Attack of the Tegenaria Gigantea!

Heath Stewart

20 Oct 2004 11:53 PM

Comments 29

No, this isn't about another campy 80's flick, but about the Tegenaria gigantea, or "giant house spider".

Dubbed the world's faster spider by the Guinness Book of World Records, this rather large spider is commonly mistaken for the Tegenaria agrestis, or "hobo spider", which is commonly mistaken for the Loxosceles reclusa, or "brown recluse spider". The latter is only found in the Southeastern and Midwestern United States. The former two are found here in the Pacific Northwest. Fortunately, the giant house spider bite isn't as bad as the other two spiders mentioned above. It may cause swelling and pain for a couple days, but both the brown recluse and hobo spiders cause necrosis. The giant house spider also keeps its smaller cousin - the hobo spider - out of the house. The gaint house spider will commonly kill the hobo spider since the two compete for resources.

So, if you're living in the Pacific Northwest and happen to see these rather large spiders, keep your distance (remember, they're fast and aggressive) but let them be since they may just save you and your family from more serious bites from the hobo spider.

Personal

Comments

Nick Parker

21 Oct 2004 7:50 AM

I told Megan about the spider you had in the house and she immediately stopped me mid conversation. When your back I suggest you remind her about it, exaggerations to the story are fully acceptable - just for fun of course.
Dave Kreskowiak

25 Oct 2004 6:35 PM

Yikes! @#&% @)$* @*&#@(*# @! &%( $#%&! Gives me the "willies" just lookin' at the pic! That alone will keep me from moving to the Pacific NorthWest. I'll stay here in Michigan and deal with our <i>little</i>, up to an inch and half legspan, <a href="http://entomology.unl.edu/images/spiders/lycosa_rabida.jpg">Wolf Spiders</a>.
Alex Korchemniy

29 Oct 2004 6:43 PM

Actually I ran across this creepy thing this evening.
Harry

12 Nov 2004 7:54 AM

Stories about aggrissiveness of gigantea seem to be nonsense to me - never exprienced any of that kind to be more aggressive than lets say a grasshopper. But maybe thats only the european variant - maybe in america everything is a little bit more aggressive?! I'd say, watch a Phoneutria nigriventer (Armadeira, Banana spider) in action and you'll never again call a Housesspider aggressive..
heaths

18 Jul 2005 1:51 PM

Invasion of the Limax maximus
kyle

23 Mar 2006 1:34 AM

one of those bastards bit me last night!!!
i think this spider is so cool

13 May 2006 8:21 PM

thos spider is so cool can it kill you thow and does it live in ontario cuse i live there
Heath Stewart

14 May 2006 2:29 PM

A bite from a gigantea will not likely result in death, and will only typically cause redness and a little sorness. I suppose if someone had an allergy the effects may be worse, but I'm certainly no expert.

Gigantea are really only in the Pacific Northwest, introduced here from Western Europe. That being said, there's no reason to suspect that someone couldn't just as easily introduced them to other areas, but in researching these and related spiders there was no indication of activity.

If you're concerned about a particular spider, you might contact your local University or see if they already have some information about your area online.
... the name's Graham...

24 May 2006 9:35 AM

Ok, i haven't seen any of these larger spiders in a long time.. i'm starting to get suspicious. I know it, one day i'll just be sitting down watching television and one's going to run around over the floor!

Why is it that so many people are afraid of these spiders if they're so harmless?
Heath Stewart

24 May 2006 5:55 PM

Graham, I suspect it's because people don't know any better and as they say, people fear what they don't know.

After my wife and I moved here and saw them, I captured one to remove any possible threat and for study. I asked around the next day and heard from people that have lived here for quite some time answers ranging from "brown recluse" to "wolf spider". Having collected insects with my mom (biology teacher) when I was younger, I knew that brown recluse weren't found in these parts and that just because a spider is hair doesn't make it a wolf spider, perhaps the most mis-identified spider of all.

Understandably, when you see a spider as big as the giant house spider with palps that look like giant fangs, people are likely frightened.
BEN ANDERSON

13 Jul 2006 11:02 PM

I FOUND TEGENARIA GIGANTEA SPIDER IN MY GARAGE CRAWLING ON THE WALL I HAVE IT IN A JAR NOW
tundi

9 Aug 2006 6:40 PM

hi!
I have just captured a huge guy here in france last week, i tried to ID it, and so far my best guess id T. gigantea.It has a body length something like 2 cms,plus the legs each are app. 4 cm. So together it makes quite a huge, though now this guy kinda scared and pull the legs together. It produced some web on the floor of its jar.And the funny thing is that a day after the captivation i had my finger bitten by something, with two equal dots 3mm far from each other, red,itchy but it's ok by now, it's healed by regular scars. You think somebody has do some revenge on me for its buddy i captured? :)
I love spiders! Beautiful artists of Nature!
Keep Cool!
Derek

11 Aug 2006 8:35 AM

I killed one of theese in my apartment in Seattle a few years back, scared the crap out of me and my room mate, it was damn fast, and it took Shayne more than one shoe smack to kill it, we hate Spiders, it's head was the size of a skittle candy, very freaky. Bigest non-tarantula spider I've ever seen in person. I like tarantulas.
Patrice

11 Aug 2006 1:24 PM

Yikes. Woke up last night and there was one of these big guys on my ceiling (old bungalow w/a 6' upstairs ceiling) RIGHT over my bed out here in Poulsbo! We do have the funnel web spiders out in the barn windows, but this one looked exactly like the photos of the giant house spider. Had to kill it cause I knew I couldn't catch it--I've seen them run-- and keew I couldn't sleep again with this giant beasty in my room!
DK

14 Aug 2006 11:28 AM

Thank God I have cats. Wandered into the kitchen this morning to find a GIANT giant house spider on my kitchen floor. Luckily my ferocious felines had killed it in the night. It quickly filled me with fears of being attacked by a hobo spider, but alas, after close examination, it is the safer giant house spider. Ok, time to go reward my fearless spider killers...

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Attack of the Tegenaria Gigantea!

Attack of the Tegenaria Gigantea!