JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It’s not every day someone walks into their kitchen and spots a spider as large as a closed human fist crawling down the wall. That’s what happened early Friday morning at a home in South Riverside.
Pictures of the spider were sent to SpiderID.com, where experts identified it as a huntsman spider. The identification was later confirmed by spider experts at Jacksonville Zoo.
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According to experts, the one found in the Jacksonville kitchen is believed to be a female huntsman, which is known to be aggressive when guarding eggs or its younglings.
Huntsman spiders are venomous, but are only dangerous to people who are sensitive to insect and spider bites or have weak immune systems.
Effects of their painful bites can include:
- Nausea
- Headache
- Vomiting
- Irregular pulse rate
- Heart palpitations
According to a USA Spider Chart, huntsman spiders, sometimes called crab spiders, are listed as low-risk spider compared to brown recluse or a black widow spiders.
Huntsman spiders will often wander into homes and are found sticking to walls. If disturbed, they move very fast and can squeeze into tight crevices.
Outside, huntsman are normally found under flaking tree bark, under eaves and within roof spaces of buildings.
Despite their menacing look, huntsman spiders are beneficial because they prey on cockroaches and crickets.