Subject: Spiders
Location: Stellenbos
October 25, 2013 1:03 pm
Hi
I rent a bachelor of which all my windows are at ground level due to the mountainous incline of the ground. Of amongst all the things that occasionally dare it into my space, there are spiders, and I am not a screaming girl, but these spiders are HUGE, they vary in size from [body span] about 4 cm – 10 cm. I caught one in a large round salad bowl of which the bottom diameter? is 20 cm and this creature’s leg span filled it. I haven’t killed any yet, but I am getting tired of having to catch these things, almost daily… Is there a natural repellent, like a type of plant or something to discourage them from making my home theirs?
They are big brown, 6 eyes, some have small white lined markings on the top, some have had red talons (if that’s what they’re even called), others have a striped leg pattern, their mostly nocturnal, and tonight I caught one with a very distinct goldish color V-shaped marking at the bottom of it’s back body, and they do come in different sizes.
Please let me know how to get them to leave me in peace without killing them off…
I don’t have a decent camera, but tried to get pics of the last 2 I caught.
Signature: Bex
Hi Bex,
This is a Huntsman Spider or Giant Crab Spider, but we cannot determine the species. They are nocturnal hunters and are generally shy around humans. We will be postdating your submission to go live in early November when we are away from the office.
Some people use the Osage Orange as a natural spider repellent. I doubt there are any trees in your area, but they do sell online (try Amazon.)
We just picked some osage oranges in western Pennsylvania during our week away from the office.