Calgary Spider - Scary or Not?

[Kybosh]

I thought I may have found a brown recluse just inside my house last weekend but I think it was actually a hobo spider. Easily the biggest, most intimidating spider I've ever seen in Calgary in either scenario. The leg span was somewhere around 3".

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan

Pretty sure that's Shelob, mother of all spiders. You will need the light of Elendil to ward it off while you stab at it with an elvish blade that glows blue when orcs are near. Good luck!

I resisted so much to reply to this, but the nerd in my can't help it.

Shelob is not the mother of all spiders. It's Ungoliant:

http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Ungoliant

Ungoliant (Sindarin IPA: [uŋˈɡoljant] - "Dark Spider") was a primordial taking the shape of a gigantic spider. She was initially an ally of Melkor in Aman, and for a short time in Middle-earth as well. She is the mother of Shelob, and therefore the oldest, and first spider of the south, possibly even the first spider.

Elendil was a Numenorean man, and the first high King of Gondor and Arnor.

http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Elendil

Elendil (also known as Elendil the Tall - Tolkien put his height at "more than man high by nearly half a ranga" or 7' 10" / 2.41 m) [2] or Elendil the Fair, and Ælfwine (Elf-friend)[3]) was the father of Isildur and Anárion, and the first High King of Gondor and Arnor and first King of all the Dúnedain.

It's the light of Earendil in Gladriel's phial you will need.

http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Phial_of_Galadriel

The Phial of Galadriel was a crystal phial filled with water from her fountain which held the light of Eärendil's star - the light of the Two Trees as preserved in a Silmaril.

You got the sword part right though.

[OBCT]

Although probably even rarer than black widows, I've always been under the impression that the Brown Recluse is the spider to fear here in Alberta. (Maybe that's because I'm from Medicine Hat and they're more common here?)

https://myhealth.alberta.ca/health/P...wid=tm6499spec

They're supposedly non-existent in big cities (hence the "recluse") and much prefer dryness and heat to moisture and cold. But the stories I've heard about their bite --- scary stuff.


EDIT: @Kybosh - yeah, definitely not a Brown Recluse. They're much smaller.

[PepsiFree]

How to you guys identify spiders so quickly? The time between noticing one and crushing it seems almost like an instant to me.

[AltaGuy]

I was bitten by the Northern black widow here in Montreal a couple months ago. I was sick for about three days with a fever, chills, and cramps: wasn't much fun. Don't recommend.

[Flash Walken]

biggest revelation of this thread is dissentowner is the CP go-to authority or arachnids.

[malcolmk14]

Saw two Black Widows in the Okanagan last summer! Very cool to just watch them do their thing for a while. One was fighting a wasp.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by Kybosh

I thought I may have found a brown recluse just inside my house last weekend but I think it was actually a hobo spider. Easily the biggest, most intimidating spider I've ever seen in Calgary in either scenario. The leg span was somewhere around 3".

We had an infestation of hobo spiders in our old house in Hasboro. Terrifying. Had to use a hockey stick to kill a couple of them.

[Kybosh]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

We had an infestation of hobo spiders in our old house in Hasboro. Terrifying. Had to use a hockey stick to kill a couple of them.

My house is in Haysboro . Did I buy your arachnophobia house?!

[Charsiu]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

I am a spider collector and enthusiast but your video is not working. That being said unless you or your family are very allergic there are no spiders in Canada that will harm you from a bite.

I'm echoing a lot of other posters here, but aren't brown recluse spiders fairly harmful?

[Zevo]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

I am a spider collector and enthusiast but your video is not working. That being said unless you or your family are very allergic there are no spiders in Canada that will harm you from a bite.

While this may be true about Calgary, it definitely isn't in B.C.. My friends niece was bitten by a black widow in the okanagan and wound up in ICU with necrotizing fasciitis. I don't think it was an allergic reaction.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by Kybosh

My house is in Haysboro . Did I buy your arachnophobia house?!

I did some research at the time (about 10 years ago), and there had been a bunch of Hobo spider sightings in Haysboro and Acadia. Sorry dude, you live in the Spider Zone.

We got rid of them using spider traps - sticky sheets that attract Hobo Spiders. It was unnerving to find 3 or 4 of them stuck to one sheet. Had to order them from the U.S. Also, clean up any wood piles you might have on your property.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by Charsiu

I'm echoing a lot of other posters here, but aren't brown recluse spiders fairly harmful?

There have been some reports of Recluse in the Okanagan but they are not found in Canada unless they hitch a ride on something. They are a Southern States spider. Yes, you do not want to get bit by a Recluse, the necrotic venom is nasty and destroys tissue rapidly. There is a lot of myth of the Recluse being common in Canada, it is not true.

[Fuzz]

Every morning this week I've walked into my shed to get a face full of spider web. He sure works quickly.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by Zevo

While this may be true about Calgary, it definitely isn't in B.C.. My friends niece was bitten by a black widow in the okanagan and wound up in ICU with necrotizing fasciitis. I don't think it was an allergic reaction.

That would be extremely unusual then. Widows are extremely rare anywhere in Canada and their bites do not cause Necrosis. Are you sure it was not a Recluse? That would make sense.
http://www.commonpests.com/black-widow-bite

[Kybosh]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

I did some research at the time (about 10 years ago), and there had been a bunch of Hobo spider sightings in Haysboro and Acadia. Sorry dude, you live in the Spider Zone.

We got rid of them using spider traps - sticky sheets that attract Hobo Spiders. It was unnerving to find 3 or 4 of them stuck to one sheet. Had to order them from the U.S. Also, clean up any wood piles you might have on your property.

Good advice though. I'll lay some glue traps and see what transpires. My yard and everything is clear, but my neighbours are another story...

[iggy_oi]

I used to live in southwood and after doing some quick research it turns out my garage was was infested with hobo spiders. Glad I moved before knowing this or I would have had to burn the garage down.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by Zevo

While this may be true about Calgary, it definitely isn't in B.C.. My friends niece was bitten by a black widow in the okanagan and wound up in ICU with necrotizing fasciitis. I don't think it was an allergic reaction.

Yah I don't think this is correct. I can't find anywhere that shows Black Widows cause necrotixing fascitis.

[ComixZone]

Hmm...

Mhmm...Interesting thread...

Mhhmm..

Yep, this'll do.

[Scornfire]

These are my faves, say goodbye to any mosquitoes!