Giant House Spider

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The Giant house spider (Tegenaria gigantea) is the largest member of the Tegenaria genus and is a close relative of both the Domestic house spider and the infamous Hobo spider.

Females can reach 18 mm in length, with males having a slightly smaller body at around 12 mm to 15 mm in length. The female leg span is typically around 45 mm. The leg span of the male is highly variable, with spans between 25 mm to 75 mm being common.

Like agrestis, gigantea can move quickly, and in fact, until 1987, was listed (under the name Tegenaria atrica) as being the world's "fastest" spider in the Guinness Book of World Records, having been clocked at speeds of up to 1.73 ft/sec (1.17 mph) on a level surface; that honour has now been officially awarded to certain African and Middle Eastern "sun spiders" orsolifugids, which are really not spiders at all

It was precisely because of this fellow ( Tegenaria gigantea ) that I invented the spidatrap. They are becoming bigger and more common due to global warming making our winters less severe and their food source more abundant all year round. Just type 'giant house spider' or 'UK spider' on 'YouTube' and you will see what I mean.