How big are they really?

Let's talk about the size of these guys for a minute. The spider below is your typical garden spider. Unfortunately he got stuck in this white basin (it is the typical white plastic basin size, most of us have them at home to aid in washing dishes, note his relative size to the basin). This allowed me to take his picture as he couldn't run away immediately.


Yep, that's the spider in the basin. Note his size in relation to the plastic containers around him...not bad huh?

This one is a picture of a Huntsman on a cardboard box. Huntsman don't build webs...they hunt, hence the name. When I googled the Huntsman I was a little startled to find out that they can grow up to a foot across. This guy got caught in someone else's web, and was unfortunately not alive when I took his picture. Can't see him you say? Do you see the word PICKFORDS? Note how you can't see the letter I. That's because the spider is covering it up. Yes, he was that big.

To get a better idea of size, compare him to the packing tape. Standard size packing tape here...