Hobo Spider, Giant House Spider, and Barn Funnel Weaver Part 2 - The Spiders in Your House

References Akre RD, Myhre EH (1991). Biology and medical importance of the aggressive house spider, Tegenaria agrestis, in the Pacific Northwest (Arachnida: Araneae: Agelenidae). Melandaria 47:1-30. Bennett RG, Vetter RS (2004). An approach to spider bites: Erroneous attribution of dermonecrotic lesions to brown recluse or hobo spider bites in Canada. Canadian Family Physician 50:1098-1101. Bennett RG, Vetter RS (2004). An approach to spider bites: Erroneous attribution of dermonecrotic lesions to brown recluse or hobo spider bites in Canada. Canadian Family Physician 50:1098-1101. Binford GJ (2001). An analysis of geographic and intersexual chemical variation in venoms of the spider Tegenaria agrestis (Agelenidae). Toxicon 39:955-968. Dominguez TJ (2004). It’s Not a Spider Bite, It’s Community-Acquired Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus. The Journal of the American Board of Family Practice 17(3):220-226. Faundez E, et al (2019). Contribution to the knowledge of Tegenaria domestica (Clerck, 1757) (Araneae: Agelenidae) in Southern Patagonia. Anales Instituto Patagonia (Chile) 47(3):43-47. Gaver-Wainwright MM, Zack RS, Foradori MJ, Lavine LC (2011). Misdiagnosis of Spider Bites: Bacterial Associates, Mechanical Pathogen Transfer, and Hemolytic Potential of Venom From the Hobo Spider, Tegenaria agrestis (Araneae: Agelenidae). Journal of Medical Entomology 48(2):382-388. McKeown N, Vetter RS, Hendrickson RG (2014). Verified spider bites in Oregon (USA) with the intent to assess hobo spider venom toxicity. Toxicon 84:51-55. Moran GJ et al. (2006). Methicillin-Resistant S. aureus Infections among Patients in the Emergency Department. The New England Journal of Medicine 355(7):666-674. Oxford, Geoff (2023). The Identification of Members of the Eratigena atrica group of Large house spiders – E. atrica, E. duellica and E. saeva (Agelenidae). Newsletter of the British Arachnological Society 156: Spider Recording Scheme News 105:1-4. Rayner S, Vitkauskaite A, Healy K, Lyons K, McSharry L, Leonard D, Dunbar J, Dugon M (2022) Worldwide Web: High Venom Potency and Ability to Optimize Venom Usage Make the Globally Invasive Noble False Widow Spider Steatoda nobilis (Thorell, 1875) (Theridiidae) Highly Competitive against Native European Spiders Sharing the Same Habitats. Toxins 2022, 14, 587. doi.org/10.3390/toxins14090587 Soe GB (1987). Infection Associated With Joystick Mimicking a Spider Bite. Western Journal of Medicine 14(6):748.

I can't imagine how horrifying it must be to safely walk on water all my life and then one day it unceremoniously sucks me down to the bottom!

You should make a mug with the cheese poking at a spider, and the spider has a thought bubble that says “Stupid cheese.” I would buy it.

Hey, Travis. I'm glad that this episode touched on MRSA. I'm a Registered Nurse with about 40 years of experience. I also like studying "bugs" in general. There was a time when I worked in a female maximum prison infirmary in the southern part of north-central Illinois. During the 6 years that I worked there, there were a moderate amount of scattered reports of MRSA. The patients called them spiders-bites. After a while, the doctor began diagnosing the cases as "MRSA-induced Spider-Bites". My spidy-senses really didn't believe this. The correction officers would do routine cell inspections for contraband. None of them ever saw a spider. All of their infections would either be on their outer shoulders, upper thighs, butts, or upper arms. I deduced that they were getting infected while leaning on the wall while taking a shower. None of the inmates ever reported seeing a spider or feeling the spider bite. I explained my logic to the doctor and I believe that I changed his mind on the cause of the infections. Which didn't take much. Let me put it this way. You would not want to get sick in prison. I really enjoy your videos. What book would you recommend for identifying spiders? Thanks. John

The Lego realization must have been a massive lightbulb moment. That is genius

RIP Gary. Gone but not forgotten.

Glad to say this channel is now my “can’t sleep at 3AM so it’s time to look at some cool ass spiders” channel :)

sadly our resident hobo (or giant house or barn funnel weaver) spider also passed between last video and this one. never could figure out its species or sex, but before moving on from this mortal coil boris became a beloved member of the household--once i learned what to expect from it, which helps SO much with my arachnophobia. thank you for your videos!

babe wake up new spiders are in our house you uploaded this at a perfect time. its a perfect break between studying for finals. i still get to learn, but its less agonizing and stressful! i really like the addition of the legos for scale, the pictures made me giggle and its a nice reference to have. the spiders only being able to run for 40 seconds before slowing down makes me feel a lot better about my stamina as well. thanks for another great spider video!

The immediate excitement when I saw the notification that you posted is unparalleled

I'm just so happy you are continuing this very important citizen scientist work. I super look forward to each new one because it gives me something way more interesting to talk about this morning in class than the stats homework from last night!

Hey Travis! Thank you once again for providing so much detailed information on spiders. As an adolescent, I'd always been skeptical of the necrosis reputation that Hobo spiders had, and I remember when it started to go away in academic circles; it's awesome to have someone as relatable and witty (your dry wit is impeccable) as you to explain these things for the common person. On a different note, the one thing your series has consistently surprised me on is the sheer accessibility to arachnologists! I had no idea that arachnologists such as Rick Vetter and Dr. Greta Binford were so open to discussion. My (probably extremely erroneous) view of many scientists in any field is that they're inaccessible due to being busy with research and experimentation. In a side note, "less wronger is more better" is definitely something nuclear engineers need hanging around, especially considering all the panic around that particular science. If you don't mind the comparison, your project here feels like the Kyle Hill of arachonology in spirit.

I spent the summer of 2022 living in D.C. for an internship. When I moved into the bedroom of my apartment, I was about to open the window when I noticed two webs (containing spiders!) were between the glass pane and the screen. I was still terrified of spiders at this point, so I was already averse to opening the window and letting them in, but I also respected them and didn't want to damage their webs. There was one on either end of the window, facing each other, each with its own little funnel. The window was immediately next to my bed, and so I spent much of my time that summer watching them and getting some close-up pictures. It's only when I started watching your channel that my fear of spiders abated, and I suddenly became fascinated with IDing every spider I came across. I went back to those old pictures and, sure enough, they were barn funnel weavers! The one on the left side of the window was much more active, daring to venture out onto the sort of "lawn" of its funnel much more often than the one on the right, which would sit motionless for hours on end waiting for gnats and such. I once saw the right one catch a gnat, and it was a truly brutal affair, pouncing at it like lightning and mercilessly doing it in. I miss my little window pets, I hope that whoever got that room next didn't disturb them!

RIP Gary. Hooray for the Hobo Spider Swim Team!

The lego as metric is just brilliant!

I need a Hobo Spider Swim Team shirt. Please add this to your merch shop!

Oh you gotta love that wording of no provocation. "Yeah we prodded this wolverine with a sharp stick for 37 hours straight and then went to pet it and it mauled one of the interns. " A fantastic video and beautifully researched. You made me appreciate the spiders I notice in my house far more.

Thank you so much for this video!! I don't like the GHS any better than before but I do appreciate all the work going into making sure everyone knows it's (and the hobo) are not venomous. That makes me feel a lot better about living around them. I also enjoy your humor, as living with mild arachnophobia isn't easy and it helps me watch your videos!

It's so endearing to watch the spiders up close during the cheese test. I thought the pushing away Stupid Cheese with tiny legs and playing dead were especially cute!

Now I must print flyers with QR codes that link to this video. It is the only way.