Monday, June 17, 2013

Zombie spiders!

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No, this is not a new horror craze. Unfortunately, zombie spiders are all too real, and I have found several in the house over the past few days.

You should know that I'm a fan of nature. I'm a biology professor, for crying out loud! I like other living things, and I'm very much a live-and-let-live kind of gal.  I recognize that spiders play an important role in the circle of life, and I appreciate the job they do.

I just want them to do it outside.

When I find a spider inside, my preference is to shoo them out. Sometimes though, they manage to go undetected for so long that they up and die, and then I dispose of their mortal coils.

Except for the zombie spiders.

These guys look dead.  They lie there, completely still, with their legs curled under in the universal 'I am a dead spider' pose.  It's only when you scoop them up to toss them that they suddenly re-animate, stretching out those legs to a ridiculous length, revealing that they are, in fact, alive and so much bigger than you initially thought.

It's enough to make a person scream like a tweenager at a Justin Bieber concert.  Not that I would do that or anything.  I'm just saying, I wouldn't judge a person for having that reaction.

Have you ever encountered a zombie spider, or are they confined to Texas?

20 comments:

  1. I'm a nature fan too. HOWEVER. Spiders are not on my preservation list. It's very much a Shoe and Die. Situation if I find one inside. A zombie spider? Well, forget the shoe. I'd just die. *shudder*

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  2. I've never seen a zombie spider. EEWWWW. Man, no sleep for me tonight.

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    1. You have snakes above your door--I think you could handle a zombie spider :)

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  3. TOO FUNNY !!!

    Try BUGSTOP around all your house openings. Since I began using that, I rarely see a bug.
    ~Angi

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    1. Thanks for the tip--I will definitely check it out! :)

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  4. Eeep! No, never seen this... I'd probably sic the cats on them. But otherwise, I'm like you - I try to send them outside, and not kill them. Mainly because they eat any other bugs, which is good. Also because - Charlotte! How could anyone kill Charlotte?!

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    1. The cats are useless--they just stare at them in fascination, but don't actually _do_ anything. Very annoying.

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  5. thank goodness, no zombie spiders, BUT I did live in the tropics for three years and had an unfortunate encounter with a Mr. Hairy Legs. I am most definitely not a spider person.

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  6. After living in Botswana for 4 months, spiders just don't phase me any more. They were every where in my house in Gaborone. e.v.e.r.y.w.h.e.r.e. I have come to accept the small ones, but the massive (2-inch diameter) ones that lived with me there - those ones I still have nightmares about!

    Brandy's Bustlings

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    1. I probably would have had a heart attack upon encountering such huge spiders. Did you name them? :)

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  7. We have spiders, but just little ones or a few Daddy-Long-Legs, and we have small lizards. I've never seen a snake here, but my husband worked at a new hotel in the desert once and found a scorpion in his shower! Yikes!
    Have a great weekend and stay away from those ZOMBIE SPIDERS!!! lol

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    1. For some reason, Daddy Long-Legs don't bother me. Scorpions, on the other hand, scare me. They just look mean!

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  8. I've never heard of a Zombie Spider, but they sound really clever. My children always put spiders outside if they find them in the house. We just don't like them inside the house.

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    1. I'm a big fan of relocation, whenever possible.

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  9. Well, keep them in your part of Texas! *knocking on wood* but I haven't seen them here. Yet. But, we did kill the 3rd scorpion in the house last night. I think I'd rather take spiders over a scorpion any day.

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    1. Scorpions are so scary! I'll keep my spiders, thank you!

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  10. I have been extremely frightened of spiders all my life, especially after my older brother used them to torture me.

    When I first saw the new book cover for my book, I had to laugh. Too funny!

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    1. Oh, man, I can't imagine being tortured with spiders--no wonder you don't like them!

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