As much as we all love animals, some people draw the line at bugs and insects. Many people are afraid of these creatures, and either get them out of their homes as soon as possible or just swat them down.
But sometimes even the most intimidating creepy-crawlies actually pose no harm to humans, and can even serve a useful role in the home.
One family found a big spider that would normally be exterminated from any home… but instead, they decided to let it stay as their house guest!
Annette Gray lives with her family in Queensland, Australia. But about a year ago, the family got an unexpected visitor: a big spider, known as a huntsman spider.
Many people would be terrified to have something like that in their living room. But Annette decided to let it stay… and even gave it a name, Charlotte, presumably after the kindly web-spinner of the classic Charlotte’s Web.
“I don’t kill them,” Annette told The Dodo. “[Charlotte’s] harmless.”
And they’ve continued to let her stay for the past year… even as she’s gotten even bigger! Charlotte is now about six inches wide.
“We’ve watched [Charlotte] grow over the last year or so,” said Charlotte’s son Jake.
Huntsman spiders, despite their intimidating size, pose no harm to humans if not provoked, and the family has been happy to let her stay undisturbed.
Of course, not everyone understands their living situation. They say that family and guests jokingly suggest they burn their house down.
Commenters online agree, saying Charlotte is a bit too intense for them. Others suggested they start charging the spider rent!
But the Gray family is happy to let Charlotte live her life. While she doesn’t pay rent, she does help clean up the house, in her own way.
“[She] never bothered us,” Jake told The Dodo. “She moves about the house, pops up room to room, eats all the bugs.”
While spiders aren’t usually the kind of animal we like to let in to our homes, they’re still creatures who deserve to live their lives undisturbed. Share this story if you agree!
