help by the way,
zero.

[JillDragon]

"but usually around August we get an invasion of these frickin' HUGE (we're talking bigger than 7 cm across) brown spiders. I don't know what species they are but they're big enough that when they bite it hurts. "

The common name for the species is the Aggressive Brown House Spider.

See Funnel-web spiders section in the information page below.
http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublications/ ... b1548.html

Latin name is: Tegenaria agrestis

This is the other spider genus that invades homes in the PNW in late Summer and Fall: Hololena. These are usually nonaggressive.

Other Funnel-Web Spiders.
You got a sizable spider that RUNS AT YOU in attack mode on the bathroom floor when you get up to take a leak in the middle of the night, that'll change your do-gooder mind about corralling one of these suckers to tote outdoors to safety.

*spider laughter sounds like really quiet chittering* Catch and release, yeah sure. They're right back indoors, same entry path they used in the first place by the next day. These are MOBILE, fast moving and sassy spiders.

*squint* A fed spider will still bite you or your baby, if you roll over on it while sleeping at night or pull on an article of clothing when one is inside an sleeve or pant leg.

They inflict a painful bite and it's NOT your typical nonaggressive domestic house spider found back East.

Looking at the pictures I'd say you're right and the ones I've been seeing are either the T. agrestis (they're called hobo spiders around here) or T. gigantica (or I could possibly be seeing both species since they're both found in this neck of the woods apparently). They move so bloody fast (I think it said somewhere that they're the world's fastest spider) that it's hard to get a good look at their markings.

[JillDragon]

FWIW, the large and aggressive brown spiders that invade homes in the drylands of the PNW aren't looking for food.

They're newly adults that hatched in the spring and mature by late July.

They're looking for Spider Nookie.

LOL!

[Riene]

I don't like spraying because of the cat. Who is no help by the way,
zero.

One of my cats eats spiders. Ewwww.

A Question For The Cat

why did you eat the spider?
did it really taste so good?
I'm not convinced that spiders
are a truly feline food
for their legs are long and prickly
they have way too many eyes
and the spider-breath they give you
is a really vile surprise

[brad4419]

I love spiders! These are my cute,cuddly, fuzzy tarantulas. Spiders are way less scary than people think, my house is not sealed well at all so all the time we get spiders inside and I can't remember ever being bitten in the house. I remember one time especially I was sleeping on the couch and woke up to find a 1 1/2 inch wolf spider sitting on my chest. This is where many people would freak out and get bit but I kept calm got up walked outside and shook her off in the grass, no problems. spiders are stupid, they don't think, they react.

The first pic is Becca, a 6 year old Brachypelma bohemi I believe to be female. I had a friend who was so arachnophobic until he worked up the courage to look at her. He couldn't believe how they just sit there and don't even try to escape when the cage is open.

second is unnamed even though Ive had him for 3yrs Rose-hair tarantula. He would'nt come out for his picture. Hes such a scardy spider.

[Intuit]

"spiders are stupid, they don't think, they react"

Probably right, but two episodes made me wonder.

The first concerned a small, delicately made and patterned jumping spider that lived among my plants in the Deep South (along with various geckos, with whom she played hide-n-seek).

I was working at home, reading journal articles on my back porch, seated on a stool. This tiny colorful spider sat on the white ledge of the sunny window close by. While looking up to think about an odd point made in one paper, my eyes focused on this tiny arachnid that looked oddly as though it were studying me. I shift position to one side, it turned to move with me, and then shuffled closer yet (now just a mere few feet from my face). I put down my papers, and raised a finger slowly and carefully towards the Jumper. I stopped just short of it, and the charming spider moved forward yet again put up a foreleg to touch my finger, many times its size. I waited, then pulled my hand back, and the spider moved again, to face me full on. I put my hand flat, palm up, and on level with the edge of the sill and waited. The spider turned from facing me to look at my open palm, shuffled close to look me in the face, as though trying to read intent, and then scampered onto my hand, sprightly moving around the surface, probably just checking me out, then moved back to the sill again, while I kept really sill.

Intelligent? Don't know. But it felt like intelligent action to me.

The other time, when when I ran into one of these aggressive house spiders in my bathroom, going about my business in the sleepy wee hours of the morning, before it became habit to look for them first. Movement caught my eye, when this spider came charging across the floor at my feet, a male with large palps, nasty looking. As I straightened up and raised my feet, ahhh, defensively, it abruptly stopped and froze in place, probably realizing I was much larger than it was and was in what must have been a threatening posture, too.

If ever a spider had an astonished "oh-oh" look on its face, this was it.

[Victoria]

Aww thanks Reine, cute poem!

I wish my cat would help out! But now,
lint on the floor, he'll eat that.

[LindenIsland]

Awwwwww, those tarantulas are so cute and fuzzy. :3

[Intuit]

The Mexican Redleg is quite the specimen. Your nameless Rose-hair isn't shy. Snooze time, mostly likely, as they're nocturnal hunters.

These spiders are as long-lived in captivity as cats (15-20 yrs). Whoa.

[sneakers]

They inflict a painful bite and it's NOT your typical nonaggressive domestic house spider found back East.

They eat MOSQUITOES!!! I'm in the aforementioned East, and in a customer's house I catch and release. In my own home, well, I live in a 6th floor apartment in a semi-urban area. They haven't yet learned to press the elevator buttons.

[Geekgirl]

They eat MOSQUITOES!!! I'm in the aforementioned East, and in a customer's house I catch and release.

This year, we ripped out our back deck, and quite a few T. gigantica made their way inside, which was beyond freaky. The business next door to my office is a pest control company, and I took one of the spiders in to be ID'd since I was unfamiliar with them.

The owner evidently loves spiders because he hates mosquitos, and he won't knock their webs down or kill them (although he will at a customer's house if they require him to do so.) Mainly he discourages people from spraying for spiders. Kind of interesting to hear him talk about it. One thing he pointed out is that if you have a healthy and varied population of spiders, you are unlikely to have much trouble with hobos or brown recluse, since the latter two are very territorial and tend to drive out other spiders as populations increase.

I don't know if that made me feel better or worse. Heh.

We have Black Widows around here, but they are uncommon and generally lethargic due to cooler temperatures.

[JillDragon]

I love spiders! These are my cute,cuddly, fuzzy tarantulas. Spiders are way less scary than people think, my house is not sealed well at all so all the time we get spiders inside and I can't remember ever being bitten in the house. I remember one time especially I was sleeping on the couch and woke up to find a 1 1/2 inch wolf spider sitting on my chest. This is where many people would freak out and get bit but I kept calm got up walked outside and shook her off in the grass, no problems. spiders are stupid, they don't think, they react.

The first pic is Becca, a 6 year old Brachypelma bohemi I believe to be female. I had a friend who was so arachnophobic until he worked up the courage to look at her. He couldn't believe how they just sit there and don't even try to escape when the cage is open.

second is unnamed even though Ive had him for 3yrs Rose-hair tarantula. He would'nt come out for his picture. Hes such a scardy spider.

Wow, they're pretty, especially the first one. I've always liked tarantulas for some reason.

[Chip]

Wow, great tarantulas Brad! And a female, have you considered breeding?

I have always always "admired" tarantulas! I would not mind owning some.