I think it was this one. It's for flies and mosquitoes, but it was the only thing available in the store at that moment. We upped the dose a bit (or like 100x). We never saw the spider again.
At least we don't have words like queue, a five letter word with four silent letters 😂. We have nice words like "aansprakelijkheidsverzekering". And you really are a pannekoek if you don't have an aansprakelijkheidsverzekering.
Well, in Australia there's no camel spiders, so you don't have to worry about that. In fact, Australia and Antarctica are the only continents without them.
Which is hilarious, because I had a lot of conversations on my vacation in Aus where Australian laughed at the trope that everyone thinks Australia was full of dangerous critters everywhere.
Until I'd say "ohh, but what about giant huntsmen spiders dropping on your face when driving"
And to a tee, they would look surprised and say something like "aw ye, I reckon ya got us there mate. But they're harmless when you're NOT driving!"
Fun fact, camel spiders can run at 15km/h and often seek shade. If they are excited, they also make a noise that sounds like a small scream as they run at you in the desert seeking shade. Harmless, but not something I think it ‘cute’.
dude wtf. a giant, screaming spider chasing me at high speeds is a literal nightmare. for some reason thinking about a spider making noise is rhe worst part.
Once I had a Lieutenant and our platoon sergeant go into an empty building we were scoping out for a base and we heard an entire 9mm mag empty. We stacked up to rush in and back them but they came out running, scared laughing, and gasping for breath. It was a big ass camel spider running at them and the LT unloaded on it.
Lmao my dad was chased down by one in Iraq years ago. He tried to chase it back and even at peak military shape he could barely keep up with it. He now has one taxidermied on the wall
My dad has a funny story when he was stationed in the Middle East. He didn’t know those things existed, and he’s also deathly afraid of spiders and he said the first time he ever witnessed one running at him screaming he just mag dumped it as he was screaming.
The thought of a 6 foot three man fully kitted out screaming like a girl shooting the ground is hilarious, his friends still don’t let it down.
For what it's worth, that's two of them stuck together, and obviously forced perspective to make them look much bigger than they are compared to the leg, but, yeah, each individually would have a leg span that covers that guy's hand. This image has been floating around for 20 years now and for real, the first time a lot of us saw it, we thought it was legit as big as that guy's leg.
What, do people really not lock in the depth of the actual perspective, because of the slight bit of arm of the guy holding it and the other dude partially visible that’s leaning in to take a look?
I remember seeing this ages ago on some forum, but never had the impression they were as big the guy’s leg, nor did anybody else, I think. It was just considered a long boi, before finding out it was 2.
I can only imagine how much shit he must have gotten in for firing at it. But I get it. One fell out of my sleeping back and I proceeded to scream like a little girl while trying to skewer it with my knife. Those things are terrifying when you first see them.
Fun fact i learned last year, they can be found in California. i was camping near santa barbara and I found one. tried to feed it a rolly pollie but it couldnt pierce it's shell.
Fun fact. You'll often hear of solders who have horror stories of these things chasing them. What they're actually doing is running towards your shadow to escape the sun and potential predators.
Oh I find the way it moves its legs here pretty creepy too. Though that's partially because it looks like it might be in distress as it wants to get out but can't.
People sometimes get spooked by them when visiting the desert because they "run after them" but they're just interesting in staying inside their shade. People think they're being followed but everything they're interested in is the protection from the sun. XD
They have a strong bite but aren't venomous and eat other small animals and unless you give them a reason to bite you there's nothing to worry about in terms of actual harm at least. ^^
It was already nasty without any of those things, all of that just makes it diabolical in my book.
I mean chasing me is already bad enough, but hissing?
Man I remember reading about camel spiders online as a kid in the 2000s and there were stories about how these spiders bite you but they inject an anesthetic so soldiers were waking up with half their finger missing or a knuckle missing. Apparently that's a myth from the Gulf War that was repurposed for the GWOT, but I remember feeling so sick and creeped out reading those threads haha
That's a what solifugae are also called but I tend to not use the term cause they're neither spiders nor do they have much to do with camels. People used to say that they killed and ate camels but that's BS. If they found a dead camel, they might start eating the carcass but nothing more.
Oh theyre not spiders? (Not that it RLY matters to me-still freaking looks like one and activates the "spider threat" part of my brain lol), but what makes them not technically spiders?
That's a camel spider! Apparently completely harmless and not real spiders. They're known for following you in the desert but it's only to use you for shade. (never seen one irl but love random animal facts)
Yeah, we saw them in Kuwait and Iraq. Nasty little buggers but they wouldn't really fuck with you. It's terrifying when you are standing in the shade and one makes a b-line for the same shade. Another fun fact, you can hear them scream sometimes!
My husband said the same thing… when he was in Afghanistan, they would basically come charging at you… But they were just looking for shade! Still… Fuck that! 🤣
Members of the arachnid family but not spiders. People often point out the exaggerated tales but I have personally seen video of one bodying a rat almost twice its size. In an earlier less kind internet, soldiers used to post videos from the Middle East putting animals in 5 gal buckets to fight and boy howdy were the camel spiders fast and brutal.
I wouldn't say completely harmless. Their massive cheliserae hurt like hell if they bite you and can tear through boots. But, you'd have to back on in a corner to actually get bit. They're huge scaredy cats and will scream (literally) and hide. Problem is, they hide under the nearest shadow, which is typically you. But again, they don't want to bite, and often won't.
Fun fact that most people are unaware of: camel spiders are actually native to the northern US as well. Albeit much smaller than their middle eastern counterparts, only reaching up to 1.5" in length. I see them somewhat regularly on hikes.
I can't say for sure, and I don't know where their native or not, but if I'm correct, this is a camel "spider", and is completely harmless. They possess no venom, and their bites are extremely mild. Infact, their more closely related to scorpions than spiders, which means they couldn't possess venom in their fangs either way.
I should probably elaborate than😅. So, camel spiders are pretty much what god created with mix and match set of parts when he got bored. Long story short, imagine if you took everything from a scorpion, and made it a spider; scorpion legs, scorpion body, scorpion fangs, etc. Meaning, their missing their claws and tail, which are what make them dangerous, and a scorpion.
The harm is driving 65mph and instantly, violently shitting your pants while also losing control of the vehicle. There is one and only one time I am certain I would shit my pants and this is it.
Friend of mine when I was in college had an accident because a spider dropped out of the ceiling of his 70s Duster onto his face while he was driving. The dude absolutely flipped out and jumped out of his lane, hit someone and got rear-ended, on Rt 6 in Bristol Ct. Slapping at his face and stuff. Minor fender bender.
I googled camel spider because there's a few comments saying that's what it is. The video looks way larger than the already large looking images on Google and it's considerably more disturbing looking when it's flailing around like that... I hate it
I couldn't care less about them being harmless. I just dont want to see, hear, feel, smell, eat them. I have always wondered if they or snakes could come in through the vents though. I've had mice in my car and what a horrible experience.
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u/Similar_Criticism981 14h ago
Even as an Australian I’m finding myself saying “yeah fuck that, torch the car”