Charlotte's Web Mk 2
"but can inflict severe pain (like a Celine Dion concert methinks)....there were literally hundreds of baby Huntsman spiders running everywhere!"
Recently No Worries, the Gals and I moved to a new abode. The move was a typically stressful one even though we only moved a couple of kms up the road! Moving is not fun at the best of times. As I type this tome we still have lots of boxes to unpack! Yes I know, we are lazy!!
Anyway, when we moved in we noticed a Huntsman spider in the kitchen at the top of the venetian blinds. For the uninitiated, a Huntsman spider is quite large, hairy and looks like a tarantula! Fortunately they cannot kill a human but can inflict severe pain (like a Celine Dion concert methinks).
I tried to kill it but it went into the bracket that was holding up the blinds. No Worries and I decided to leave it be as Huntsman's do kill insects including the much maligned cockroach. So we left it alone to its own devices. It seemed happy enough to hang around the top of the blinds so I certainly was not worried!
Fast forward a couple of weeks to one late Saturday night. We were just about to go to bed when women's intuition came to the fore. Now I am a firm believer in the good old women's intuition thingy as generally it is always 100% correct. Anyway, No Worries came out with the following comment:
"What happens if the spider is female and has lots of babies?"
I have to admit I was laughing internally, but my response was diplomatic.
"Nah, that won't happen. Why would a spider lay eggs in a kitchen?" replied I.
We went to bed having seemingly resolved that issue. The next day I got up early as I had to go to work. I went into the kitchen and could not believe my eyes. On the ceiling there were literally hundreds of baby Huntsman spiders running everywhere! I left the room, washed my face and went back to the kitchen. The spiders were still there!
I then went to our bedroom and told No Worries (who was still sleeping) the situation. To her credit she didn't say "I told you so".
While I was at work I received a phone call from No Worries. Apparently Huntsman spiders can have up to 200 babies at one time. The Gals had decided to watch 'Charlotte's Web' on DVD and had nicknamed our newly proud parent "Charlotte".
Despite this I had to get rid of the spiders. Much to my views on such matters I went and purchased an insect spray. I could not take the risk of having these spiders growing and potentially biting my daughters.
After lunch, I cleared the kitchen of items and set to work on killing the spiders. I certainly had a pang of guilt in doing it. I undid the blinds bracket and found out that Charlotte had laid eggs around some cotton wool inside the bracket. It appeared that she wanted a nice warm, safe nest for her babies. I expected to see Charlotte but she wasn't there.
Then she appeared. She didn't seem to be a happy bunny to put it mildly. Unfortunately for her she got squashed in the window and soon moved on to the great spider web in the sky. A few minutes later all the spiders were no more.
The kitchen was returned to its former glory!
So the moral of this story is never underestimate the intuition of a woman! It's a powerful thing indeed.
Recently No Worries, the Gals and I moved to a new abode. The move was a typically stressful one even though we only moved a couple of kms up the road! Moving is not fun at the best of times. As I type this tome we still have lots of boxes to unpack! Yes I know, we are lazy!!
Anyway, when we moved in we noticed a Huntsman spider in the kitchen at the top of the venetian blinds. For the uninitiated, a Huntsman spider is quite large, hairy and looks like a tarantula! Fortunately they cannot kill a human but can inflict severe pain (like a Celine Dion concert methinks).
I tried to kill it but it went into the bracket that was holding up the blinds. No Worries and I decided to leave it be as Huntsman's do kill insects including the much maligned cockroach. So we left it alone to its own devices. It seemed happy enough to hang around the top of the blinds so I certainly was not worried!
Fast forward a couple of weeks to one late Saturday night. We were just about to go to bed when women's intuition came to the fore. Now I am a firm believer in the good old women's intuition thingy as generally it is always 100% correct. Anyway, No Worries came out with the following comment:
"What happens if the spider is female and has lots of babies?"
I have to admit I was laughing internally, but my response was diplomatic.
"Nah, that won't happen. Why would a spider lay eggs in a kitchen?" replied I.
We went to bed having seemingly resolved that issue. The next day I got up early as I had to go to work. I went into the kitchen and could not believe my eyes. On the ceiling there were literally hundreds of baby Huntsman spiders running everywhere! I left the room, washed my face and went back to the kitchen. The spiders were still there!
I then went to our bedroom and told No Worries (who was still sleeping) the situation. To her credit she didn't say "I told you so".
While I was at work I received a phone call from No Worries. Apparently Huntsman spiders can have up to 200 babies at one time. The Gals had decided to watch 'Charlotte's Web' on DVD and had nicknamed our newly proud parent "Charlotte".
Despite this I had to get rid of the spiders. Much to my views on such matters I went and purchased an insect spray. I could not take the risk of having these spiders growing and potentially biting my daughters.
After lunch, I cleared the kitchen of items and set to work on killing the spiders. I certainly had a pang of guilt in doing it. I undid the blinds bracket and found out that Charlotte had laid eggs around some cotton wool inside the bracket. It appeared that she wanted a nice warm, safe nest for her babies. I expected to see Charlotte but she wasn't there.
Then she appeared. She didn't seem to be a happy bunny to put it mildly. Unfortunately for her she got squashed in the window and soon moved on to the great spider web in the sky. A few minutes later all the spiders were no more.
The kitchen was returned to its former glory!
So the moral of this story is never underestimate the intuition of a woman! It's a powerful thing indeed.
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