To wipe or not to wipe: Moment a massive huntsman spider is spotted sitting on a toilet roll in a public bathroom
- Enormous huntsman spider is seeing hiding on a toilet roll in a public bathroom
- Shocking photo impresses more than 10,000 foreigners especially Americans
- Harmless Australian spider frightens people as it’s large, hairy and runs fast
- Not dangerous, on the move in February at the end of summer breeding season
An Australian has posted a terrifying photo of a huge huntsman spider sitting on the toilet paper roll in a public toilet, shocking people around the world.
‘You have to either wipe or walk away without wiping. Both choices aren’t pleasant,’ the unknown Aussie wrote on their picture, uploaded to internet discussion site Reddit.
Within hours it got more than 10,700 upvotes from horrified people who loved it – particularly from the US and Canada.
The horrifying image of a huntsman spider lying in wait was posted to Reddit
‘Guess I will have to carry a spare roll in my purse if I visit Australia,’ wrote one Redditor in the comments section.
‘Maybe they make toilet paper packs like we have nose tissue packs.’
Another wrote: ‘I really wanna go to Australia. I also really don’t want to go to Australia.’
The harmless and timid insect-eating spider is terrifying to people chiefly because it is large, hairy and runs fast.
A Sydney mum took photos of baby huntsmen in her daughter’s bedroom (pictured) prompting arachnologist Dr Lizzie Lowe, to remind people the large and hairy spiders are harmless
‘Burn it to the ground, my parents get huntsmans at theirs and it makes me want to stab out my eyes,’ wrote one Redditor.
The picture may help to explain why Australians almost universally strip the toilet paper aisles of major supermarket chains during coronavirus lockdowns.
One redditor joked: ‘We actually ran out of toilet paper during the start of the pandemic and had to use huntsmans to wipe, when the situation got dire they started mix and match packages and that’s why this picture exists’.
Huntsman spiders are on the move in February as it is the end of the summer breeding season.
Dr Lizzie Lowe, an arachnologist at Macquarie University, said the creepy crawlies are more likely to turn on each other than cause you harm (stock image)
The large, long-legged spiders known for their speed have appeared in droves this season as cities across the country cop a plague of arachnids.
The sightings, which have been shared widely on social media, brought little comfort for those with arachnophobia.
But Dr Lizzie Lowe, an arachnologist at Macquarie University, said the ‘beautiful’ creepy crawlies are harmless as their eyesight is poor, they’re usually confused, and they’re not highly venomous.
‘Huntsmen don’t have very good eyesight. They see light and dark and movement and that’s about all,’ she told Weatherzone.
HUNTSMAN SPIDERS
Are not poisonous
Are not dangerous to humans even though they look scary
Live for more than two years
Are sometimes called ‘tarantulas’ even though they are not related to the South American tarantula
Eat cockroaches and insects
Are timid and like to hide in dark crevices of bark or rocks
Are genuinely frightened of you
Are useful to the environment
‘They will never intentionally run towards you because they’re small and not highly venomous. They can bite you, but they won’t do any harm.’
Dr Lowe said huntsman are ‘super fast’ but often confused and if they are charging towards you, confusion is the simple explanation.
She said huntsman are not aggressive spiders and they typically stay up high because they are finding food to eat.
Dr Lowe said huntsman are ‘summer spiders’ as their eggs hatch during the spring, when they are stimulated by the warmer weather and rainy conditions.
But the baby huntsman recently spotted across the country have appeared because some spiders do two rounds of breeding.
Dr Lowe warned that it’s best to just let baby huntsman do their own thing – as they’re more likely to turn on each other than cause you harm.
‘When the babies hatch out, they disperse very quickly over one or two days. They are highly cannibalistic and don’t want to be eaten by their nestmates. Also they need to have their own food so it’s within their own interests to disperse,’ she said.
‘There’s probably only enough food for one huntsman in each house.’
Dr Lowe’s comments come after a Sydney mum took photos of baby spiders infiltrating her daughter’s bedroom.
She shared the terrifying images with a friend, who posted them on social media.
The friend said: ‘They’re bigger than the tiny babies I’ve seen. You can see how big they are by the window.’
‘They are fast and they jump and they’re big. I catch them and put them outside. This, however, would totally freak me out.’
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