Imagine going out to check your mail in the morning, only to find a foot long huntsman spider, and a bunch of her spiderlings, right before you stick your hand into your mailbox. Well, that has never happened before as far as I am aware. However, there was a good long period of time when a particular mailman could have experienced this unfortunate scenario. One curious women decided to allow a female huntsman spider to go on living within her mailbox until it was well enough to live on its own again. Apparently this woman did not find it necessary to notify her mailman.
For weeks a spider enthusiast, Natasha Joyce, allowed a huntsman spider to start a family within her mailbox. Initially, she had planned on the mailbox being only a temporary comfort for the spider, but over the course of several days, the giant spider grew on the woman, and she could not let it go. Eventually, several people from her neighborhood began visiting the spider family in droves regularly.
As time went on several visitors began noticing that an egg-sac was present within the mailbox, which fascinated and terrified many neighbors. Some neighbors were concerned that the spiderlings would procreate in the region, which could result in some garden-eaters making their way to the neighbors yard. Eventually, several people, mostly kids, banned together in order to collectively build a spider-nursery within the mailbox. At this point, some parents from around the neighborhood did not want their kids visiting the spider, due to its potentially damaging bite.
Mrs. Joyce decided to call a professional entomologist employed at a museum in order to ascertain the risk that the huntsman might pose to others. Luckily, despite its enormous size, the huntsman spider possesses venom that is far from potent. However, mother huntsman spiders are well known to become super-aggressive while protecting her spiderlings. Luckily, nobody from the neighborhood was attacked by any giant huntsman spiders.
Have you ever seen a huntsman spider inside of your home? How did you remove it from you home?