This Woman Shares Her Home With A Giant Huntsman Spider

Thomas Nelson
December 14, 2020
Animals
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I’m pretty sure just about everyone has had an experience or two with an unusual room mate. Maybe they never get rent in on time or they don’t clean up after themselves. They might be just a little bit odd. But one woman has an unusual room mate – a giant spider. And she seems pretty okay with it.

An odd room mate

The giant spider, named Charlotte after the spider in the book Charlotte’s Web, lives with Annette Gray in her home in Australia. Gray says that the spider wandered in and decided to take up residence.

According to Gray’s son, Jake, Charlotte is a huntsman spider. Huntsman spiders are known for their intimidating size but are not a danger to humans at all. Jake characterizes her as being pretty friendly.

“We’ve watched [Charlotte] grow over the last year or so,” Jake told The Dodo. “[She] never bothered us. She moves about the house, pops up room to room, eats all the bugs.”

“[She] is about 15 centimeters wide,” Jake said.

“I think [Charlotte] is getting bigger,” Annette said later in a comment online.

Some of the Grays’ family and friends are creeped out by the spider, but Annette refuses to kill Charlotte, acknowledging that the spider is harmless and has done a fine job of killing unwanted insects in her home.

Fast facts about Huntsman spiders

Huntsman spiders are a group of species of spider that lives in parts of Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia
There are 94 described species of huntsman spiders.
Huntsman spiders are intimidating but not deadly to humans.
Huntsman spiders don’t build webs, choosing instead to hunt for their food.
Huntsman spiders eat insects and other small invertebrates
Most Huntsman spiders live for approximately 2 years before reproducing and dying.
Huntsman spider bites are not deadly to humans but can be incredibly painful.