identify my friend (new pic!)

Marsman, tell her to put down the goddamn tarantula!

Seriously, I'm guessing it's a variety of Tegeneria, which includes the "House Spiders". To me, it does not look like a Hobo Spider, but that's your call to make.

Look at pic number three on the page.

Also a verbal description here. Oh, yeah, I'm not a spider expert and could be completely wrong.

This thread is freakishly awesome. I am sitting at my desk cackling and then staring nervously towards dark corners. Thankfully our apartment has been nearly bug and arachnid-free.

By the way pol, those are pretty good pictures. New career/hobby perchance?

Oh, and this photo of the brown recluse shows they are clearly working for the Horde.

Robear wrote:

Seriously, I'm guessing it's a variety of Tegeneria, which includes the "House Spiders". To me, it does not look like a Hobo Spider, but that's your call to make.

I agree. I would have just told you it was a common house spider, but I admit I had no clue of the specific name for the species.

I grew up in south central Virginia, and can tell you that these are all over the place during the summer months, and thin out during the winter, but you'll occasionally find them in attics and such, hiding from the cold weather.

In you're area, there's little chance of seeing a brown recluse, which is the only real deadly spider in the area that could be mistaken for a house spider. I'm not saying it's impossible, because Va does have a small population of them, but just... unlikely. I've seen a few black widows around there (the other deadly spider in the area), but you won't come across them often until around October (be very careful picking out your pumpkins for Halloween!... A majority of the BW's I've seen were while doing this).

Virginia has wolf spiders as well, but what most people don't realize is that their size is what helps you tell them apart from a brown recluse. All the wolf spiders I've seen in Va were about the size of a dime, including the outstretched legs. They're quick, but harmless.

Probably the creepiest looking spiders in the area are garden spiders, which can get pretty big. In a way though, they are extremely easy to identify just by looking at their web, because they all do this little bold zig-zag design right in the center. Their bodies get about as big as my index finger, and their legs will stretch about as big as my entire hand (I'm 6' with pretty big hands, so that's sayin' somethin'). These are harmless to humans, but very helpful if you actually have a garden. These guys will eat just about anything insect-wise that'll go after your produce. They also eat mosquitoes, so it's very nice to keep them around. Here's a decent pic:

IMAGE(http://www.markbashista.com/Insects/images/Garden%20Spider.jpg)

Those garden spiders are really helpful, but the thought of one of those bulbous bodies landing on the back of your neck as you are walking around the yard, just gives me the heebie-jeebies.

Sinatar wrote:

Why the hell did I click on this thread. Good god.

Reading this thead is liking watching a train wreck!

That's really creepy.Spiders seem pretty innocuous and there are only several varieties that can really kill. However, a spider bite can get very serious easily. For instance, one Jane Hefferan was attacked after graduating from law school and spent four years recuperating, incurring $1 million in medical debt. Article source: why not even implement your benefit as well as require a peek at https://personalmoneynetwork.com/?

Dear God... did a spammer actually bump a f$cking spider thread? Release the hounds....

I kind of like the wording in that spam. It makes it sound like the spider waited for her in a dark alley and came at her with a tire iron.

Jane Hefferan shouldn't have dressed like a bug. She had it coming.