Cool Midwest Summer Creates Bigger Spiders

[baldguy]

snip

"Right now they're eating like kings," said Field Museum entomologist Petra Sierwald. "They're having a very good time."

People throughout the Midwest are noticing the corpulent arachnids everywhere from bushes to the windows of high-rise buildings.

Randall Deutsch said lately he's noticed armies of spiders clinging to the outside of office windows where he works as an architect.

...

The rule of thumb is that no one anywhere is ever more than 3 feet away from a spider, Sierwald said. There are also 899 known spider species in Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana. People just don't notice the creepy crawlers as much until they fatten up near the end of summer.

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http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=624&ncid=624&e=2&u=/ap/20040826/ap_on_sc/big_spiders

[nickinSTL]

1. spiders...

yuck.

I suppose the situation is the same here in Missouri.

I don't look forward to the major cooldown this fall, when all those big spiders decide to try moving indoors.:(

on edit: heh, 500th post and it's on giant spiders :D

[redqueen]

2. I love spiders

Just think how overrun we'd be by the other creepy crawlies if they weren't around to feast on 'em?

[truthspeaker]

3. cool!

[Pithlet]

4. Oh, God

I shouldn't have read this. :scared:

I know my phobia is totally irrational. I wish knowing that helped. Sadly, short of psychiatric help, there isn't much I can do about it.

[MuseRider]

5. No shit!

The Orb spiders on my barn are already the size that they usually are right before they die in the first freeze. I have seen areas around the barn that seem to be moving and it is nothing but a bunch of very large Wolf spiders. I guess that is why the cricket population is smaller than usual. Thanks for this, I guess with enough time I might have figured it out....nah, thanks.

[mockmonkey]

6. Our outside stairwell is covered in Spiders

This is the worst I have ever seen it. My b/f doesn't like me to kill them so I have to catch them and release them. I spent at least two hours in two days doing this. And I am nowhere near being done. I am soooo grossed out. (why isn't he doing this?) At least they aren't Centipedes. *shudders*