Syringer?

A wasp once scared me so bad I jumped out of my car... while I was DRIVING it. Luckily, I drove a stick and my car sputtered to a stop before it hit anything but a curb.

Spiders are nuthin!

/except the ones pictured in this thread
//and tarantulas


No, not this wasp.

mtylerjr: I found this monster last spring deep in the redwoods.

Nice one! I have had quite a few big spiders and tarantulas in my day, but haven't ever seen that one. We have some big ones here in nc but nothing like that huntsman or the one on the toilet paper roll. I think I would be a little upset if I were in the ahem office and that showed up. The meanest one I ever saw was a goliath birdeater. It ate a big mouse. I have fed mine pinkies but never a mouse. Usually takes a few weeks to a mont before they eat again from a pinkie. I will go as far as to catch the little buggers and put them outside (unless they are black widows) I would rather have those spiders then all the bugs that they didn't eat.

Does anyone remember the story someone wrote about killing the spiders in his rx7? I think I still have that at work. One of the funniest things I have ever read. I will post it tomorrow if there is interest

N.S. Radieuax:

I see what you did there

/hethrustshisfistsagainstthepostsandstillinsistsheseestheghosts

My dad was bit by a brown recluse

I've been bitten twice. Within hours the flesh started to necrotize, so I went to the ER. Walked out with a script that cost me 108 bucks for a small bottle. If that failed I would have had to have an IV drip. Needless to say I did exactly what the doctor instructed me to do.

mty: looks like a wolf spider

Did anyone else read that headline as "Spiderman loses control of SUV?"

Can't believe only Urban Cowboy has referenced "I saw a turtle."

I have these farking things out here in my sunroom. Just bought this old house, previous owners didn't seal this room very well.

GingerGirl: My contribution wasn't good enough? :(

Also came close to not getting back into my car after a large huntsman appeared inside my car while driving, and then disappeared somewhere into the dash after I pulled over. Its the worst when you have no idea where they are hiding....

Even if you are normally quite sane around spiders you'll be surprised how focused (not on driving!) you'll get when they suddenly appear in your face.

I'll agree with the comment that I'm not afraid of spiders, but we're not exactly friends either. I almost rolled my car getting off a highway exit, because as I was rounding the curve, I noticed a medium sized spider on my door near my hand, and I was so startled I forgot to steer. I think it was only the fact that I was driving a 93 Olds saved me from veering off the road or rolling the car.

And I've encountered several wolf spiders in the woods of the camp I teach at every summer. I used to pride myself on not getting freaked out by the numerous types of spiders we'd see. So one night, these two girls started screaming that there was a big spider on their tent and could someone please kill it. Over I go, feeling all confident as the girl who is not afraid, and I saw the wolf spider. And damn near peed myself. It was about the size of the palm of my hand (and yes, I measured once someone was nearby with a stick) and hanging over someone's sleeping bag. That put the fear of God into me. Each summer now, I always check my tent before I climb into the sleeping bag...and you bet your ass I use a bug net now.

Could it be this spider?

,

i saw my first ever black widows a coupla weeks ago.. i was tearing down a shed in semi-rural kansas for my aunt and uncle... turned over one of the floorboards and there they were.. too black widows with the red "violin" shape on their asses and everything.. both of them tending egg sacs... i thought "oh wow thats neat! - i've never seen an actual black widow before!" then squished both of them with a piece of 2x4 :)

on another note.. i hate to say it but i prefer metafilter over fark aside from today... there was an ask.metafilter thread about some tiny spider being transported from the west coast to the east coast in a bag of grapes and many people were screaming about the travesty of killing a little spider

I have never almost lost control of my car over a spider.

I have, however, had a six inch long walking stick insect drop from my sun visor into my lap, having parked in the shade of a large hedge with my window open. This, happily, did not cause me to lose control of either my car or my bladder.

Ho. ly. Fark. I went on my honeymoon in Maine in August and i swear that place is spider headquarters. Every damned time I turned around I saw a spider.

/shudder

I grew up in the same neighborhood as this guy. I haven't seen him since high school.

When his sister was like 11 or 12 she put her mom's car into drive and wiped out an entire garage.

It appears this was genetically predestined at some point.

Snakes, bats, praying mantis', any insect, no problem. Get me near a spider bigger than a dime and I cant be within 5 feet. No idea why. Just totally completely phobic. They just seem aware of your fear and know they can crawl somewhere dark, and hide waiting. Plus, the bigger ones crunch (disgusting) and the fast ones are just hideous. Lastly, my father used to snag wolf spiders that lived in our woodpile and crush them one handed. Wish I got that from him.

First of all this man has to be investigated for insurance fraud. The wreck of this man's SUV probably got the insurance company to cover the rest of the payments on his SUV, while he gets a relatively free vehicle from a contest. While I think it was smart to get rid of one of the vehicles, I wouldn't suggest you use a an off the wall excuse like a spider scared you into a tree, of course if he is telling the truth, I would say the insurance company shouldn't cover stupidity.

Buncha lightweights. Man up! Spiders are teh cool.

PULL OVER, fools. Or run away, dependent on the situation.

Or smack/spray 'em if they're poisonous and in a position to getcha and you can't get away.

/spider fan
//'specially banana spiders
///and those big, grey jumping ones, as long as they don't jump on me.
////not so much the poisonous ones

Forgive me for saying this, but to all the arachnophobes reading this:

Spiders are not your enemy. They are absolutely everywhere - better learn to live with that, or your life will be a lot more stressful than it needs to be. Even the tiny proportion of them that have potentially dangerous bites do not have the inclination to bite without serious provocation (self-defense situations only), and the danger posed by the more venomous ones tends to be exaggerated by the media.

I think spiders are awesome. Do I think everyone should feel the same? Well, maybe - but I sure don't expect it! All I ask of people is that they treat them with the same respect they'd afford any other living thing.

I had a few very scary experiences with large neighborhood dogs when I was a kid, and it's not inconcievable that I could have become afraid of them as a result - but even though I have far more to fear from dog attacks than spider bites, people would think I was insane!

In a nutshell, I think it's unfortunate that so many people hate spiders. Other phobias are looked at as undesireable - but most people assume arachnophobia is perfectly "normal". A lot of people have it - that doesn't make it rational (no offense intended, folks).

dlpriest, I have a picture of my families Ford F150 parked under a bigger version (it had black widow markings) of the spider vw bug, need to find the pic.

If it hasn't been said yet......


"I saw a turtle!"

SmnM4g1s: I have these farking things out here in my sunroom. Just bought this old house, previous owners didn't seal this room very well.


Ah, the cave cricket! I get those in my basement in the fall and winter. Creepy-looking, but harmless. I really wish I could find where they are coming in.

Everybody missed the point. This happened near Bangor, Maine. It's obviously a Stephen King movie trailer.
Bring on Pennywise!

Maybe someone that drives an SUV can answer me this...Why is it that city dwelling peoples that see fit to have hugantic trucks (the ones with lifts and huge mudding tires that will never see mud) and Hummers and Jeeps and Range Rovers/Land Rovers, etc. You know, off-roading vehicles. Why do people that own these cars ALWAYS, and I mean ALWAYS, slow down to literally one mile per hour to crawl over a speed hump, or a dip in the road, or a small pothole, etc. It's always something just drives me batshiat crazy when I see it. They've got all these offroad accessories all over their vehicle, but as soon as they approach one of those minor obstacles, you'd think they were trying to drive up the side of a mountain. I just. don't. get it. WHY!?!?!?

I love spiders! I live right next to three resturants and they attract a huge amount of flies. The spiders eat said flies and don't bother me at all.

/the enemy of my enemy is my spiders

SmnM4g1s

That is a cave cricket, my parents have those in the basement. they are really hearty, jump 3-4 feet in the air and bite.... one survived a full washer cycle and was still able to attack me.

you gotta make friends with the spider. . .

King_of_the_Cows: Ah, the cave cricket! I get those in my basement in the fall and winter. Creepy-looking, but harmless. I really wish I could find where they are coming in.


They just magically appear. I had them in my apartment when I lived in durham. Quite a shocker when you are walking down the hall in the dark to go to the bathroom and one of those things jumps up and sticks to the top of your leg. Almost made me not need to go all the way to the bathroom if you know what I mean.