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I live in the central west coast of Florida (near Tampa bay) and I found this spyder in the bathroom high up in the corner. The wife says she thinks it’s a poisonous bananna spyder (we do have quite a few bannana trees) because she say’s they jump, I’ve never witnessed this. But this is not the first I’ve seen these. But never do I see a nest making me think it’s a "wolf" or a "fishing spyder". We do have large web making spyders and the one in question spins a web but, I’m still doubious.
The doubting spyder houser….
May the love of God be with you and yours,
Respectfully,
Glenn T. Ennis

Hi Glenn,
Your wife is partly correct. You have a Giant Crab Spider, probably Heteropoda venatoria, a female. They are sometimes called Banana Spiders because they are sometimes imported with bunches of bananas and people mistake them for tarantulas. The species if found worldwide in tropical regions, but is also common in Florida. They often enter homes where they are content to feed on cockroaches, hence they are beneficial. The female will carry her egg sac around with her until the spiderlings hatch. They are harmless to humans.

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