Michigan Mom Finds Giant, Creepy Spider In Toddler’s Bedroom: Video

Everyone has a creepy spider story, but it’s hard to top one told recently by a Metro Detroit mom who found a giant Huntsman spider in her 21-month-old son’s bedroom. What does giant mean? In this case, shudder, the long-legged spider was about the size of a woman’s palm. Recognized as one of the world’s largest spiders, its legs can span up to five inches.

At first, Jillian Dyke, of Shelby Township, thought the spider was a ball of string and reached for it. But string doesn’t have eyes, she realized, and threw a stack of heavy books on the thing.

Dyke called in recruits, first her husband and parents, who were as freaked out as she was. (For more local news, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Detroit Patch, click here to find your local Michigan Patch. Also, follow us on Facebook, and if you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Of her father’s reaction, Dyke told WXYZ-TV: “He’s 73, he’s pipelined across the country, he couldn’t believe the size of the spider and he’s never seen anything like that.”

The spider was identified by experts at the Cranbrook Institute of Science in Bloomfield Hills. The Huntsman spider is relatively harmless, though some who are bitten may suffer an allergic reaction to venom. A bite feels a little like a bee sting, experts say.

The Huntsman spider isn’t indigenous to Michigan, and no one is sure how it got there. Randy John Lee, an employee at Pets & Things, a Utica store that specializes in arachnids, theorized it may have hitched a ride on a tropical plant.

They’re also frequently found on bananas and other fruit, and are called “banana spiders” for that reason, National Geographic reported.

Huntsman spiders are indigenous to Australia, but were introduced in the United States and now occur natively in places like Florida, Texas, California and the coastal areas of Georgia and South Carolina.

National Geographic said Huntsman spiders are often found in people’s homes, where they hide behind furniture, cabinets and wall hangings. When captured, some people keep them as pets. Though they’re not aggressive as a rule, they can bite, so it’s recommended that they be kept in terrariums that provide enough vertical space to climb.

Still not freaked out? Watch this video of a Huntsman spider dragging a mouse from National Geographic.

Photo by baggagecabbage via Flickr Commons