Very VERY scared of them but try to MTFU and get them out of the house without harming them.

Which UK housespider is capable of biting?

None really. Well, maybe one or two species. Most are simply too tiny to bite. They'll stay well away from you anyway.

There are only a few species of UK spider that could give you a little nip, but a mozzie or wasp would cause a lot more suffering.

Spiders are lovely. They kill pests, they're fairly intelligent for little crawly things, they build awesome nests and webs and such, and they're cool to watch. Moths on the other hand are evil.

"Some posters may remmeber this delightful little fella living in my sitting room a couple of months back"

What the burning f*** is THAT? Almost as scary as a moth.

¡Dave, the best thing to remember is just about all spiders are venomous and can bite if you let them, so don't let them. There are some dangerous spiders in Brazil but there are also some fantastic ones that are pretty harmless. There are quite a few tarantulas and they have never been known to kill a human. The ones in Brazil are new world and so have a milder venom and are less likely to bite. They have urticating hairs which feel a bit like fiber glass when they get on your skin, and can irritate quite badly. New world T's will rathther flick hairs than bite.
Shakey, my B.smithi is typically docile and gentle. She is a great show spider but has issues with her water bowl, but very nice.

magowen100 I have two juvenile Avicularia purpurea which are dark purple pink toes. I've had them since slings and just starting to get adult colourations.

Hadge, nice N.Crhomatus!! Looks lovely and healthy. I mainly collect African and Asian Tarantulas with a few funnels webs and true spiders. Though a friend is sending me some young centipedes from Singapore and they look fascinating.
I also have a commune of 6 P.regalis which are just about ready to be re-homed as they are getting too big for their enclosure. Herding six should be interesting.

Glad I didn't find that one, it even has a skull on its back!

I'm both fascinated by them and terrified of them in equal measure.

what "issues" does she have with her water bowl?

Next time you are in a petrol station at night look above the pumps to see if there are any webs stretching up to the canopy.

We stopped at the Tesco filling station in Carlisle on our way back from Scotland last month and there were loads (100+) of very large garden spiders like these:

Fascinating to watch as they moved steadily around their webs sorting out the day's catch.

Was a gibbering wreck when we camped (yes CAMPED!!!) in Oz. We had a massive huntsman spider in our tent one night, saw loads of redbacks, etc.

Used to wake up thinking I was covered in them – got to near phobia stuff.

Don't like big UK spiders but I'll happily splat and remove them. Will pick smaller ones up and remove them – big ones need killing IMO!

Looking at this thread just proves you poms are a bunch of p**ftas! LOL!

… just kidding.

Seriously UK house spiders are really chilled. If you really need it dead, get 2 paper towels go up slowly to it, grab it, squish it, done. It won't move and it won't feel a thing. You won't even get guts on your wall. Just don't go playing whack, chase with a rolled up magazine as you'll miss, it'll run about and you'll panic, your aim will get worse, it'll crawl up your leg and you'll scream like a girl! … p**ftas!

House spiders can bite – not nasty but it's like a little sting.

We have big fat black orb type spiders in our garden. I got bitten by one of them while clearing the garden this summer. Hand was sore for a week but was no worse than I get from wasps and bees. Went a little black and unpleasant looking though.

we have one similar to the OP's. It patrols the house, mainly living in the bathroom but visiting the living room every couple of weeks. Like elfin, I approve of them and rescue them when they get stuck in the bath 🙂

i have a 'big phobia' of spiders…even looking at those pictures made me cringe….how come they are soooo much bigger in the 'autumn/winter' time ? i guess the little critters have been feeding their bellys up over summer and some of them on stretch machines for their extra long legs…grrrrrr 😉

Yesterday, I looked at Becky's photo of her critter and thought "Wow, not seen ones like that since I used to live back in my hometown, glad we don't get them here".

Went to brush my teeth and there was a mahoosive one just like it in the bath. It was still there this morning, so Mr Toast ejected it from the premises. Then I noticed there was ANOTHER ONE under the sink.

I swear it's like Ringu or something. Everyone who's looked at Becky's photo will now have massive spiders in their house, emerging from their hiding places for viewing pleasure.

I swear it's like Ringu or something. Everyone who's looked at Becky's photo will now have massive spiders in their house, emerging from their hiding places for viewing pleasure.

There's definitely something going on, went for a ride this morning, there was a spider on my bike in the garage, another that fell on me when I pulled my bike out and then 3 had made their home around the mirror on my car (none as big as that one mind…). It's not good!

There's definitely something going on

yep, it's colder and damper so they're all moving inside…. 😀

been a while since i've seen owt quite so big as the OP one in our house. Had one last winter that patrolled the lounge though – I wanted to try and train it to light the fire, bring logs in and collect cold beers from the kitchen, however, the Mrs insisted it left the building… I'd shift it, next day it was back…
This year we have the puppy so I guess spider chasing games will ensue…

S'fine. Keep pandering to her attention seeking then, because 99% of the time, that's all it is, you know.

Yeah of course, she is just attention seeking. I won't bore you all with the details of how much detail she puts into her attention seeking as, after all, she just deserves a good slap at be told to MTFU ehh?
🙄