Spiders Anyone?
 

It was a beautiful day on the island today so this little fellow came out to say hello.

The spiders and I have an understanding, they won't bother me if I don't bother them! :cool: I am very glad of this because they way outnumber me out here!!:eek:

Anyone have an extra saddle their not using??...

Dan

OMG! He/she looks like 4 inches...is that about correct?

Sorry Paul I most certainly didn't attempt to measure it!! :):)

Your probably close though!!

Dan

LOL, I wouldn't have either. That's a great photo.

My wife kills every spider she finds. I whimper every time. I take great care of them and release them into the garden.

I have no idea what possessed me to open this thread.

I do know that I won't be opening it again. :laugh:

A few years ago, I was reaching into a recessed line attachment point on a stone pier and a huge one of those spiders scampered over my hand on its way to the lake. Was not at all pleasant. Really glad that they eat fish and don't seem eager to bite people.

Dock spiders!! Doesn't every dock on the lake have them? Man they're fast!

http://tastelikecrazy.com/wp-content...lack-widow.gif

Say, I want to thank you for finding him. I was out back, making adjustments to my Jurassic Park back yard, and I noticed that my my spider -- Tiny, I call him -- was missing.

BTW, you haven't also seen my little monkey - Kong, have you? ...

I'm pretty sure he has relatives at our dock on Whortleberry.........

Agreed, Dog's Ear. I think he has relatives all over the lake!

We've always called them dock spiders, and yes, every dock has them. But is that the right name? (not looking for the formal, Latin, species name. Just what they are usually known as, if not "dock spider")

Dolomedes
 

Dolomedes /dɒləˈmiːdiːz/ is a genus of large spiders of the family Pisauridae. They are also known as fishing spiders, raft spiders, dock spiders or wharf spiders.

https://en.wikipedia.org/?title=Dolomedes

I think those are trainable. You should teach him to "shake hands".

One of the very few times that I'm very glad we don't have a dock! Gross !!!!!

Watching . . .
 

the eggs hatch is quite a creepy crawly sight.

I too have an arrangement with the spiders. When out on the kayak in the morning they can be abundant...they don't bother me, I don't flick them into the water...they bother me, they go for a swim.

On a side note last year we needed an extra kayak for a friends kid so we borrowed a friends that had probably spent two years on the rack near the water. I seriously saw at least 9 different species of spiders 2" or larger come out of every crack and crevice...took me 20 minutes to clean that kayak of all the spiders...:shudder:

Perfect timing for this thread. I noticed a large "swarm" of "something" floating right off our dock the other day. When I got a closer look, I realized it was several thousand baby spiders. And yes, I screamed when I realized what it was!!! They seem to all stay together and move around the dock in a cluster. I'm new to living on the lake, but is this normal?

A Neighbor Has Three Docks!
 

A neighbor tried to rid me of my arachnophobia by buying me a T-shirt with dozens of spiders pictured all over it. I wore it occasionally to please her, but after getting bitten three times last summer, spiders of any size are no longer spared. :mad:

Like Bumble Bee stings (which are very rare), most Bumble Bees won't sting you without an obvious cause. But a dock spider has fangs, just like every other spider. I don't want to be a test-case for big spiders "that don't bite". (Especially as there may be more than one species of NH dock spiders, as shown below). :eek2:

The numbers of Dock spiders can be controlled using hornet "jet" spray. They're wary, so you can't get close to them. Aim the spray downwind—important!—and let the spray gently descend down on them. One 1-second well-aimed shot will kill them in a few minutes.

Dock spiders like to come out after a rain, and can often be found within a coiled dock line. Like Dave R, I've had a dock spider race across my arm when picking up a line. The feeling is indescribable! :eek:

"SpiderDog" has a few YouTube copies, but this oldest one still gives me goose-bumps! (After short advertisement).

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/video/new...ooky-cute.html

Best thing about Dock Spiders, it keep the kids from swimming/hiding under the docks. :D

I have been around dock spiders my entire life here at the lake. I still despise them!! They have always given me the CREEPS!!!!

Yes.
 

It is normal. Super creepy. Watch out for Recluse. My sister got bit a couple years ago. Now she had a 1/2 hole in her knee.

Where did she encounter the Recluse spider???

I'd like to know too, I was under the impression they don't live around these parts. Hope I'm right...

they can be here, I believe there northern limit is said to be connecticut, but my cousin works at a hospital in vermont. They get a few patients a year. also I have found 2 black widows in the last 20 years. One in Derry and One in Litchfield. I love the natural world and all thats in it,except spiders dock spiders are the scariest things to me in the northeast. I'd rather have a Bear in my house.