Man shares home with monster spider for a year and 'hopes she'll grow MORE'
WeirdNews
Charlotte appeared in the family home just over a year ago
(Web Desk) – A family is sharing their home with a huge spider and is "hoping she will grow some more".
The wild huntsman spider first appeared in Jake Gray’s home in Cairns, Far North Queensland just over a year ago.
Despite an initial shock, Jake’s children Jack and Bella are now used to seeing the beast scuttling around their home - and have even named her Charlotte.
However, not everyone is as calm about having the eight-legged creature, especially one that size, sharing their home.
Many people have taken to social media to ask the family if the spider is real and whether they plan to get rid of it, the Daily Star reports.
However, Jake confirmed "bigger than usual" Charlotte was genuine and he was happy to have her at home with them and even hopes she will "grow some more" in the future.
He told IFL Science: "We first spotted Charlotte 12 months ago and she was bigger than usual and over the year she would pop up.
"Seeing her eating an Asian house gecko was a highlight."
But not everyone could wrap their heads around why Jake would want to keep the unusual housemate, taking to social media to share their thoughts.
One person wrote: "I know that spiders are helpful and mostly don’t care about humans, but I’d still burn the whole damn house down."
Charlotte is a huntsman spider, known to grow to six inches across - but they are not as scary as they may appear.
The spider will rarely bite a human, but if they do, you’re likely to be left with a nasty nip rather than the severe consequences of a False Widow bite.
Spider expert Linda S. Rayor writes that spiders are unlikely to hurt you and huntsman spiders, relying on their fast speed, "almost never bite humans since they rely on speed to escape most predators”.
She added: “In 14 years of studying Aussie huntsman spiders, I’ve handled many thousands of individuals and been bitten only 11 times when I (mostly) deserved it."
