What Kind is This?

Anyone know what kind of spider this is?  Ben, who is a serious arachnophobic, found it at the side of the house.  Being a good dad, he called his children over to check it out.  After I took pictures, I killed it.  

What?  

Would you have let it live?  

Comments

[Rebekah Alfano]

I think its a tarantula that or a camel spider brought back from iraq at any rate you shouldn't have killed it. ;P JK.

[Cathy]

Tatantula, better off dead. Yep.

[Cathy]

btw, Mike is a serious arachnophobic too. Every.single.spider. is a brown recluse according to him. (except the furry Tarantulas) lol

[Charlotte (Matilda)]

Ewwwwwwwwwww! I sooooooo would not have let that thing live!

[macbeth]

Tarantula. My cousin kept finding them in her laundry when she was living in Austin...fled back to Boston after 8 months.

[Renee Stover]

Ewww...how did you kill it? It is too big to actually step on. Yuck...

[Jennifer]

I was thinking tarantula too.

[Jennifer Gregory Miller]

How big is that? The size of your hand? How did you kill it? My dh is also arachnophobic, so I'm the official spider killer. But I never, never, have had to kill that size! You are one brave woman!

[KC]

I killed it using a shovel. It was almost as big as my hand. When I saw the eyes, I was seriously grossed out.

[bwya]

i would have let it live. ;) I am pretty sure it's a tarantula

[Jennifer]

That is definitely a tarantula we had them all the time on Fort Hood. They would just scoot into the house. Glad it's dead. :)

Jennifer N.

[Auntie]

Wow. That's a serious commitment to nature study!

[Margaret in Minnesota]

Okay, that thing's got both the cool factor and the utterly, totally and completely gross factor going...simultaneously. Good for you for taking a photo. Even better for you to have smacked it with a shovel.

(As opposed to, like, keeping it in an ice cream bucket for your girls to admire.)

[Elisa]

Google images "texas tarantula" and you'll find your little visitor. So help me if I ever find one here. I'm glad you killed it. There are so many creatures in Texas that shouldn't be around people...and it always makes me wonder why people settled in Texas in the first place.

[Auntie]

MCP would have killed it. She wants to know how big its eyes were.

JDP would have kept it, "Maybe give it to someone or I would have let it go, except out of my yard."

Do you remember the tarantula TJ had in the babyfood jar a looong time ago? I'm glad you didn't go with that option...

[Michelle Reitemeyer]

I wouldn't have killed it. I would have run away shrieking like a little girl.

[Erin Geren]

You've got to be very careful because if it's a mom with babies inside, when you kill it, lots (and I mean LOTS) of babies come running out. I am not kidding on this!

[Jess]

Ewww, ewww, ewwwwwwwwwwww! Tarantula definately. I saw one of those in the road before...
I ran it over.

You are very brave killing it with a shovel, I had to use a very large vehicle!

[Jess]

definitely...not definately...geez, I promise I know how to spell...