Woman lets giant spider hatch hundreds of babies in bedroom to conquer fear
An Australian woman who had an extreme fear of spiders decided to let a giant arachnid hatch dozens of babies in her room.
Kristy Griffin said huntsman spiders had always given her the creeps, so she was terrified to spot one lurking outside her bedroom window. But it wouldn't be long before the heavily pregnant arachnid made its way inside, bringing with it potentially hundreds of babies, just days from hatching.
She said: "I was s******g myself! Huntsman have always made me nervous because of how quickly they move - they give me the heebie-jeebies. I first noticed the spider while she was still outside, just in the top corner of my bedroom window. I actually thought it was a microbat at first because she was very pregnant, she was huge! Jokingly I said to my mum 'I hope she doesn't go in my room overnight'. Well the next morning I opened my curtain and there she was."
Kristy Griffin faced her fear in extreme fashion (Credit: Kristy Griffin/Pen News)
The huge spider hatched babies in Kristy's bedroom (Credit: Kristy Griffin/Pen News)The huntsman - one of the largest spider species on Earth - had found its way between the inner and outer layers of Kristy's sliding windows. But Miss Griffin, from Greendale, New South Wales, didn't have the heart to turf her out. She said: "I was originally going to relocate her, but then I felt bad because she'd probably get eaten by a bird outside. So she made her egg sac and I started to educate myself on huntsman spiders so I could look after my new roommate and not be as scared.
"I misted the window near her daily, making sure not to wet her eggs, so she could have a drink if she needed it. Other than that I just let her be, I didn't want to stress her out.."
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Kristy first saw the spider outside before it moved inside her bedroom (Credit: Kristy Griffin/Pen News)
The huge spider with its babies (Credit: Kristy Griffin/Pen News) Kristy continued: "I was nervous and still am a little bit - I keep picturing my room overrun by galloping giants, or waking up in the morning with one on my face or something. But I've managed to overcome my fear through educating myself, and I've learnt just how fascinating they really are. I still get nervous when they move quickly though."
Photos and videos captured by Kristy, 28, show the heavily pregnant spider with its egg sac on the inside of the window. The sac is then seen trembling from within as the spiderlings start to hatch, with the first legs visible grasping towards the outside world. In the newest images, the little spiders are free - and their mum is devouring her own empty egg sac. Needless to say, Miss Griffin's decision caused some controversy at home.
She said: "My parents live with me and my dad wasn't too happy. My mum was a little bit more understanding because neither of us like killing things. I have a soft spot for all the critters deemed unlovable."
Baby spiders on Kristy's bedroom window (Credit: Kristy Griffin/Pen News)Kristy, a free-range chicken farmer, has been told that the spiders are social huntsmans. The social huntsman or Delena cancerides is part of the Sparassidae family, which includes the world's largest spider by leg span - the giant huntsman. Social huntsman are huge too - capable of reaching a leg span of nearly eight inches - and they can lay some 200 eggs in their egg sacs. Kristy said: "They can stay with their babies for six months after they hatch. So I get to see them grow up, and they can catch flies and mosquitoes for me in the meantime, unless they decide to move on."
Now Kristy is encouraging others not to fear the giant spiders - even if they've got scores of babies in tow. She said: "If you don't want it there, just relocate it, otherwise let it do its thing. "They're fantastic bug catchers and usually stay out of your way. Plus they're fascinating to watch when they catch something." She continued: "The key to getting over a fear is education I've found. You usually fear the unknown. All critters are just trying to survive, and go about their day and have just as much right as us to be here."
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