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Scary spider!!!


chocccie
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Can anybody tell me how to get a photo on here?  I want to see if anybody can identify a VERY scary looking spider we saw in our garden.

It has got yellow stripes is quite pretty if you like that sort of thing - but I'm staying indoors with a can of silly string in my holster until somebody tells me what it is!

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Looking at that photo has made the hairs on my neck stand up and my flesh creep. We have a monster which I am convinced is a radioactive accident from somewhere, bordering on a tarantula species which unfortunately lives in a hole right next to our outside tap. We've called her Consuela and her legs are like pipecleaners, suffice to say I do not go anywhere near and send the men in.
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The pic I posted is of a Camel Spider, which lives in the deserts of Iraq, among other places. It's fairly well known to our, and the USA's troops!

There are various stories about these spiders, including that they can run at 25mph and they always run towards you, (they actually can do about 15mph, and are running towards shade. When they reach your shade, they stop dead).

They are also said to make a noise like a screaming baby as they attack, (nonsense), to inject poison into sleeping people which numbs their body, then chew half their face off before they awake, (more nonsense), and to attack camels by JUMPING onto their bellies, clinging there before doing as in the above point to the camel's belly, (and more nonsense).

Pretty scary to look at though, and at least one soldier HAS been bitten by one which was IN HIS SLEEPING BAG

Sweet dreams

Alcazar

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That is horrible - I'm looking all around me as I read.  I have a terrible fear of spiders and every Spring and Fall I seem to get bitten by them.  I assume it is spiders as the bites fit the spider bite descriptions.  They can really hurt (the bites) and leave scars.

Do these camel spiders live in other parts of the Middle East?  My husband is on assignment (not military) over there right now (not Iraq).

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"Do these camel spiders live in other parts of the Middle East? My husband is on assignment (not military) over there right now (not Iraq)."

I've seen something similar in Syria. I may be wrong (highly likely) but I don't think that these things are true spiders, though they are close relatives. I was told that they were not posionous (and I was really tempted to poke to find out, obviously) and live on insects. They can really move though, and I remember being very pleased to be wearing good boots. We've got a bright green spider in the garden (there may well be more than one, I couldn't really say) and I notice that the cats and chickens are very careful to leave it alone, so I suppose that might be poisonous. Plants aside, are there any seriously poisonous land dwellers in mainland France?
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Camel spiders live all over the middle east ,and also, apparently, in the warmer areas of the USA!

They aren't true spiders......if you can look closely at my photo, three things become apparent:

1. there are TWO spiders, one attacked the other!

2. both appear to have TEN limbs, not eight as a true spider would have.

3. the picture makes them look a lot bigger than they are, as they are being held up to the camera........take a look at the size of the part of the sleeve of the guy holding them.

STILL pretty scary though.

My website says they ARE poisonous but rarely bite a human.

As for France? Well, there are Scorpions, parts of the Med coast have Black Widow spiders, there are Vipers almost everywhere, so yes, there are a few poisonous things.

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Husband is in Saudi Arabia.  My guess is you are going to tell me these lovely "things" live there.  I knew there was a reason not to go out in the desert at night.  We have spent many day trips fossil hunting, etc.  Lucikly for us, we never saw anything odd.  If I EVER came across something like that, I'm sure I would drop dead of fear.

We have lots of scorpions here in Dept. 84 Southeast France.  I am told they are a harmless variety.  Just don't tell me the lizards are poisenous as we are inundated with them.  We also have lots of spiders in the Spring and Fall.  They can get WAY too big for my well-being. 

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OKay, I told you I was looking around the room as I read the thread....

It is only 4:30 pm and I am making apple turn-overs.  Came back to the computer after having stirred said apples and there it is.... to the left of the door approaching 2.5 cms, with its fat long middle body.  I don't normally see these things until darkness sets in (isn't it lovely)!  I HATE THEM !!!!!  This is husband duty and naturally, he is not here.

Got the bug spray and from what I thought was a safe distance, started spraying.  You know they always run.  I did not have the courage to go close enough to use the fly swatter.  So, he goes under the sofa.  Yes, I moved the sofa, spray again, he runs again.  This time, onto the sofa - can just picture him getting into or under the pillows where we sit every single evening.  Took the fly swatter and knocked him as far as I could, then gave it to him.

Now, I cannot stop looking over my shoulder.  I do wish I could identify this one as I find these so so often.  They kind of remind me of a smaller, somewhat thinner, dark brown version of a tarantula.

I'll never sleep.

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Lori, use a vacuum cleaner with a long nozzle. My phobia is spiders tho' I've improved a lot over the years and can tolerate most except the big, chunky, long-legged spiders that come in during the autumn. I apologise to them for making my problem their problem... as they disappear at speed into the cleaner bag

And to those of you who are muttering mutinously: "spiders are good things, they kill flies..." I'm absolutely NOT having hammock-sized cobwebs around the house just so these monsters can feed. Anyway, they're coming in to mate and I strongly disapprove of arachnid sex.

These are them:

http://www.uksafari.com/housespiders.htm

I call them Citroen spiders... they seem to suffer from suspension problems as their backside is often closer to the floor than their heads as they scuttle rapidly into the darkest corner of the room. Read the full article as it also covers the aggressive Tenegaria agrestis which will bite humans with scant provocation.

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[quote]To be honest I thought this was an enlarged photo of something horrible hanging off a leaf or stalk not a soldier. They don't look real to me.[/quote]

Oh, they're real, alright!

Go into Google, Images, and type in "Camel Spider", there are LOADS of photos, and even a video of one catching, and eating quite a large gecko

AQnd yes, the do live in Saudi...........

Alcazar

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"Citroen Spiders" LOL, nearly christened the keyboard with coffee on that one.

I once fell asleep on the sofa here in the UK, and awoke to a humungous spider standing on the cushion about a foot from my face! I'm sure it was looking at me......

I assume you all know that research says (though HOW it was done is beyond me ), that the average person SWALLOWS 5 spiders a year while asleep.

Don't like the sound of that one that bites.........

Alcazar

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Catalpa - Thanks, I had thought of using the vacuum, but I would not sleep thinking they managed to live and get out.  Yes, I have a problem.  And, you are right, that IS the spider we find.  I don't think it is the hobo spider, but who knows, they are very similar.  I have not inspected them under microscope.  I do get bites though.  If it is those big ugly things, I think it is good they bite me when I'm asleep as I would surely die if I saw it happen.

Alcazar, you are adding to my sleep disorder.

I will tell my husband about the camel spider.  I suspect he already knows about it and has never mentioned it to me as he knows it might well send me over the deep end.

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Quote:

I assume you all know that research says (though HOW it was done is beyond me ), that the average person SWALLOWS 5 spiders a year while asleep.

 

Truly, so long as I don't wake up sleepily masticating , I don't care! Anyway, I suspect these unplanned night-time snacks are tiny tiny spiders, not a full gram of crunchy protein! Hmmm... calorie count anyone??

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I have a really natty device for catching insects so that you can put them outside without having to worrry about them crawling out of the vacuum cleaner or using insecticides unnecessarily.

It's like a plastic pyramid on a stick which you hold over the insect and then gently slide the lid and you can have a really good look at them before you put them outside.

Hoddy

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Hoddy - I don't think I could get that close.  I have to buy the high powered bug spray with the long nozzle so I can stay back as far as possible and still spray them.

You know, it is odd, I can deal with mice much better than spiders.  And, I know how unhealthy they are to the household.

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  • 3 months later...

Bonjouuuuuuur, Crikey, I can sympathise with peps with the phobia, I find if i see the s word after 8 oclock its on me mind before i go to sleep, i wakes up in a sweat dreaming about them, Im ok till the Autum when there everywhair.

 I spotted one with an afro hair cut, no joke, it was like a microphone head with 8 legs, made me consider staying in england, then i came to my senses, the AFRO was actualy loads of babies all over its head, whhhaaaa, yuuuuu, whaaaaa, (shivery shakey sounds).

These spiders are reely switched on ya know, i dont like to switch um off, they got there lives to live, food to find mortguages to pay, bla bla, bla, But if you catch one in a glass and take it down the bottom of the garden for release, keep an eye on it with binoculars from up the garden, there not daft, once they spot you dissapearing on the horison, theres that moment of contemplation, "  hummm, it was nice in that house, warm, spacious, dry etc etc. Humm, its raining here, the grounds all bumpey n tough on me joints, its cold, me mates are all in the house, what shall i doooooo?????????? "    ( thinking        thinking    thinking  )   BINGO,   Im going back to the house.

 Im shure thats how it works,  I put them in the car and drop um off a few miles away.... condi   

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Alece - what's the gadget called?  Can I buy it here in France?

Condorman - lovely reading as I sit here recovering from a terrible

bite more than a week ago that is a huge crusty scab now !!  Yuck,

they just seem to seek me out.

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[quote user="Lori"]Alece - what's the gadget called?  Can I buy it here in France?

Condorman - lovely reading as I sit here recovering from a terrible bite more than a week ago that is a huge crusty scab now !!  Yuck, they just seem to seek me out.

[/quote]

So................when you lift the scab, will there be THOUSANDS of spider babies under it? Like that poor woman who was bitten last year, and is now in a mental home?

BTW: this is an urban myth!

Alcazar

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Alcazar - what a thought.  People must sit around thinking of all

our nasty little phobias for ways to make us even more neurotic (urban

myths).

Really, I don't understand how such a small thing can make such big

damage to the skin.  I read that the males have the most vicious

bites.  My husband never gets them - why am I so lucky?????

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