A giant venomous spider, which would terrify most people, has been found in a pantry in Australia—but the calm, plucky homeowner just put it on a hand and carried it outside.
A picture of the Huntsman spider was captured by Reddit user Vico1730 and posted to the platform, where it had received 42.1k upvotes as of February 3.
Huntsmans are considered one of the biggest spider species in the world, next to the Goliath Birdeater. They have the biggest leg span of any spider, which can sometimes reach up to 12 inches.
The huntsman in the photo can be seen on the side of a box of Campbell’s chicken stock.
Vico1730
Vico1730 told Newsweek that the spider was found in the pantry at their home in Tasmania. And as far as the species goes, this one was not that big.
“Such spiders are very common here, they are harmless, and fortunately don’t eat much out of the pantry. This one was actually quite small. I just perched it on the back of my finger and took it outside,” the Reddit user said.
The species can be found in most areas of Australia. They are particularly common in warmer or wetter weather, as they often scuttle into homes in search of shelter.
Spiders aren’t generally dangerous to humans. This species has a set of powerful pincers that they use to inject venom into their prey. Although a bite can be painful to humans, it usually doesn’t cause any side effects other than nausea, headaches, or swelling.
Many Reddit users took to the comments section, horrified at the photograph.
“Looks to me like theres a human in that spider’s pantry,” one Reddit user commented.
Another one commented: “Campbells cup of burn your house down!”
“I wouldn’t be feeling so hungry anymore.”
“I swear to Christ if I ever encountered that thing I would be sh*****g my pants. Not taking a picture of it,” another Reddit user said.
“Time to move out.”
“Nope nope nope nope nope.”
“His pantry now.”
People commonly mix up huntsman spiders up with tarantulas, but they are actually from the sparassidae family. They can be told apart by the way they position their legs. Unlike tarantulas, Huntsman spiders tend to hold their legs in a crab-like posture.
In the wild, the spiders can be found lurking under loose bark on trees, under rocks and on foliage.
Huntsman spiders don’t build webs to catch their prey. Instead, they run after their prey and ambush it. They usually eat larger insects such as cockroaches, then shut the prey down with venom.
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