Giant huntsman spider found in Hay-on-Wye cafe

10:45am Wednesday 10th October 2012 in News By Lauren Rogers

The huntsman spider is native to Australia The huntsman spider is native to Australia

A HUGE spider native to Australia has been found in a cafe in Hay-on-Wye.

The huntsman spider, which is about the size of a tennis ball, was identified by Hay vets after being captured at The Granary yesterday morning (Tuesday).

A waitress spotted the creature crawling up a customer’s back. It was knocked to the floor, then caught in a plastic tub.

The customer had recently returned from Australia and believes the spider , nicknamed Cyril, might have stowed away in his luggage.

“We get a lot of visitors to Hay but not many of the eight-legged kind,” said Chris Davies, practice manager of the Hay Veterinary Group.

“It’s now heading to West Midlands Safari Park where, I think, it’s going to stay.”

The huntsman spider is not considered dangerous, but does have painful bite.

See tomorrow's Hereford Times for more.

Comments(18)

bobby47 says...
8:22pm Wed 10 Oct 12

This just about sums it all up for us. Here I am, crouched within a salt pentangle on Widemarsh Common chanting to the God that slew Kane and Able, praying for jobs, a future and for the Council to jump together off Hay Bluff and what do we Herefordians get?
A Giant Huntsman Spider!. Never a single break. Never a boost. Not even a tickle of joy or a slice of pleasure.
Its soul destroying.

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Clarkester says...
8:38am Thu 11 Oct 12

This is all very well, but what did the spider order?
Half a story...

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hollerharris says...
10:32am Thu 11 Oct 12

Well I have to point out, you pom's are lucky to only have a Huntsman Hunting Hay on Wye. We here in Ozzie Land have them nesting in the bushes by our front gate. not only that we also have Red Backs on our toilet seats. Trap Doors in our gardens waiting to pounce. The Killer is the Funnel Webb Fury Tree Spider, and the Deadly Killer is the Male Funnel Webb which I find on the odd occasion at the bottom of my swimming pool. Yes they can live under water with an air sack around there tongs and mouths. I could go on and include the snakes, but that would take up too much time. Hay on Wye, be thankful you only have a Hunting Huntsman. They don't eat much they only nibble.

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bobby47 says...
12:22pm Thu 11 Oct 12

Ok Hollerharris, so you've got a bunch of creatures that can bring about death each and every time you open the front door and say 'bye' to the wife and kids before you set off on your hazardous journey to work.
Well pal, we've got our own members of the animal kingdom that can scare the 'Sweet Loving Jesus out of you'.
We got the Rat for starters. The terrible Clam. The Hornet! Awful flying thing that stings and can kill. We got the Wasp, the Adder which is frequently seen fifty times a century, the Razorback Suckling Sow, Pit Bull dogs and a whole bunch of parasitic fleas who are associated with our Council.
So dont come here giving it the, 'Oh look at me I've got matching shoes on my feet' and trying to outdo us here in Blighty.
My warmest regards to you.

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hollerharris says...
12:58pm Thu 11 Oct 12

Hey bobby 47,We have the flea bitten councils here too, be careful of the terrible Clam it can suck the living daylights out of you and blow you out in bubbles. Don't you have matching shoes? or do you have two left feet. I always thought it was Black Adder!!!
As to the Rat there is no answer to That, stay Kleen, and you will go to Heaven.
Kind Regards to you Bobby 47.

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Clarkester says...
1:29pm Thu 11 Oct 12

Hollerharris, G'day! None of us have matching shoes here!
The spiders keep nicking them!

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Marian June says...
3:24pm Thu 11 Oct 12

hollerharris wrote:
Well I have to point out, you pom's are lucky to only have a Huntsman Hunting Hay on Wye. We here in Ozzie Land have them nesting in the bushes by our front gate. not only that we also have Red Backs on our toilet seats. Trap Doors in our gardens waiting to pounce. The Killer is the Funnel Webb Fury Tree Spider, and the Deadly Killer is the Male Funnel Webb which I find on the odd occasion at the bottom of my swimming pool. Yes they can live under water with an air sack around there tongs and mouths. I could go on and include the snakes, but that would take up too much time. Hay on Wye, be thankful you only have a Hunting Huntsman. They don't eat much they only nibble.
I love this post. Very informative to people like me - who LOVE spiders.
Thanks for the info. I never knew about a male funnel web being more deadly than the female. :-)

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Themightyboosh says...
3:57pm Thu 11 Oct 12

"I say we nuke it from orbit.
its the only way to be shure"

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Lukio says...
4:15pm Thu 11 Oct 12

You Aussies have some pretty nasty creatures inhabiting your island in all fairness. What are the stats - something like 6 of the deadliest creatures hail from Oz. I mean you can't do your gardening without danger of a nip from a Common Brown, go walking out in the bush risking the Taipan or even cool off in the sea without chancing a brush up against a Box Jellyfish.

No, we've got it lucky here. Apart from a few spineless jellyfish running the council, some snakes in the grass and the aforementioned rats, we Ok!

And thanks for posting from so far away ;)

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hollerharris says...
11:09pm Thu 11 Oct 12

Hi All,I can understand the spiders taking all the shoes Clarkester, they have 8 legs you know, so that means 8 feet. I wonder how many toes? come on Marian June, you should know being a spider lover.
Lukio, yes you are lucky over in old blight y, not having all the bities there roaming around, apart from the ones that walk the streets putting parking fines on car windows, slimy creatures they are, real snakes. The ones that run the council are the worst Red Bellied Black Snakes (venomous creatures) We shoot them on sight here and hang them on the fence, as a sign to stay away. On a positive note you would like to know, its cold here and snowing not far out from Sydney, some areas which have not had snow before. So Howzat for a bit of uptodate news from Down Under. Bye Guy's

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basil jones says...
7:22am Fri 12 Oct 12

Enjoyed the comments. Keep up this international drivel as it is much more entertaining than some of the **** and moaning that takes place in the comments column.

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Clarkester says...
8:35am Fri 12 Oct 12

We had a spider in our hallway once.
Massive it was.
I had to ask it to leave.
It was wearing one Doc Marten boot, two odd trainers, a smashing brogue and a ballet slipper!
You can't make this sort of thing up!
Well, you can, I just did.

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hollerharris says...
12:27pm Fri 12 Oct 12

clarkester I's great to see someone with a good imagination & scene of humour. I can see by your comment your life is spelt out in front of all of us, on this day, on this chat session. In your youth a Tough type person, kicking the odd old lady, doing the stomp around the Butter Market, and flaunting your stuff around High Town. No Bull though in your Doc Martins. Later in life your becoming more Mature taking up sport to let out you frustration on life, maybe Tennis, or a jog or two in the old Nike or Reebok around the Castle Green, possibly the High Jump, or Long Jump on the Bishops Meadows of sorts.
Responsibility has set in now, so a job is required, into a suit and tie with polished shoes, "Oh" those Shiny, Smart, Smashing, Black Brogues. And at last you have finally come out of the closet, Well, you can, you just did.
Yes I'm an old Hereford Boy, who left in 1972, and live Down Under, & Yes the Women Glow & the Men Thunder.
The Hunting Huntsman.

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bobby47 says...
12:28pm Fri 12 Oct 12

You lads are all being duped into becoming matey with our hollerharris. It's high times for him, waking up every single day to Gods good sunshine and then bragging to us that their creatures are deadlier than ours.
Read his message again. You'll note that he dismissed my 'Rat' as nothing worthy of commenting upon. Yes he did readers! But what do they turn to when they want to terrify the Celebrities in the jungle. Yes, our humble Rat. Our Rat that was transported with hollers forefathers after they were convicted of scrumping in Blighty.
I'll not have it. I'll not have our Rat dismissed as no threat to humankind.
And, what happens when the Giant Huntsmen wants to mate and finds he is alone amongst his species in Hay?
I'll tell you, he will mate. There is no doubt in my unstable mind that he will cozy up to some poor creature and deliver its deadly seed. More likely its another spider but what happens if he selects a mammal like a Rat of an Amphibean. Sweet Jesus

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hollerharris says...
1:08pm Fri 12 Oct 12

Bobby 47, Now you wont go to heaven.
How many shoes are you wearing today, is it 8, you must be an insect, be careful you are not stood on!!!!
Watch out for the HUNAT in AY.

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Clarkester says...
1:14pm Fri 12 Oct 12

The doctors all said "Paranoid Delusions..." I told them they were out to get me, but no.... They "knew" best.
But I was right. Somehow, from his (probably) evil lair down under, Hollerharris has been watching my every move. I feel like I'm in the Truman Show. I can picture him now, chugging back on a tinny, putting another shrimp on the barbie, swatting another deadly creature, listening to InXS... I'm terrified, me!

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bobby47 says...
5:09pm Fri 12 Oct 12

hollerharris, Please keep in touch with us Hollerharris. We Posters so look forward to your greetings from beyond these walls that confine us.
Yes, we've all been Sectioned and declared demented and mad and are currently waiting here in the Whitecross Asylum that serves the needs of those of us in society that have issues. Severe mental issues to be exact and as you will note from the writings of Clarkester and I, we both have, shall we say, difficulties in grasping reality.
One of the extreme forms of treatment that he and I are administered is 'Upside Down Time'. The staff unlock our door, they say, 'morning lads what a lovely day', release our restraining garment and then hang us upside down for very long periods. To long for my liking, though, I have to say that Clarkester positively thrives under these draconian conditions. Some of his best Postings are produced during this Upside Down Time.
That said, we are happy. Even though little happens down here in the bowells of this dreadful place, we do try to make the best of a bad situation. We talk about our unusually high doses of medication, we read the HT and of course we have access to a computer during our confinement Upside Down.
Anyway I'll end now because its Electric therapy day. We both look forward to it. The staff open the door, say, 'afternoon lads' and then they give us both a thirty second burst of domestic voltage. It breaks the week up.

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Clarkester says...
10:53pm Fri 12 Oct 12

I love Electric Therapy Day I do!! I don't have access to a computer. I do it all by the power of my mind! Oh, and my legion of illegally imported Australian Huntsman Spiders! I'm training them. My horde of Killer Zombie Squirrels turned out to be far to difficult to control, so I just let them go. Sorry Herefordshire. my bad.

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