Huge spiders spotted in West Auckland homes

  • 12/06/2018
Huge spiders spotted in West Auckland homes
Photo credit: Anca Mirela Coroian

Some ominous-looking spiders have been giving west Auckland residents a bit of a chill.

Glen Eden residents Anca Mirela Coroian and Tanya Fish have both shared photos of unusual looking spiders which have appeared in and around their homes.

Ms Coroian told Stuff she discovered a spider as large as her hand outside her home.

"I wouldn't want to see that every day."

Someone even responded to her post wondering if the spider was snapped in Australia. 

Auckland Zoo spokesperson Ben Goodwin told Stuff that the creepy crawly Ms Coroian had spotted was a sheetweb spider, a timid creature which was not considered dangerous. 

He confirmed the spider found by Ms Fish as a black house spider, also harmless.

"Both these species are unaggressive and bites are extremely rare," Mr Goodwin said.  

He said it's not weather patterns that drives these spiders towards homes but rather the males looking for a potential mate. 

"Mature males adopt a nomadic approach and leave behind the webs and burrows to look for females to mate with." 

Newshub.