Handling spiders & ID

Hello all! I'm completely new when it comes to spiders, and after having a long time fear of spiders I'm now looking to handle some of them. I live in Western-Europe and I was wondering if there were spiders that might do me more harm than good.

Last night I saw this guy on the living room wall, and though I did want to handle it, I ended up leaving it alone. I wasn't sure what it was (I thought T. Atrica), but the markings on its back seem different from pictures on Google.

I can't help you with ID, but I wouldn't handle that personally. (Too skittish, etc) Jumping spiders are everywhere though, and great for handling. I helped a friend overcome her fear of spiders with those. It worked wonderfully, and by the end she loved holding them. They're impossibly cute, as another added bonus.

I don't know what the spider is, but I wouldn't handle it. If you don't know what something is leave it alone (or relocate it to a better place like a garden). I agree that jumping spiders are great for handling. They just jump from hand to hand.

Twentytwenty said:

I don't know what the spider is, but I wouldn't handle it. If you don't know what something is leave it alone (or relocate it to a better place like a garden). I agree that jumping spiders are great for handling. They just jump from hand to hand.

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Haha, well that's the philosophy I live by. :biggrin:

I want to handle large spiders though. Jumping spiders are just tiny. Granted, they are cute.

JLPicard said:

I live in Western-Europe and I was wondering if there were spiders that might do me more harm than good. I want to handle large spiders though.

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Why? Do you more harm than good... What possible benefit would there be for either human or animal to handle them?
Be that as it may, try to get your hands on, pardon the expression, a Heteropoda Venatoria. Fits the criteria of large, fits the criteria of learning about spiders, and adds the bonuses of giving a good nip but isn't dangerous and if you can manage to handle one for more than 1/10th of a second without mashing it you will have qualified as an expert spider handler.

H Venatoria: aka the sewer rat of spiders. For comparison, see the old Road Runner vs Coyote cartoons. Venatoria makes the road runner look like a sloth.

The Snark said:

Why? Do you more harm than good... What possible benefit would there be for either human or animal to handle them?

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I just wonder what it's like to handle something I've had a fear for during the past twenty years. Other than that, I'd like to put domestic spiders outside or in the garage so my cat won't eat them or family members won't trample them.

The Snark said:

Be that as it may, try to get your hands on, pardon the expression, a Heteropoda Venatoria. Fits the criteria of large, fits the criteria of learning about spiders, and adds the bonuses of giving a good nip but isn't dangerous and if you can manage to handle one for more than 1/10th of a second without mashing it you will have qualified as an expert spider handler.

H Venatoria: aka the sewer rat of spiders. For comparison, see the old Road Runner vs Coyote cartoons. Venatoria makes the road runner look like a sloth.

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Hahaha, I'll definitely look into it. Thanks!

Gotta go with the Snark RE: handling spiders. It stresses the spider out - and frankly if I were a recovering arachnophobe the last thing I'd want to do is pick up a spider. The first thing they do is try to jump out of your hand and run away. The second thing they try to do is... jump out of your hand and run away. In fact, that's what almost any spider you pick up is going to do. Despite the rarity, spiders are capable of biting you - but they'll never do that if you never give them a reason to.

I guess jumping spiders are sometimes an exception, but still - you're big and scary! You may have gotten over your fear of spiders, but that doesn't mean spiders have gotten over their fear of you!

It's much easier (not to mention safer for both parties) to relocate spiders using a jar, cup, or whatever container you have handy.