Are Big, Giant, Spiders Found In Homes A "Side Effect" Of Hurricanes?

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   Lisa HWposted 13 years ago

   Last week we had the hurricane/tropical storm (depending on where someone was) come through.  This week (earlier today) I found - truly - the biggest, giant-est, brown, spider I've ever seen in my life.  It was a big, fat, brown, thick-legged, one that measured, maybe, an inch and a third to possibly as much as close to two inches (including its "feet").  That doesn't sound like a big deal because "Daddy Long Legs" spiders have those long, skinny, legs that probably make them more than two inches long.  This thing, though, was big and fat and had thick, thick, legs; and its body took up a big percentage of whatever its entire measurement was. 
   
   I did read that Giant Crab Spiders can measure as big as two inches and can be found in Massachusetts.  There's both sandy soil around where I live, but we're not far from a creek and other swamp-type areas.  The storm did come through last week, and I was thinking may some degree of flooding drove spiders into the house.  (Then again, I did bring in a palm tree in a pot, so it could have ridden in on that and been living in the house all week).
   
   I did find something on the Internet (besides a bunch of pictures of spiders that were kind of hard to really match with this thing) that some serious floods in Pakistan meant the trees were coated in spider webs after, I guess, the spiders had been driven out of the habitats.  We didn't really have any noticeable flooding where I live.
   
   The real point, and question, here is whether people who have been recently hit by Hurricane Irene should generally expect to be finding weird insects/spiders in their homes now for awhile.  I saw some other big, weird, bug today (nowhere near as big as the spider, but big; and I've never seen anything like that one either.  I've never heard this mentioned as a side-effect of big rains (and even tree-downing winds), so I'm wondering if it's just something everyone else already knows goes on - but it's new to me.     (One thing that concerned me in particular is that some of these spiders are said to be nocturnal, come out "hunting" at night, and leave serious bites on people.)  This one I found (and threw out of the house) was on a section of drape near the sofa.  It didn't really move much at all (until I got in a cup, and then it was really active).  (Of course, another possibility could be the particularly hot summer we've had. )
   
   In any case, I was wondering if anyone knew anything about whether this kind of thing is a side-effect of hurricanes, and how likely it might be that once they find their way into your home (maybe after a storm), they'll just start laying eggs and becoming a real problem.  I tried looking this up, but I found look-alikes that were smaller and biggies that I'm not sure really looked like this one. It had very angular, thick, legs that were, maybe, in similar proportion to its body.  (I kind of need to think this thing is just an outdoor dweller that rode in on the palm tree.  )

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2. 59

   A Troubled Manposted 13 years ago

   Lisa, not to worry, I was in Okinawa and saw spiders there that built webs between large trees spanning 6-8 feet, they were larger than my hand spread out and moved fast.

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   Emile Rposted 13 years ago

   I don't know the type of spider; but, yes. Hurricanes cold easily displace any type of arachnid or insect and cause a home invasion. A rise in the water table, water ponding underneath your house; there are a number of changes in their environment that could put them on the move.
   
   I hate spiders, so I'd kill any I saw; but most bugs that I recognize and know to be outdoor types I'll scoop up and put back outside. I would think they would go on about their business and forget the thought of cohabiting once things get back to normal.

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4. 82

   Stacie Lposted 13 years ago

   I'm on a first name basis with mine...
   they actually do good by killing ants and other creepy crawlers in the house so don't be so quick to eliminate them...

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5. 64

   Lisa HWposted 13 years ago

   Thanks, everyone. 
   
   A Troubled Man, I think I'd have to move if I found one like that!    I know we don't get some insects that people in other regions do, but I really don't want to any THIS big (that I found) showing up too often (or biting). 
   
   Emile, thanks.  I scooped this one up.  (I just hope "he" doesn't come back in.  )  (I probably should have stayed away from some of those websites I tried looking this up on.  They only got me worried.  )  I picture them driven in by something like a flooded creek (or something) and then egg-laying in the walls (or wherever). 
   
   Stacie, we have quite a few (and even a fair amount of disturbingly big, but "standard big" ones), but THIS one was just a real "prize-winner"     (Well, so was another oddity of a giant bug that showed up the same day.)  (I should have taken "his" picture, if getting "him" out fast wasn't such an emergency.  )

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