Does anyone know what kind of spider this is?

[stjohnjulie]

It's a big frikken hairy ugly spider, that's what kind it is! I hate spiders, and I wouldn't be around long enough to give it a name. If it moved from under my stove to under my fridge, it could have the darn thing, hell, it could have my whole kitchen.......did I mention I hate spiders?

Good luck with naming it.....

-Bert

I'm with you! I would move out if I could. With all of the downed branches and piles of leaves in my yard, I'm thinking matters would be worse if I pitched a tent in the yard. If I wasn't 6 months pregnant right now, I would have doused the house in insecticide with a sprayer that had a very far reach. Although it was a tough call....living with this thing in the house or coat the house in insecticide at the risk of having a a child with extra limbs.

It's not a tarantula or golden orb, we have plenty of those around as well. We have crab spiders around, but this one looks different. Maybe it is just a different kind??? The crab spiders I've seen before are really flat, and not very big. They are on the walls and ceiling. This one was big, if it was laid flat, it would be bigger than my hand, lighter in color, and looked a lot more hairy.

Yuck, yuck, yuck!!! I haven't seen it again. Not sure if I feel good or bad about that. Keep the suggestions coming. I've looked into all of the spiders mentioned, and the only one that it might be is the Huntsman...although I'm not sure about that.

[Barb Y]

Hey Julie I hope you don't mind, I posted your photo on a spider identification site in hopes to get it named. I feel for you because it was outside our villa and that was enough to freak me out nevermind if it was inside. Best of luck and maybe getting a cat as a hunter for ya might not be a bad idea.

[hugo]

Well, these spiders are getting somewhat more common, and I'm not sure if they were native here or got introduced in the past 20 years or so.
They are certainly in the Sparssidae spider group, which includes giant crab spiders and various huntsman spiders. These ones we've been seeing here are generally much brighter colored and have a more slender abdomen then the species that are common in South Florida, etc.
You might think that the spiders of St. John have been well documented, but almost all science commissioned by the Park is marine based.
So--this is a very large orange crabspider/huntsman. I have called them mango spiders, but I have no idea why, and the photos labeled mango spider on the web are all different from this--and all different from one another, I might add.
Almost certainly not toxic.

[mit43]

Wow, If my wife, Sheila, saw THAT in the house she would not come back in until I found it and got rid of it. There is NO WAY I am showing her this picture!

[stjohnjulie]

I don't mind you posting the picture some place else. I jacked it off of the See St. John Website...he had it listed as a "does anyone know what kind of spider this is?" It's the only one I could find a picture of that looked like the one I saw. The only difference is the one I found in my house was a LOT bigger. I'm guessing 2-3 times bigger.

Hugo, so giant crab spider...huntsman... do you also know what the smaller variety are called? I see the smaller spiders that look like this:



They also say huntsman...but the guys I see are smallish, an inch to an inch and a half, really flat, and not hairy looking.

[Pote]

We found that very same spider Aug. 31 at our villa in Fish Bay. we were packing to leave and had left some clothes out on the front porch to dry overnight. I shook out my wife's sundress and the big ol' fella popped out and flew under the bed. It startled me because I wasnt expecting it. I took his picture and released him safely outside.

I know people freak about spiders, but remember they are eating skeeters and other bugs that we should be more worried about! Dont smush them, just skoot them back into the outdoors.

And remember that things like that will hide in towels and bathing suits that you have left outside overnight. shake them out outside before bringing them in!

[Lindy]

Stjohnjulie - When I was researching this I read on one of the websites that there are at least 200 varieties of crab/huntsman spiders - all sizes and colors. You're probably seeing a couple different variations of the same Genus. Lucky they're the good kind of spider, right?

[stjohnjulie]

Yea, right, lucky me! 200 different varieties...that's A LOT!! I see that second guy all the time. That is the one I have in the house most frequently. You see, I wouldn't even say these two spiders are of the same family because they look completely different.

I know these guys love to eat other bugs, but trust me, there is no "scooting" them out of the house. They move extremely fast and startle quite easily. You get one chance to kill or capture, and because I react very badly to spider bits of all kinds, I gotta go for the kill.

[mindehankins]

[quote="stjohnjulieIf I wasn't 6 months pregnant right now, I would have doused the house in insecticide with a sprayer that had a very far reach. Although it was a tough call....living with this thing in the house or coat the house in insecticide at the risk of having a a child with extra limbs.
[/quote]
I've been meaning to say....congratulations on your pregnancy, Julie!

[Barb Y]

Hey here is what I got from the Spider Identification forum. They did not seem to be totally sure but here goes:

I'm not an expert but, focusing on the feet, I think this might be a Giant Crab Spider - Sparassidae - of some type, possibly Pseudosparanthis cubana or something similar

Don't know if it helps any but it's the best I've got! Congrats on your pregnancy and I hope your visitor stays away!

[stjohnjulie]

Thanks for the help! I haven't seen it since it ran under the fridge. So hopefully it got out of the house and now I just have to look for the hole in the house that is big enough for that thing to come in and out

Now it's frogs!!! I have only seen a few frogs in the years I've lived in this house, and they were all outside. In the last week, there were three in the house (little guys). And the other early morning I was sitting out on the porch looking at all of the beautiful stars when something hit me in the back. I thought it was a branch, but when I got the flashlight, I saw it was a great big ol' frog. I think it hopped from the roof and tried to land on me. It couldn't stick to my pj's (thank goodness!) so it fell off of me onto the deck. Frogs are good, I like frogs. Even if they get in my house

[California Girl]

Frogs and spiders! Good insect eaters!! I can't say I'd be thrilled with that big spider in the house, however!! You live a good life, Julie! I'd trade high stress and 80 mph on the freeway for your frogs & spiders anyday!