Is it just me or are spiders bigger nowadays?

solidMGSsnake

That's my question to ye, what do you think? Maybe not as much bigger but rather thicker. I grew up in the 90s and from then to around 2010 the kind of spiders I'd see would be small black ones or crane flys (if you count them, they're similar). But now whenever I encounter a spider they have a much thinker build and are brown in colour. In the past their legs wouldn't be much thinker than a strand of hair and their body would just resemble a black ball. But the body and legs are actually thick enough to recognize detail. I also think they've gotten stronger as they can move out of the way faster and nearly always require double tap to kill if I do get them.

I actually don't really mind spiders and I'd rather not kill them, but they're hard to get rid of. I'm just interested that's all. Could it be related to climate change?

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

I'm sorry but the spiders are the same size here as they were 70 years ago. Perhaps you are just seeing different species. I grew up in the 40s and 50s and we had big blighters then - as we still do at times today. There are a few newer species about that are a bit bigger but generally big spiders are nothing new.

solidMGSsnake

Thanks for the info, but it's very strange that im only discovering them now isn't it?

emo72

i see lots of spindly spiders that are barely there. i dont remember them when i was younger. i remember daddy long legs had a bit more to them, but these current ones are barely there. does that make sense. maybe a species of spider thats doing better now and a lot more prevalent.

OpenYourEyes

You might be talking about a 'harvestman' emo72?

Desmo

emo72 wrote: »

i see lots of spindly spiders that are barely there. i dont remember them when i was younger. i remember daddy long legs had a bit more to them, but these current ones are barely there. does that make sense. maybe a species of spider thats doing better now and a lot more prevalent.

Pholcus phalangioides is very spindly and is a relatively recent arrival over most of Ireland. When I was in my late teens in the 70s you only got them along the S. coast. Now they are everywhere.

kylith

I read an article recently that stated that spiders grow larger in urban environments, so maybe that's what the OP is noticing.

Pie Man

Just came across this and though it covers the subject fairly well.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/giant-spiders-uk-species-growing-big-122408195.html#ev5Xk52

Desmo

That is interesting alright. It says that this is a good year for them and they will grow fat this year. What the OP was wondering about was over 20 years. The latter is explained by changes in spider species that we tend to get in our houses.

The Hill Billy

Can anyone tell me if there are any spiders that look remarkably like a Black Widow? Spotted in a funnel-type web under the gutter at my back door. Retreated before I could get a pic.

(Not really sure if I want to know the answer, but for the health & wellbeing of my family I thought I had better ask.)

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Possibly a False Widow but it could be one of several others as well. Hard to tell without a photo.

The Hill Billy

Panic over (in my head anyway) if this pic of a False Widow is anything to go by...

The Hill Billy

Angelo Unkempt Seafarer wrote: »

Possibly a False Widow but it could be one of several others as well. Hard to tell without a photo.

Very similar to the pic I posted. Especially the shiny spherical body & short hind legs.

fryup

Angelo Unkempt Seafarer wrote: »

Perhaps you are just seeing different species.

maybe these are the bigger spiders the OP is on about ??

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

fryup wrote: »

maybe these are the bigger spiders the OP is on about ??

Maybe if you quoted the entire post, rather than just 7 words of it, it, would make sense.???

The OP may well just be seeing species of spiders that he did not see when younger. As in these spiders have always been about and have been more or less that size, but just not observed by the OP.

solidMGSsnake

fryup wrote: »

maybe these are the bigger spiders the OP is on about ??

No the spiders I saw didn't have the bulb shape body and it wasn't smooth and shiny like that. It had rough skin for lack of a better word. Although if we are getting black widows then that is indeed frightening.

While it's possible that I just happened to miss them as a child it sounds unlikely as I'm almost 20 and it seems very unlikely that somehow missed these type of spiders for most of my life and now I mostly see nothing but these spiders. Also I'm not the only one who has noticed this, my family and friends have too. (probably should have said this already)



This is the kind of the spider I've been seeing but I don't know about the exact breed. I saw spiders like this as a child but there were way smaller and were usually black, but that could just be because they were so small it was hard to make out the colour. It's the legs especially that bug me, when I was a kid they weren't as thick as they are now. Maybe I'm just crazy xD

kikidelvin

I also have noticed that there are a lot more spiders around now than years ago.They are bigger and a lot lighter in colour A few weeks ago a very large black one was on my bed ,when I tried to grab it it jumped down on to the floor and one more jump and it was gone.I have never seen them jump before.So what is going on .?:)

SeantheMan

Seen the same thing on Journal.ie

http://thedailyedge.thejournal.ie/spider-invasion-scare-explainer-1687485-Sep2014/

So is the giant spider invasion real?

Well, yes. Every autumn, there is an increase in sightings of large spiders in Irish houses, and some news stories about the Great Spider Invasion of two thousand and whatever. This is an annual event, popularly believed to occur as spiders flee the cooling weather for the nice warm confines of your gaff.

TL;DR: It’s happening, but it’s normal.

But are they bigger this year?

No. That’s definitive, according to Irish arachnologist Myles Nolan, who told DailyEdge.ie: “There is no evidence spiders are getting bigger.” He added:


Basically this has happened over the last 20 years every autumn. Each year a small number of people decide they’ve never seen as many big spiders in their life. But if they were getting bigger each year, by now they’d be the size of cats.

However, this is the stage in the life cycle of our most common spiders when they reach their full size. So they’re not necessarily bigger than last year – but they might be bigger than they were in spring. Basically, says Nolan, every year at this time:


The common house spider and common garden spider become adult and people start noticing them.

OK… there are definitely more of them, though?

Again, no. “There’s no substantial evidence that they are more numerous,” says Nolan.

He says again that each year, there may be a few cases where spider populations increase at a very local level – even in a particular house or street. This depends on a wide range of factors.

In short: it’s just possible that there might be more spiders in your house than usual. But this doesn’t mean the whole country is overrun.

Desmo

Excellent article (from Myles Nolan) that; well spotted Seantheman.
For what it is worth; we had 3 adult Tegenarias in one day over the weekend which is as many as I have seen in the previous 6 months. They do seem to be very active (moving indoors) right now.

endacl

Spiders are the same size they've always been, op. It's you that's getting smaller!

Half-cocked

Had a real monster on the bedroom wall last night. Had to perform an eviction so that my wife, and by default I, could get some sleep. She wouldn't listen to my arguments that it would eat all the dust mites etc and be doing us a favour by sharing our bedroom.

SONIC2008

Half-cocked wrote: »

Had a real monster on the bedroom wall last night. Had to perform an eviction so that my wife, and by default I, could get some sleep. She wouldn't listen to my arguments that it would eat all the dust mites etc and be doing us a favour by sharing our bedroom.

I feel her pain. Sometime in the last year I've had a fear of spiders instilled in me. Wouldn't sleep in a room if there was a big spider at large. By big I mean anything over 3cm.

endacl

SONIC2008 wrote: »

I feel her pain. Sometime in the last year I've had a fear of spiders instilled in me. Wouldn't sleep in a room if there was a big spider at large. By big I mean anything over 3cm.

When I lived in Sydney, I shared an apartment with three other lads, and a huntsman spider the size of my hand. Boris would happily park himself in a corner of the living room ceiling all day, and go on a bug rampage all night. Most useful house guest I ever had. One of the lads was a big Jessie where spiders were concerned so we ended up catching Boris one day, and flipping him off our third floor balcony. The following day we were overrun with cockroaches etc. Luckily, huntsmen are territorial. Boris made his way back, and big Jessie was informed that if we permanently got rid of the spider, he'd be on bug killing duties.

Boris got to stay.

SONIC2008

Haha good story, and ye even named the spider! :-) I lived in oz too and maybe thats where I got my fear! Never saw a huntsman spider, I did see a wolf spider who was quite aggressive looking!

endacl

SONIC2008 wrote: »

Haha good story, and ye even named the spider! :-) I lived

We didn't name him! He introduced himself!

SONIC2008

Haha good story, and ye even named the spider! :-) I lived

endacl

SONIC2008 wrote: »

Never saw a huntsman spider

He was the image of this fella...

edber2011

kikidelvin wrote: »

I also have noticed that there are a lot more spiders around now than years ago.They are bigger and a lot lighter in colour A few weeks ago a very large black one was on my bed ,when I tried to grab it it jumped down on to the floor and one more jump and it was gone.I have never seen them jump before.So what is going on .?:)

I have to agree,i too think the common spider is getting huge and can jump great distances.

endacl

edber2011 wrote: »

I have to agree,i too think the common spider is getting huge and can jump great distances.

Not really. We've had an unseasonably long summer. The common spider species has been more active for longer. That's all. It's been a good year for grass too.

dealhunter1985

endacl wrote: »

When I lived in Sydney, I shared an apartment with three other lads, and a huntsman spider the size of my hand. Boris would happily park himself in a corner of the living room ceiling all day, and go on a bug rampage all night. Most useful house guest I ever had. One of the lads was a big Jessie where spiders were concerned so we ended up catching Boris one day, and flipping him off our third floor balcony. The following day we were overrun with cockroaches etc. Luckily, huntsmen are territorial. Boris made his way back, and big Jessie was informed that if we permanently got rid of the spider, he'd be on bug killing duties.

Boris got to stay.

Haha that is a brilliant story!! Jeeez dont think I could handle being in such close proximity to Boris all day. Out of curiosity, would he roam the apartment or tend to stay in the living room?
Id be afraid I would wake up with him crawling over me

endacl

dealhunter1985 wrote: »

Haha that is a brilliant story!! Jeeez dont think I could handle being in such close proximity to Boris all day. Out of curiosity, would he roam the apartment or tend to stay in the living room?
Id be afraid I would wake up with him crawling over me

He got everywhere. We had a wooden floor in the hallway and you could hear footsteps! The inconsiderate cossack-dancin' Australian-Russian prick!

Seriously though, I've no idea. He was only ever spotted in the living room and the kitchen. Never moved a muscle in the daytime. People spent hours in our place and never noticed him until he was pointed out to them. Led to some funny scenes! The difference in bugs and creepy crazies for the couple of days he was gone really was remarkable though.