A Giant House Spider recently caught in Vancouver. Photo Bob Kronbauer
A combination of horror and fascination was on display in the Facebook comments for our recent story about how the sketchy Giant House Spider is common in Vancouver.
Out of more than 1,000 comments we had a lot of people saying that they find these creatures in their sinks, or that they're generally familiar with them. Others shared more graphic detail of their mostly-creepy encounters with them.
Enjoy these Vancouver spider stories below! And check out all of them HERE.
Shannon:
"I shook out a blanket in my cabin, and then there was one of those on my leg. I have never been the same."
Christina writes:
"One time I was sleeping in my bed (lived in a basement suite), felt something on my forehead went to wipe it away, looked at the pillow and saw one of these guys sitting there! I freaked and jumped out of bed, it ran between the bed and the wall. Moved the bed and found a bunch (about 8-10) of them hanging out under the bed. Had my bf take care of them, I never put my bed against the wall again!"
Amber:
"I catch one or two a day. Just put a Tupperware over it, slide a magazine or something under, and let it go in a sheltered area outside.... Like your neighbours garage or patio. jk"
Ash:
"I saw one dashing across my floor the other day. Our eyes met and we both stopped and stared at each other. I said aloud, “I will let you live but promise to kill any stray summer ants you find”. That seemed an amicable arrangement to him as he then darted off into the closet and I haven’t seen him since. I named him Fuzzy pants."
Brandy:
"I had one named Dan the Spider Man for several months living in my bathroom. Nasty weather to let him outside and so we cohabited for a while until the weather improved."
Mary:
"I caught one of them. Sitting on the toilet with a bucket in my lap, trapped, what wonder should appear? Yes, a giant house spider. Due to circumstances I couldn't move. We stared at each other until I couldn't take it any more. I took a chance and moved before he did ... fortunately quickly enough to save my skin and my dignity. Vancouver is awesome indeed."
Janine:
"Our home in North Van years ago. I recall a spider something like that sauntering across our living room floor. My aunt fetched a bowl to out over it, and it's darn legs were still sticking out. It had to have been a good 5-6 inches with the leg span. That was one particularly large spider!! Mostly we used to get those big black hairy spiders. This one was quite different from those.."
Diane:
"Would rather have this kind than the hobo or brown recluse, one of which bit my husband years ago, resulting in necrosis on his leg, antibiotics and a nasty scar. If it gets too close I will kill a spider, but if it stays in its shadows it’s home free."
Laurie:
"Yup I remember those in the basement suite on West 11th we called them rain spiders cuz that is when they would come in. I hate to say it but you do get used to them as long as you see them coming."
Amanda:
"I’ve got 2 little buddies of note outside my front door atm. One, a funnel-webbing spider (probably a house spider though I haven’t bothered getting close enough to determine this) living in one of my muck boots (he will have to be evicted soon, unfortunately). And a pumpkin spider whom I’ve names boris. He’s getting extraordinarily large.. his abdomen is now about the size of a large marble... both live under my porch light and I have no intention of moving them any time soon as they feast on all the little creepy crawlers attracted by said light... including moths. It’s irrational but I’m terrified of those erratic-flying bastards."
Chris:
"I remember finding these in my parents house and friends’ houses when I was a kid. It always amazed me that they got so big! Had one in my friends house that was so big we had to use an ice cream pail to capture it! Had to be 3”-4” leg span."
Brandy:
"We also had an infestation where I’d walk into a closet and it would be like Ripley in Alien. I sucked them up by the dozen in a vacuum cleaner and then was afraid to change the bag. I sort of feel for them though. If I don’t bother them they don’t bother me. I saw a spider once walking around the edge of a patio table clearly calculating where the shortest jumping off point was. As long as it wasn’t me I was happy. You could see it judging the distance and moving along the edge of the table. It gave me a new perspective on the little critters."
Nikki:
"They usually gallop alway. I say gallop because you can hear them!! Already had two in the last week. Tis the season"
Paul:
"we call them 'midnight gallopers'"
Kari:
"So many horror stories. This post is triggering. I tried to save one a few weeks ago but there was so much shrieking because I kept hesitating and flailing, I actually woke my landlords up. Was able to save him.
Came home late last week to one of these scurrying across my floor. Squashed it as it was beelining for my bedroom and I still feel guilty. I know they aren’t harmful but I am so goddamn terrified of them."
Caitlin:
"I am pretty sure I had one of those run across paper I had on the ground and I could hear it running as it moved the pages, I thought it was a mouse at first. At 3 in the morning it scared the life out of me and I couldn't sleep in my room that night. Lol"
