For the past year, a giant spider has been living with the family in their home.
They expected it to go away, but it stayed instead.
Many people are scared of spiders.
Some people find them fascinating.
Someone decided to post a picture of a really big spider that was living in their house without paying rent.
Charlotte was welcomed into the family.
Australia has a lot of different kinds of animals.
They have it all – big ones, small ones, ones that are venomous, and ones that are not.
A huge spider wandered into someone’s house in Australia one day – can you believe it?
The spider chose to stay.
Annette Gray, the resident, has noticed an 8-legged creature in her house.
Annette and Jake chose to call the spider Charlotte, likely taking inspiration from the well-known children’s book, Charlotte’s Web.
The spider was a type of huntsman spider.
Jake now knew what kind of spider Charlotte was – it was a Huntsman spider.
These spiders are big, with their legs stretching up to 12.7 centimeters.
They also have venom that can paralyze their prey, but it’s not strong enough to hurt a person.
They are sure that these spiders won’t hurt or attack people, so the family just let it stay in their home.
The family didn’t think the spider would stay for very long.
Annette had the spider living in her home for a long period of time.
They saw the spider grow!
Jake told The Dodo that they had seen Charlotte grow over the past year or so and she never caused any trouble. She moves around the house, showing up in different rooms and eating all the bugs.
Since then, they noticed that the spider grew to a size of 15 centimeters wide, which is about six inches.
Annette chose to post Charlotte on the internet.
They’ve had a spider living with them for a while now, and it’s almost like it’s part of the family.
Annette and Jake wanted to share Charlotte with more people, so they decided to share her with everyone.
Many people were horrified when they saw Charlotte’s photo online.
Think about how it would feel to have a spider that size living in your house.
People joked about burning the house to get rid of the spider.
Annette does not agree.
They eventually got comfortable with Charlotte being around and they are still very welcoming to her.
She wrote that she doesn’t kill them and Charlotte is harmless.
Maybe we should be like Annette.
We don’t need to kill spiders.
They actually provide some advantages.
They can get rid of annoying pests like mosquitos or cockroaches from the room.
This way, they could get rid of the irritating pests that might even cause illnesses for the family.
Annette thought it was a good idea to keep Charlotte with them, and maybe even welcome back some of the other spiders they had previously.
Spiders could make great pets.
Although spiders have a scary appearance and their legs are kind of creepy, some people keep them as pets.
Australia has lots of spiders, so why not take advantage of that and get one as a pet?
It’s important to remember that having a spider as a pet isn’t simple. Think carefully before getting one, such as what kind to get and how to take care of it.
Would you ever think about keeping one inside your house?
Please let us know your thoughts in the comments.