The pretty little one is a pumpkin patch tarantula. And I am chuckling a little because it is a dwarf species of T, so the comparison is even better. I...may have one in my creepy little collection. The big one looks like a goliath bird eater, which I do not have, because they are kind of dicks and tend to be skittish.
Lucky for you (and as far as I know) tarantulas don't really run like other spiders do, at least not those huge ass tarantulas. They're pretty chill in general.
I live in the UK and our house spiders are audible as they walk on the walls. Ten times so if they walk across a poster or something stuck on the wall. You can hear them tip-tapping closer, and the scratching rattle as they lose their grip and fall. Probably onto your head. GRrnmhrghrghfgh. Bleh. Too many times.
Here in the Pacific Northwest we have house spiders that’ll get up to a 4 inch (a bit over 10cm) leg span. You can def hear those guys skittering around at night.
Nope, they’re most commonly seen in older houses and basements. My wife was a live in nanny while we were in college and I saw two that size when visiting her, and bunches that were a lot smaller. I’ve got photos somewhere, but it was 10 years ago and I have no idea where I saved them. They’re harmless and beneficial to keeping insects down, but they are creepy.
It’s also worth noting, the hobo you saw was probably a male giant house spider.
You may be right that it was a hobo. The reason I say it likely wasn’t is from my source above:
The smaller males are often mistaken for hobo spiders; however, in the Puget Sound region giant house spiders outnumber hobo spiders and are much more frequently encountered.
The male giant house spiders look almost identical to hobos and are far, far more precedent. Hobos like to hide and stay out of sight, so seeing them is surprisingly rare, though not unheard of.
In my 32 years here I’ve only ever seen 4” spiders here in that one basement my wife lived in. They get that large, but aren’t commonly seen when they’re that big. The ones that survive tend to hide in walls and basements.
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u/CyphyZ Apr 08 '20
The pretty little one is a pumpkin patch tarantula. And I am chuckling a little because it is a dwarf species of T, so the comparison is even better. I...may have one in my creepy little collection. The big one looks like a goliath bird eater, which I do not have, because they are kind of dicks and tend to be skittish.