http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/henspl/scaryspider-1.jpg
I found it crawling around near my computer and so I snapped a picture of it, after I put him on a piece of paper so you can see it better. Sorry about the poor quality - my cam is a cheap one. This thing is pretty small, smaller than a dime.
Will these things attack me while I am sleeping and do they usually hang out in large herds? Or is this one a lone wolf?
What should I do with it. It seems to be sleeping right now.
2007-12-13 04:12:28 · 16 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Zoology
I was worried it might be a black widow, because it has an orange-colored shape on its butt that kinda resembles an hourglass
Aparently it's not though. :)
2007-12-13 04:55:53 · update #1
It's a dwarf Tarantula, they come out in large hunting packs when it's dark and are very mean(Napoleon complex). Known to be able to strip a donkey of it's flesh in less than a minute.
2007-12-13 04:19:08 · answer #1 · answered by Issa 3 · 2⤊ 2⤋
No, that's not a deadly spider or one to be concerned about. If your that concerned then just pick it up in a cup and put it outside if you can catch it, but it won't hunt you the only hunt insects and may bite you if you try to hold it or something. Most spiders don't hang out in herds either, unless you come upon a nest of spiders that have just hatched it probably won't have another one around it looks old enough. Sorry I don't know what kind it is but I have seen them before. The only deadly spiders are black widows and fatal fiddlers for the most part and the only bite if disturbed they don't just bite you for no reason and they certainly don't hunt humans think of the size that they are they are most of the time really small why would they take the chance in getting squished or smashed by you.
2007-12-13 12:18:13 · answer #2 · answered by crymeariver 5 · 3⤊ 1⤋
I agree with the folks that figure it's a jumping spider. Since you say it has an orange mark on the abdomen, and it's very hairy, I'd say it's a male Phidippus regius. I'm guessing you live somewhere west of the Mississippi.
Very harmless. It could bite you, and you'd feel the bite, but no lasting effects and no danger to you. As for attacking you in your sleep, they prefer to attack you while you're awake so they get to hear the screams...
I don't think it's sleeping, by the way - it looks kind of dead.
2007-12-13 13:24:13 · answer #3 · answered by John R 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I see these on my ceiling all the time. If its the same kind of spider that I see then they're pretty harmless and seem to stay away from people for the most. You COULD just simply relocate it to someplace other than next to your computer.
2007-12-13 12:18:17 · answer #4 · answered by LuLu 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Everyone's right... It's a nice little Jumping Spider... Totally harmless... let me see if I can ID it to a species though:
It looks like Phidippus audax - Bold Jumper... or a variation within the species.
http://bugguide.net/node/view/2006
2007-12-13 14:00:21 · answer #5 · answered by Reduviidae 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It is a little solitary wolf spider. They are kind of cute and can really run. They are not in any way dangerous to humans. They do not hang out in "herds". You should be happy that the spider is keeping your house free of insects.
2007-12-13 12:18:23 · answer #6 · answered by Sandy G 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
It looks like a jumping spider. We had these in our old house and they seemed to watch us as much as we watched them. They never bite us and seemed to stay away from us. If they ever got too close, we would capture them and put them outside. All the research we did says they are not poisonous. Do a google search on jumping spiders and see what you think.
2007-12-13 12:20:46 · answer #7 · answered by Dotchi Latham 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Sing it a lullaby to keep it asleep...
It likely has thousands of brothers and sisters lying in wait uner your floor boards... or not...
Go to Wikipedia to get a close look at the bad spiders you don`t want to share a pillow with...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider_bite
Hard to tell if you little guy is anything more than a common black spider... if he or she is a common and safe spider - try to teach it a few tricks like making a trapeze with its web.
2007-12-13 12:18:38 · answer #8 · answered by madamoo 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I don't think so, but it depends where abouts you live, I have seem spiders similar to that and they dont go in herds but they do breed in multitude sometimes, i found one in my kitchen when I was on an eight month holiday for my work.
2007-12-13 12:16:22 · answer #9 · answered by Carrotcake 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Looks like a jumping spider. Theyre some of the best ones to have around. They will attack flies. Its cool to watch them hunt too. They litteraly jump on their prey. Put him on a window sill when a fly is buzzing around it and check it out. I was bitten by one once and it made a flaky place on my skin is all.
2007-12-13 12:16:09 · answer #10 · answered by Yeppers! 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋