Woman Finds Giant Huntsman Spider In Her Car While Speeding

Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/huntsman-spider-in-car/

A woman was startled to see a massive huntsman spider crawl out of her car mirror as she was driving around 60mph down the highway.

Spiders of all sizes are notorious for giving people the heebie-jeebies and huntsman spiders are at the top of the list for some of the creepiest. While they’re actually pretty harmless when left alone, their size can be quite intimidating.

The Australian Museum reports that they average 15cm (or 5 inches) long.

landscape 2021 05 25T092134.098 600x314 - Woman Finds Giant Huntsman Spider In Her Car While Speeding — Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Monique Fogarty was driving down the highway in her hometown in Australia when a massive spider “almost killed me by popping out from behind my rear vision mirror while I was going 100km/h,” she said in a Facebook post. Thankfully, she kept a level head and didn’t wreck her car.

Article continues below

Our Featured Programs

See how we’re making a difference for People, Pets, and the Planet and how you can get involved!

She explained in an interview with the Daily Mail, “I squealed as it gave me a fright when it came out of nowhere but after the initial fright I was calm and unbothered. I know huntsman spiders aren’t harmful and that it wouldn’t do anything until I could pull over safely.”

landscape 2021 05 25T092534.121 600x314 - Woman Finds Giant Huntsman Spider In Her Car While Speeding — Photo: Facebook/Monique Fogarty

She further explained to the Daily Mail that she’d actually seen a huntsman spider on her car a few times before the incident occurred, but it always managed to run away before she could safely remove it. While she wasn’t expecting to find the massive spider in her car while she drove, she wasn’t entirely shocked because she knew there was one around.

Fogarty shared in the comments of her Facebook post that she was able to safely pull over and catch the spider with her hands. She then released it into the bushland where it would be safe.

Her incident may be startling, but it doesn’t seem to be too uncommon. Karyn Downs commented on her post and said, “My car huntsman popped out this morning too…I need to try find him when im parked so I can remove him to a more suitable home lol.”