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Off-Topic Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: mikhael on May 09, 2004, 09:26:39 pm

Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: mikhael on May 09, 2004, 09:26:39 pm
I walked into my computer room a moment ago, and found a visitor gnawing on my mouse:

(http://home.nc.rr.com/mikhael/spidey-01.jpg)
(http://home.nc.rr.com/mikhael/spidey-02.jpg)
(http://home.nc.rr.com/mikhael/spidey-03.jpg)

He's stalking my wife's flower pots looking for juicy insects now.

We get wolf spiders like that in the apartment all the time, but he' s the biggest I've seen yet.
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: phreak on May 09, 2004, 09:28:38 pm
:wtf: oh dear
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: mikhael on May 09, 2004, 09:32:52 pm
He's a beastie no? Kinda tickled running up my arm to get him in the glass, but it was the only way to get him to pose near the quarter for very long. :D

I love spiders. :)
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: Stealth on May 09, 2004, 09:39:35 pm
Quote
Originally posted by mikhael

I love spiders. :)


even big, poisonous, dangerous ones?

i would never let a highly venemous spider run up my arm
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: mikhael on May 09, 2004, 09:41:46 pm
Wolves aren't highly venomous.

But yeah, I've let black widows and brown recluses run across my hands. They won't hurt you unless you screw about with them. They're really quite gentle animals.
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: adwight on May 09, 2004, 09:43:03 pm
Spiders should be killed, every last one of them.  I can't stand spiders, but I guess that's cool that you found it...
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: Martinus on May 09, 2004, 09:56:36 pm
[color=66ff00]Would you rather have an abundance of flies?

IIRC all spiders are venomous, it's just that most of them don't have the capability of penetrating your skin. Tarantula bites are said to be much like a bee sting.
I find spiders to be quite intriguing but I still have that built in mechanism that identifies most 'alien' looking creatures (insects top the list) as non friendly. I'm trying to break myself of that stereotyping though.
[/color]
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: Stealth on May 09, 2004, 09:59:25 pm
Quote
Originally posted by Maeglamor
[color=66ff00]I'm trying to break myself of that stereotyping though.
[/color]


sh1t, i'm not.  that instinct is there for a reason you know
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: Thorn on May 09, 2004, 10:02:00 pm
Spiders are awesome. I had a rather large one take up residence in my window one summer. It was a well fed spider too, as my backyard is a swamp.
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: an0n on May 09, 2004, 10:02:29 pm
Spiders are fine by me, but with 2 provisos:
[list=1]Oh and small ones are just annoying.

But the big meaty spiders are cool.
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: Stealth on May 09, 2004, 10:04:48 pm
Quote
Originally posted by an0n

But the big meaty spiders are cool.


yeah, but only if they're a good 10 feet away
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: mikhael on May 09, 2004, 10:26:30 pm
Nah. I had a bird eating spider crawl on my belly once. She was a big beast too! Must have been a good fout and a half leg-span. Big, big girl. You could put a leash and collar on her and take a walk. Spiders are rockin. :)

This one was obviously doing right by me and my wife, judging by her size. I know we certainly haven't had any crickets or moths or flies or anything in the house this season. :)
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: Bobboau on May 09, 2004, 10:40:22 pm
"They won't hurt you unless you screw about with them."

you mean like if you make them run across your hands?

I'm wondering how you caut that thing, everytime I've encountered a wolf spider the things were faster than all fucking hell combined, I remember trying to catch one I found in this creek near my house, I bend over to try and snag it in a net and it's on the other side of the (12 foot wide) creek in the time it takes for the net to move (quite quickly) half a foot.
me I'm a bit more of an orb weaver fan
(I think this is the one)
I've had two of these in my garden over the years, always go about catching crickets and stuff for it hopeing it'll lay eggs
(http://www.richard-seaman.com/Wallpaper/Nature/Spiders/BlackAndYellowArgiopeEatingInsect.jpg)
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: adwight on May 09, 2004, 11:30:44 pm
God spiders are the ugliest *****es in the world.  Have you seen those camel spiders in Iraq, those things scare the **** out of me!
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: Bobboau on May 09, 2004, 11:44:33 pm
I've seen them and I think there cool, it would almost be worth getting shot at to be able to see one of them up close
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: Carl on May 09, 2004, 11:47:49 pm
Hello, I'm Mr. Brown Reclouse Spider and I'm here to eat Matt Kresge!
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: Rictor on May 09, 2004, 11:48:18 pm
Yeah, I'm pretty freaked out of things which look alien, spiders being among them. Most insects really. Not to the point of running away, I just prefer they not be around. I think I was bitten on the eye by a spider when I was kid, swelled up pretty big. But what I fear the most is these sea-creatures, with and shell and ....anyone remember that thing anon (or was it Janos) posted a while ago. Those things.
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: mikhael on May 09, 2004, 11:50:23 pm
When I was in Oman, we caught camel spiders. They're not really spiders, though: they're solifiguds. They've got two more legs, which are actually extended pedipalps.

Bob, the easiest way to catch a wolf spider, at least for me, is to walk up to it, put my hand on the floor in front of it, and let it crawl on.

Golden orb-weavers are, I believe, my state spider. We don't have any around here, but at the nature center, they have a section of a room dedicated to about fifty of them. That whole end of the room is a giant mass of crazy webs, and the spiders themselves are pretty big specimens of the species. :)
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: demon442 on May 10, 2004, 12:07:01 am
Bananna spiders are very common around here, dont usually get very big though.  Largest i've ever seen was about 9" leg to leg.  Still, I dont like spiders, manly because that 9" spider was on my head when I woke up one morning.  And that is not[/b] how you should start the day.
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: Bobboau on May 10, 2004, 12:30:19 am
how heavy is a 9" spider?
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: mikhael on May 10, 2004, 02:56:47 am
Well, the bird eating spider that I handled weighed aboug 5oz. She was a good foot across in leg span.

A 9" spider is probably closer to 3oz.
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: Bobboau on May 10, 2004, 03:06:30 am
realy I'd think they'd be more than 1/4th a pound,
but even then you think you'd feel somethng that heavy walking across you, even sleeping.
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: Nico on May 10, 2004, 03:07:10 am
I don't like spiders, they freak the hell out of me. When I was a kid, I wasn't afraid of them, there lies the problem, once, I found a big one ( very big body, and small legs, for a change ), fought it was cool, brought it to school, impressed the chicks and all. Up till now, no problem. Then school is over, I wanna go back home, so I grab it in my hand ( did the same to bring it to school ), and then , the little bugger managed to escape my grasp, and ran under my sleeve, into my shirt. She didn't bite me or anything, but it took 30 good seconds of frightened struggling to get it off.
Then there was this incident where I found a spider on the wall right above my head when I woke up. I assure you that whatever that spider was, it could not come from France there's nothing as remotly big here. Had to call my mum to get rid of it ( she can't even remember that spider, it's frustrating as hell ).
There went my friendship with eight-legged freaks :p
Starting from that, the spiders met with my shoe, not my hand, nt that I wanted them dead, I just wanted them away from me, I was like really scared :doubt:
A few years ago, I decided it was quite a girlish behaviour, a man must not fear anything ( hell, I can stand in front of a barking Rottweller, but am afraid of a 3, 4 cm wide thing? ). So I decided to fight that stupid fear, and when there was a large spider around, I'd poke it with my finger w/o hurting them ( the first try was pretty amusing from an outsiders point of view, I guess ). Well it work, don't fear them anymore, now the spiders that dare invading my room end up flying through the window, but alive :p
My life isn't interesting? Too bad :p
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: Tiara on May 10, 2004, 04:42:48 am
Quote
Originally posted by adwight
Spiders should be killed, every last one of them.  I can't stand spiders, but I guess that's cool that you found it...

So, you'd rather kill of an entire part of our ecosystem then be a little bit afraid of spiders.

Also, spiders NEVER intentionally bite people on their own. They're more afraid of us then we are of them most of the time. Unless you make sudden movements or trap it in a small area they won't do anything to you. The bigger spoders who aren't afraid of Humans still don't bite because they know you are either too big to eat or are a threat because of your size.

Hell, I've had a tarantula as a pet (Called him Nosferatu ;)). I love them. I could scare unwanted people out of my house with it. Hehehe :p
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: SadisticSid on May 10, 2004, 05:26:00 am
Most amusing experience with a spider:

Playing 'The Thing' in the dark at 1am, having seen a large (well, in UK terms, probably about 1.5" across) spider crawling along my ceiling. Get to an atmospheric point when you just know something's going to burst out and start attacking you, or one of your teammates transforms into a monster, when the little bugger jumps down on to my neck!

I thought 'no way' after the fright, so I quickly turn the light on and see it scurrying away into my wardrobe! Little swine :p

Generally I love spiders though, beautiful creatures, though I'm not sure if I could stomach having one of those enormous ones on me.
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: karajorma on May 10, 2004, 05:26:52 am
When I lived in Hull I had the house to myself the entire summer cause all my housemates were still students. As a result the bottom floor of the house turned into a sort of wild kingdom for spiders cause I only ever used the kitchen.

For a while I used to find insects in the bath tub until a pair of big spiders moved in. These things were 4-5 inches across. I called them Boris and Norris and made a live and let live deal with them. As long a I only saw them in the kitchen and downstairs bathroom I'd leave them alone and let them get on with keeping the other insects down :)

I was quite put out when I found Boris lying on it's back in the bath actually.
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: J3Vr6 on May 10, 2004, 08:41:40 am
Spiders are sooooooo cool.  But I'm scared of them :(  My girl is absolutely terrified of them.
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: Sandwich on May 10, 2004, 11:03:49 am
Now, where's DG gotten to? ;)
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: Langy on May 10, 2004, 02:07:21 pm
I'm rather comfortable around insects, so long as they don't startle me. If they startle me, I generally squish them. Or scream like a little girl. When I'm prepared for them, I'm perfectly comfortable around them. I think having about twenty snakes and god-knows how many mice in my house (all in cages, mind you) helped me with that a bit.
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: Zuljin on May 10, 2004, 02:52:10 pm
I had a gut feeling for what that was when I saw less than an inch of that picture, sufficient to say I didn't take a closer look.
I hate spiders >_<
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: Jetmech Jr. on May 10, 2004, 03:10:31 pm
Oh, man, the pics in this thread scared me so bad... *shiver* I have an absolutely PARALYZING fear of spiders (that includes pics of them). I used to think spiders were pretty neat (2-4 years old), but one day, got a book on spiders, and it showed an EXTREME close up of a wolf spiders eyes  :shaking:

Its the eyes that really scare me. Ever since ive been afraid of all creepy crawlies, i.e. spiders, scorpions, beetles, flies, Butterflies :nervous: , etc. (except tarantulas, they're ok)
Pathetic, I know, but what am I supposed to do...
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: Blaise Russel on May 10, 2004, 03:18:02 pm
I don't like spiders.

We live on an incline of sorts, so our garden is in two parts - a lower part, paved, on the same level as the house and back door, and a higher part, a lawn, that's a couple of meters up from the floor of the lower part of the garden. There are two ways up to the higher area - on the right a bunch of steps; on the left, behind where the garage sticks out into the lower garden, a ramp.

When I was very young, I went out into the garden to run around, or something like that. Now, for some reason, I thought that it was more fun to go behind the garage and run up the ramp, instead of taking the quicker route up the steps. Don't ask me why, I was a small child and children are not exactly known for their rationality and intelligence.

So I went up the ramp.

I run up to the corner of the garage jutting out into the garden. All good so far.

I turn the corner and run along the edge of the garage to the corner of the garage and garden wall. A1-SUPAR.

I turn again and run up the ramp into the garden.

Into a spiderweb right across the path 'tween the wall and some hedges.

****.

...to put it lightly.



I'm not entirely sure whether that's a true event or a horrible nightmare or just something I made up. All I know is that I twitch nervously whenever in the presence of spiders or, indeed, whenever viewing pictures of the fugly arachnids.
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: Nico on May 10, 2004, 03:26:13 pm
Quote
Originally posted by Jetmech Jr.
Its the eyes that really scare me.


Ah, see? the eyes, I've kept telling you! The eyes! :D
I remember a thread where I posted lots of close ups of spiders to show that their eyes were creepy! :D
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: Jetmech Jr. on May 10, 2004, 03:33:04 pm
DO NOT LINK!

Im terribly curious about everything, and if you post a link I wont be able to help myself (im being completely serious)
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: Zuljin on May 10, 2004, 03:35:09 pm
Quote
Originally posted by Jetmech Jr.
DO NOT LINK!

Im terribly curious about everything, and if you post a link I wont be able to help myself (im being completely serious)


Curiosity killed the cat.

I also kinda liked spiders when I was a kid, but at some point it changed, I don't have the faintest idea of what the cause of it was.
I just don't know I absolutely hate spiders now :p
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: Jetmech Jr. on May 10, 2004, 03:38:00 pm
Quote
Originally posted by Zuljin


Curiosity killed the cat.

 


I have no self control

Self control=0

Self control... whats that? :nervous:
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: Flipside on May 10, 2004, 03:49:28 pm
Me and spiders have this agreement, I don't stamp on them, and, in return, if they ever evolve to being 500ft tall, they won't stamp on me ;)

Seriously though, I don't have a problem with house spiders, those big exotic looking things make me shiver a bit, but I've held a Black Widow, it was nerve wracking, but not terrifying :)
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: Zuljin on May 10, 2004, 03:55:57 pm
Quote
Originally posted by Flipside
but I've held a Black Widow, it was nerve wracking, but not terrifying :)


I would have run around screaming like a little school girl...seriously
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: IceFire on May 10, 2004, 04:35:32 pm
I'm on the spider hunter detail around my house...if someone finds I spider I've got a kleenex and reflexes to smush it into a small little smudge.

But I've never had to deal with a wolf spider...

And if at all possible, I'd just throw them outside.  With big ones (like Fishing Spiders) I will...and one of those...yikes :D
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: Jetmech Jr. on May 10, 2004, 04:42:27 pm
Quote
Originally posted by Jetmech Jr.

Its the eyes that really scare me.


*shivers uncontrollably*

so painful

Wolf spider (http://mamba.bio.uci.edu/~pjbryant/biodiv/spiders/Lycosa%20sp.htm)
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: Tiara on May 10, 2004, 04:46:33 pm
Quote
Originally posted by Zuljin

I would have run around screaming like a little school girl...seriously

That could get you killed. As soon as you make sudden movements the spider bites :p Thats the funny thing about spiders (and also the reason I like them), they won't hurt you unless you hurt them. ;)

Ow, and the Wolf spider's face looks funny :D
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: Nico on May 10, 2004, 05:01:33 pm
Quote
Originally posted by IceFire
But I've never had to deal with a wolf spider...


You sure? That's like the most common ones around, you know those brown/blackish ones ( jetmech's one is odd, never seen a white one before... ) you find in about every basements or dark places. They're usualy 3 or 4 cm wide. very, very common, 8 out of then of the spiders I see are wolf spiders. The 2/10 left are those very small black and white ones that jump away ( and quite far at that ) when you try and touch them. And then there's the occasional various others I see once in a while.
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: karajorma on May 10, 2004, 05:03:38 pm
Quote
Originally posted by Jetmech Jr.


*shivers uncontrollably*

so painful

Wolf spider (http://mamba.bio.uci.edu/~pjbryant/biodiv/spiders/Lycosa%20sp.htm)


Looks like an old man with a beard to me :D

Seriously Jetmech try some phobia councilling. There is no real reason to be scared of spiders. Sure I wouldn't want one to suprise me by crawling on me but apart from that I've got no problem with them. Plus they kill flies. I F**king hate flies.
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: Zuljin on May 10, 2004, 05:03:53 pm
Quote
Originally posted by Tiara

That could get you killed. As soon as you make sudden movements the spider bites :p Thats the funny thing about spiders (and also the reason I like them), they won't hurt you unless you hurt them. ;)

Ow, and the Wolf spider's face looks funny :D


True, but for that to apply to me, I would first have to hold it wouldn't I? :p
Which I doubt would happen :D
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: Deepblue on May 10, 2004, 05:05:54 pm
Black widows creep the hell out of me. Especially since I live in an area that has an abundance.
(http://www.newleafgraphics.com/spiders/images/pml_0036.jpg)
*Gags and screams*
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: IceFire on May 10, 2004, 05:30:44 pm
Quote
Originally posted by Nico


You sure? That's like the most common ones around, you know those brown/blackish ones ( jetmech's one is odd, never seen a white one before... ) you find in about every basements or dark places. They're usualy 3 or 4 cm wide. very, very common, 8 out of then of the spiders I see are wolf spiders. The 2/10 left are those very small black and white ones that jump away ( and quite far at that ) when you try and touch them. And then there's the occasional various others I see once in a while.

Nope never seen one around here.  Large spiders are a rarity...which I usually why I take them outside.  The type of spider we have most commonly I don't even know the name for.  They are small little black ones that are generally very small.

We do have orb weavers of a sort (although once again I think the ones here are smaller), and there's the semi-aquatic fishing spider that I'll find in the basement from time to time (once every few years) but the majority are less than 2cm...or even smaller ones (like jumping spiders).

I guess its the climate maybe...
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: Col. Fishguts on May 10, 2004, 06:31:41 pm
Quote
Originally posted by Nico


You sure? That's like the most common ones around, you know those brown/blackish ones ( jetmech's one is odd, never seen a white one before... ) you find in about every basements or dark places. They're usualy 3 or 4 cm wide. very, very common, 8 out of then of the spiders I see are wolf spiders. The 2/10 left are those very small black and white ones that jump away ( and quite far at that ) when you try and touch them. And then there's the occasional various others I see once in a while.


You sure you don't mean this fella here ?
http://www.natur-lexikon.com/Texte/MZ/001/00066-Hausspinne/MZ00066-Hausspinne.html

Don't know the english name for it, but it's the most common spider in central Europe I think. I grew up on a farm, and there were hundreds of them.
Completely harmless, but some of them grew really big. I used to let them crawl over my hands and scare the $hit out of girls with them......ah, those were the days.

Anyway, spiders rule :yes:
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: Fineus on May 10, 2004, 06:36:37 pm
I've had to come to terms with spiders... living on the south coast we didn't think Black Widows were common so imagine our suprise when we found a relation of the Black Widow family had set up nest in our shed...

... so we called out the expert. Paul Hilliard, Curator of Arachnida, Department of Entomology, The Natural History Museum came down to visit the house and see what was what. He cheerfully declared that if we were bitten we could be hospitalised, but that we had no cause to worry.

Since then things have been interesting... each forrey into the garden brings something interesting if you happen to poke around. I try not to poke around.
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: Thorn on May 10, 2004, 07:52:43 pm
Quote
Originally posted by Tiara

So, you'd rather kill of an entire part of our ecosystem then be a little bit afraid of spiders.

Also, spiders NEVER intentionally bite people on their own. They're more afraid of us then we are of them most of the time. Unless you make sudden movements or trap it in a small area they won't do anything to you. The bigger spoders who aren't afraid of Humans still don't bite because they know you are either too big to eat or are a threat because of your size.

Hell, I've had a tarantula as a pet (Called him Nosferatu ;)). I love them. I could scare unwanted people out of my house with it. Hehehe :p

Like most animals, insects and whatnot. Unless it considers you food or a threat, it doesnt give a flying **** what you do.
Oh.. and mine was named Fluffy :p
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: an0n on May 10, 2004, 11:14:55 pm
Not wasps. Wasps will attack you for no goddamn reason.
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: demon442 on May 11, 2004, 12:02:31 am
an0n has a very good point.

Thinking about it, the body design of a spider is a very good defense against new predators.  When you see a spider, are you filled with the urge to eat it?  I think not.

Thus, we dont eat the spider.  We scream like school girls and run.
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: Nico on May 11, 2004, 01:26:20 am
Quote
Originally posted by Col. Fishguts


You sure you don't mean this fella here ?
http://www.natur-lexikon.com/Texte/MZ/001/00066-Hausspinne/MZ00066-Hausspinne.html

Don't know the english name for it, but it's the most common spider in central Europe I think. I grew up on a farm, and there were hundreds of them.
Completely harmless, but some of them grew really big. I used to let them crawl over my hands and scare the $hit out of girls with them......ah, those were the days.

Anyway, spiders rule :yes:


Yeah, that's the one.

Demon: there's things that eat spiders, like that species of hornet that hunts down tarantulas.
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: Fineus on May 11, 2004, 02:53:32 am
*shivers* Now you hit it... I ****ing hate wasps and hornets. When I was younger I used to like insects of all kinds but now they just freak me our, purely because they know no fear of you and happily land on you to eat a scrap of food on your hand or something... to say nothing of stinging you.
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: Flipside on May 11, 2004, 01:44:50 pm
LOL Right there with you Kalfireth!

Bees I'm ok with, but Wasps, they are the Football Hooligans of the Insect world, most insects get put outside, but wasps get 'The Spray'. Horrid little bastards.
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: T-Man on May 11, 2004, 02:03:06 pm
Spiders scare the hell out of me!!! I swear if I had to choose between being burned alive and being trapped in a room full of spiders, then i would be asking someone for a lighter.

As for the wolf spider at the top, it makes me shiver just thinking about it :nervous:
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: 01010 on May 11, 2004, 02:08:24 pm
Quote
Originally posted by T-Man
Spiders scare the hell out of me!!! I swear if I had to choose between being burned alive and being trapped in a room full of spiders, then i would be asking someone for a lighter.

As for the wolf spider at the top, it makes me shiver just thinking about it :nervous:



Dude, burning yourself alive with just a lighter would take forever.
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: Zuljin on May 11, 2004, 02:12:31 pm
Quote
Originally posted by 01010



Dude, burning yourself alive with just a lighter would take forever.


Add gasoline to the mix and you'll be done in a minute
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: Cabbie on May 11, 2004, 09:41:00 pm
Quote
Originally posted by demon442
an0n has a very good point.

Thinking about it, the body design of a spider is a very good defense against new predators.  When you see a spider, are you filled with the urge to eat it?  I think not.

Thus, we dont eat the spider.  We scream like school girls and run.


Well I don't stare at cows and go "Yummm beef..." either ;) J/K

Yeah, I concur,  they're up there with snakes when it comes to the "HOLY **** RUN" looks.
Title: The mice are in danger!
Post by: Whitelight on May 11, 2004, 10:18:16 pm
Spiders are a fact of life, they are everywhere, but if one bites me, its dead, period...  I get bitten quite often during the summer months.. My wife said they like the way I taste. :nod: