F*$&ing Giant Spiders. GLOBAL WARMING SUCKS.

[DonRedwood]

Good Morning.

Now for the news... *#&^@ #^$^$*@ #)@*#&$&$&!!!!!!!

The weather is changing. Our weather here in the Northwest is doing crazy things. Plants are changing....the bugs seem to be changing.

I've lived in this house for over 12 years. I spend a good chunk of every summer in the yard. I know the birds, I know the plants, I know the bugs.

Today I met a bug I don't know. When I came downstairs this morning I found a three-inch spider in my sink. A gigantic three-inch, long-legged vicious looking spider. I've never seen anything like it before and I've been living within a half an hour drive of this house pretty much since 1978.

This spider freaks me out. So does what I am seeing in my yard. Last year my dogwood tree and the hydrangeas didn't bloom. I have plants that are so big I don't understand them. I have a nicotina in the yard that is over 8 feet tall. It has leaves as big as a turkey platter. Every year I plant a few nicotina seeds from the plants from the year before. Four years ago the nicotina seed produced a 3 foot plant, the next year couple of years it was taller...almost 4 feet. This year over 8. It towers above me. I have sunflowers that are 15 feet tall and are only just beginning to put out flowers.

Next to the nicotina is a delphinium in full bloom. In August. It has been blooming since June. I have Four O'clocks that are now over five feet tall. We had those growing up in our yard 20 miles from here. Wonderful plants...they were never bigger than knee high when I was a kid. I'm guessing by the end of summer they will be taller then I am.

Our weather has been crazy. We didn't really have a winter. Spring sort of was early summer. Nothing is normal. The plants and bugs in my yard are not the same. A few days ago I came in with welts from being stung by something. I've been stung by gazillions of local bugs. I've never had this kind of reaction. Almost like something new took a chomp out of me. Things are changing quickly.

The giant spiders are coming.

[TheMastersNemesis]

1. Sri Lanka Has Poisonous Spiders As Big As Your Face.

[DonRedwood]

2. I would like those to stay in Sri Lanka

[Tien1985]

30. +infinity nt

[Mr Dixon]

14. Agreed that is a big MO FO

[img]?w=720&h=480&crop=1[\img]

[Thav]

42. Keep the drones around...

we'll need a weapon against these.

[yesphan]

3. You might want to invest in a

geiger counter.

[wandy]

4. Must be Spiders of Mass Destruction. Ya knew it was gonna happen. nt

[Berlum]

5. "No mention of Giant Spiders in the Bibble, so therefore can't be true." - RepubliFundies (R)

[whttevrr]

6. One word...

Spidernado!!!!

[DonRedwood]

10. LOL

[whttevrr]

12. Just prey it is not a black widow spidernado

[bunnies]

22. We found one of those in a bag of grapes once.

I was not amused.

[whttevrr]

25. Made one in blender a couple years ago...

http://www.blender.org/blenderorg/blender-foundation/press/
Blender is released under the GNU Public License, as Free Software, and therefore can be distributed by anyone freely. However, the license requires that if you distribute Blender you must also make - on request - the source code available. If you distribute Blender it is good practice to include the source code (see download section) on the CDROM as well. We request that you also mention the origin of Blender (blender.org) and inform users that they can obtain sources and support there.

This is not a picture of the one I made mine looked horrible. I don't have that kind of patience.

[bunnies]

27. I have blender.

Too bad I suck at it. Couldnt even make a damn snowman. Everything I attempted came out partially deformed.

Thats ones cool though. Im amazed at what some people can do with that program.

[Daemonaquila]

37. How about several hundred babies plus the mama?

While we were chatting with a lock & dam operator, she opened up a drawer and inside were hundreds of baby black widows with their proud mom. *sqgzkkg*

[bunnies]

44. omg. I'd have lost it.

I probably would never go in that room again.

[beevul]

61. Better a black widow than...

Better a black widow than one of these:




Granted the pain from the widow venom is far greater, but one of these funnelwebs, should you get bitten and badly envenomated, if untreated, you may not make it.

No joke, those critters.

[whttevrr]

66. wtf

[snooper2]

7. I'll take your giant spider(s)

as long as you take all my fucking cicadas

[bunnies]

8. Do you live near water, Don?

We have these charming things:

[TheMastersNemesis]

9. What If Spiders Got As Big As In Harry Potter Or Lord Of The Rings?

I remember fright flicks of the 1950's where there were spider webs big enough to catch people.

[pediatricmedic]

46. Somebody already has a solution for that

[ohheckyeah]

11. I've seen more

butterflies in our yard this year than all of the last 9 years put together. Fortunately, no giant spiders as of yet.

[woodsprite]

48. We've had more as well, and huge "pinching bugs" too

I don't remember seeing them around since I was a little
girl, and then they were maybe an inch long. Now they
sound like mini-RC planes flying around and are about 2
inches long.

My daughter took a pic of a trap door spider the other night.
It was freaking huge. I'll have to post the pic. The light actually
reflected off its eyes in the pic. I'm 50 and have never seen
one of those around here (DE).

We are seeing the same thing with some of our plants, like
our hydrangea. I trimmed it way back this year - to within
8" of the ground before spring. It's now taller than me.
I also didn't know they would spread, but it has.

[ohheckyeah]

56. We've got a hydrangea

that has grown like crazy, too. The willow tree has filled out more this year than ever and the Japanese maple has to be trimmed monthly. Our grass (or weeds) have filled in more than ever before. We live in the country so if it's green it gets mowed. We don't fertilize or use grass seed.

[4Q2u2]

13. Had these in Iraq.

[DonRedwood]

15. Welcome to DU! I sure hope they sprayed you for spider eggs before they let you in though....

Is that a real photo?

SHUDDER

[4Q2u2]

18. Real Photo

The look larger than they truly are. They placed them very close to the lens and got that effect. But the Camel Spider can get to be 6 to 8 iches big. Harmless to humans, but if you do not like spiders, does that really matter.

[woodsprite]

49. My friend requested care packages to be sent to

Her bro stationed in Iraq. She ask that we include cans of
the sticky glue they use in mousetraps. His unit used it to
catch the camel spiders.

[4Q2u2]

23. Be Glad they are not these

http://www.boston-online.com/bizarro/the_cockroaches_that_ate_natick.html

[bunnies]

16. Camel spiders.

Lovely little things.

[DonRedwood]

17. I fear not even a pancake on their heads could help those things out

[bunnies]

21. Agreed.

They look pretty pancake proof dont they. Boot proof too. There would be no consoling me if I happened on one of those things. Eww.

[Daemonaquila]

38. Oh HELL no.

I don't mind big spiders usually. I like tarantulas (they're just 8-legged rats that can't be dropped). But those? No. Just no.

[whttevrr]

19. rec for scary, creepy bug photos

[closeupready]

20. The presence of spiders indicates that a local environment is healthy,

in terms of the fact that when an particular environment is polluted with chemical toxins of any kind, the first type of fauna to fall prey is the arachnid group of insects. And also they eat cockroaches and bees and flies, so that's useful.

[Duer 157099]

29. See? They've already displaced canaries! n/t

[Gidney N Cloyd]

36. And they've already got their PR machine cranking. They're sentient, organized, & have a plan.

[Myrina]

40. So that's what happened to all the Bees ....

.... it's not climate change, they're stocking up on munchies in preparation for the Giant Spider Invasion!!


RUT ROH!!

[frylock]

45. one of my favorite episodes!

[Deep13]

53. It's a giant spider invasion of savings...at Menards! nt

[TroglodyteScholar]

59. Thanks for the LOL

Do you have Menards out in MA?

[Deep13]

69. No, only know about them through MST3K. nt

[frylock]

67. i'm gonna watch this one again tonight!

[GalaxyHunter]

24. Global warming is causing giant spiders!!!!!!!

yeah, sure.

[Auntie Bush]

26. If I have nightmares tonight...I'm gonna blame you.

And put you on my ignore list.

And your hubby too just for spite.

[Fumesucker]

28. I nearly walked into this one night at head level a while back

[former9thward]

31. Nature Attacks!

[CakeGrrl]

32. Aaagh, don't tell me that!

I'm up here in the NW too. Do not want.

I was tracking a baby wolf spider walking around my bedroom walls late last night. (shudder)

[WCLinolVir]

52. Wolf spiders are kinda cool. Only spider to run down their prey.

They mate for life. They don't usually bite. Just mock aggression.

[PADemD]

33. Heaven's Breath: A Natural History of the Wind, by Dr. Lyall Watson

http://www.amazon.com/Heavens-Breath-Natural-History-Wind/dp/0688056237

Read this book years ago. In the book, he wrote about how spiders (and other creatures) travel on the wind. I thought, "Damn, I'm going to have to keep my mouth shut when I'm outside walking."

I love Lyall Watson's books and have read almost every one he's written. He had a great tongue-in-cheek humor. Here's his bio:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyall_Watson

[Sentath]

34. Is there a cute abbreviation for

kick and go running away?

[starroute]

35. Welts sounds more like a reaction to some plant

I've gotten those on my arms after I'd cleaned out large patches of unchecked weeds. And once when my son was little, he decided to roll down a hill next to the rest stop on the Interstate and within 20 minutes was in so much pain that we had to get off the road and hunt around for a drugstore in the closest town to get some hydrocortisone cream.

The good news is that hydrocortisone does handle the stinging and swelling pretty quickly and thoroughly.

[Myrina]

39. ... try ChiggerX too ...

... works on a myriad of bug bites and if i recall, a tic less pricey than brand name Hydrocortisone.

[LWolf]

41. I haven't seen this yet,

although the last couple of winters have been milder, and this summer has been hotter.

Maybe I should pick up and move even further north now.

Or maybe I should just hope that I'll be long gone by the time the worst arrives.

Edited to add: I, too, am in the Northwest.

[Sheepshank]

43. ok....how about...

scorpion tailed spider:

?v=1

or the lady bug mimiking spider

?v=1

or the horned spider:

?v=1

[woodsprite]

50. We have some kind of black/white horned spider

The kids and I call them 'funny butt' spiders. Actually
have seen less of those and more of the yellow garden
orb weavers this year.

[yawnmaster]

47. Wait wait wait...this sounds more like radiation issues than global warming!!

I've seen enough movies to know this is true.

btw. I hope you didn't kill the spider.

[Vashondem]

51. Vashondem

Seattle area commonly has two large European House spiders. They eat lots of other insects so I usually leave them be. They are probably more frightened of us than we of them.

[davidn3600]

54. You can call this guy to get the spider out for you...

[love_katz]

55. The weather in the PNW has changed.

I was born and raised here, and have lived here all my life.

And, yeah, the weather has changed. You don't have to be a scientist to notice what is happening.

We seem to get more extremes, especially of heat.

And, we don't get the more gradual transitions between seasons like we used to. When the seasons change, it's like 'Boom', instant shift, like someone threw a switch or something.

Me no likey.

[Jenoch]

57. If you provide a photo

of your arachnid, you will get more usefull responses.

[sigmasix]

58. spiders with wings?!!?

I have mild arachnophobia and one of my nightmares is spiders developing a wing mutation. eeggh. What'd you do with the spider?

[Number23]

60. You ain't seen NOTHING till you see the spiders in Australia

That's the Huntsman spider. That's a normal sized spider on the far right.

Damn things are so big they don't even bother to hide. Walk right past you and say "g'day!" as they go by.

And Huntsman are non poisonous. The much more horribly deadly ones are the redbacks and whitetails. And they live in people's houses and just love to cuddle in bedsheets and clothing drawers. You get bitten by one of those, you are going to have a very, VERY bad day.

[Fla_Democrat]

62. Stock up on bulldog raspy crickets

Warning.... Creepy factor +10 for close up bug violence....

[JI7]

63. i hate all bugs and rats, why wont the go extinct

would rather have the woolly mammoth , Moa, and some dinosaurs.

[IDemo]

64. By chance, did it resemble this one?

Golden Orb Spinners aren't as hazardous as they appear. We've had several in the garden in Boise over the years and even fed one squash beetles a few times. Not my photo, and no, we didn't handle it!

[dembotoz]

65. just an under reported fact

check the seed packets. planting times are changing
areas are changing

seed companies know it
invasive plants can figure it out
invasive bugs can figure it out

farmers know something is going on

republicans not so much

[Mojorabbit]

68. It took me years to even be able to approach a little spider

but I can do it now and put them outside. It is a big accomplishment to be able to do that. The big ones like the wolf spiders are toast if they come in. I leave the room while hubby takes care of it and he must bring me the corpse before I will believe it is gone to the other side.

I read somewhere that you are never more than three feet from a spider.
That being said I just healed from a spider bite. Luckily it wasn't one of the more venomous ones.
It took three weeks and it was painful.