Corey Noles, staff writer for The Daily Statesman and Editor of The North Stoddard Countian, is the author of a regular baseball/St. Louis Cardinals column and also uses his blog to sound off on various happenings in sports. He also operates a weekly baseball mailbag column.

Scared of spiders?

Posted Saturday, October 6, 2007, at 10:40 AM

How do you like this thing? This is one camel spider eating another. However, the picture may be misleading. See the link at the bottom. Regardless of its true size or speed I don't want to find one in my yard.

Ok. I want to start off by saying I have a deathly fear of spiders. I'm not scared of snakes, badgers or wolverines but if you stick a spider on me I'll scream like a girl. That's why a picture my wife found last night bothers me soooo much.

The majority of this appears to have begun since the Iraq war, or at least that's when I first heard of it.

I'm talking about the camel spider. A spider with more tall tales following it than Paul Bunyan.

The rumors say that the spider can grow to three feet in diameter, kill camels, travel at over 10 miles per hour and can jump feet away almost instantly.

Despite the photo, MOST of those statements aren't true. Typically, the spider reaches about six inches (they can reach the size of dinner plates, but don't normally live that long), it CAN run and jump like an Olympian however and does not typically kill camels. It's also non-poisonous, but does that really make you any more comfortable?

Another rumor is that this spider injects its victims with a novocaine-like substance that numbs the area so much that you can't tell when he has bit you. It's also rumored that this beast will gnaw at you for hours while you sleep with its teeth...yes I said teeth.

I don't know how many of these stories are true, but I still wouldn't want to come across this thing.

Here's an interesting link about the truth of the camel spider.

Comments

View 13 comments

Note: The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. Please note that those who post comments on dexterstatesman.com may do so using a screen name, which may or may not reflect a website user's actual name. Readers should be careful not to assign comments to real people who may have names similar to screen names. Refrain from obscenity in your comments, and to keep discussions civil, don't say anything in a way your grandmother would be ashamed to read.

I'm with you Corey, i couldn't even watch arachnophobia don't like spiders no way no how....or snakes

-- Posted by LUFER on Sat, Oct 6, 2007, at 9:16 PM
I have a problem looking at this picture. I hate spiders!! I try to leave them along out in the wild, but in my area, I can't stand it. I read the link, but I just can't handle it. I can do snakes better than spiders. I went to a friends house to spend the weekend who owned a pet terantula (sp?). They kept it in an tank and I knew that it could not escape, but they would get it out to walk around and I would have to leave the house. They put a lid on top of the tank for my benifit that night.

I wish I was not so bad, but seeing this pict and reading the link, I do not feel any better about them.

-- Posted by aztecmomma on Sat, Oct 6, 2007, at 10:18 PM

Corey Noles' response:
haha...neither do I. Spiders are at the top of my fear list. Looking at this thing makes my skin crawl.
Corey....you must learn sentance structure...the spider will NOT gnaw on you for hours while you sleep with its teeth...It willgnaw on you with its teeth while you sleep....HA HA..just had to say that. Also to hear you scream like a girl would be funny

-- Posted by bloomie on Sun, Oct 7, 2007, at 3:26 PM
Dude-is that 4 real or some photoshop deal,or a fake spider?

so i guess ur secret santa knows what 2 get u 4 ur gift-hehhehheh.

(please have the camcorder going and have old bobby download it on youtube) that will be present enough 4 me!

-- Posted by CharlesSmith01 on Sun, Oct 7, 2007, at 4:59 PM

Corey Noles' response:
HAHA...it's a real photo it's just misleading. The spider is much closer to the camera than the people. If you click on the link in the story you will see the whole picture. Pay special attention to its size in relation to the shirt sleeve on the right.
The fear of spiders is enough to make everyone forget about sentence structure! Aztecmomma also had one - "to spend the weekend, who owned a tarantula..." Not nearly as funny as you sleeping with the spider's teeth, however!

As bad as those big Iraqi spiders look, it doesn't sound as if they're as bad as our brown recluses, of which we in the country have in abundance! (Mmm...try diagramming THAT sentence!!)

-- Posted by goat lady on Sun, Oct 7, 2007, at 6:16 PM
It definitely gives me the oogies there Corey. I'm deathly afraid of spiders as well, just the thought of them makes me all queasy feeling and dangit Corey you're not helping any by putting this picture up! HAHAHAHA but in all seriousness, spiders are one of those things that when I'm near one, I become a sissy spaz haha.

-- Posted by semosmitty06 on Mon, Oct 8, 2007, at 10:32 AM

Corey Noles' response:
Anyone who doesn't get the oogies from this picture is simply not human. It's easy for people to say they're not scared of the picture but if it climbed up their leg they'd change their tune.
I will hurt myself and anyone in my way when there is a spider involved. I can't even kill one unless the piercing scream I emit causes instant death. Anywho, just looking at the pics of those things has me feeling them crawl all over me. aaaahhhh

-- Posted by tjulian on Mon, Oct 8, 2007, at 11:01 AM

Corey Noles' response:
That is simply hilarious!
dude-u should seriously keep some black flag spray w/u at all times.those old lady blogs are funny,but in a real creepy,hobo-killer kind of way,and they r out for u now.

dont eat nothing u didnt bring w/u or sealed up-maybe they r funny and maybe one of them is going to use old age to get probation.

we live in stoddard county where its open season on men,keep ur eyes and ears open,and nobody brings u a present at work.

-- Posted by CharlesSmith01 on Tue, Oct 9, 2007, at 11:52 AM

Corey Noles' response:
I am definitely watching my back. This whole trend of poetry about my death is a bit disturbing.

I'll fire back soon enough. I won't go down without a good fight.
wow what a spider nope wouldn't want too run across him myself either WOW!

-- Posted by lynn1979 on Wed, Oct 10, 2007, at 2:17 PM
Yes, this is why our boys hang their boots upside down while they sleep. As one of my "boys" says "These aren't spiders you step on, these are spiders you SHOOT!"

-- Posted by Infantry_Wife on Mon, Jan 21, 2008, at 1:12 AM
Oh, and one more thing... That particular picture is of TWO of them, one biting the other.

-- Posted by Infantry_Wife on Mon, Jan 21, 2008, at 1:14 AM
Corey, I have seen these things. The largest ones I have seen were six to eight inches in diameter. The one thing I disliked about them was how hard they were to kill. You could become all kinds of excited while you were beating on them with a stick because it ususlly took more than one good whack. It always seemed like the things would start running toward you when you hit it and then your aim would go all haywire.

-- Posted by I.B. Le Truth on Mon, Jan 21, 2008, at 11:22 AM
this picture makes me shiver, i do not like spiders.

-- Posted by maynardn on Thu, Feb 28, 2008, at 7:16 PM

Respond to this blog

Posting a comment requires free registration:

If you already have an account, follow this link to login
Otherwise, follow this link to register