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Startled and Feeling Foolish

Having a bit of a spider phobia, I was watering the garden with a water can when I looked down to see this on my finger like an Addams Family signet ring:

She's about an inch across and the right shape for a much more dangerous spider but the wrong colour. I think she's a Golden Orb Weaver but I don't know for sure. Someone want to tell me before I either set her free or squish her to protect Max Cat?
 
I just looked up a Golden Orb Weaver and....
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I don't know...the spider in your picture looks a bit smaller.
 
I’m not sure what it is. The only arthropods I have any knowledge of are the kinds you can get steamed, buttered, and with cocktail sauce.

It's a fine looking spider though. I wouldn't worry about it being harmful though, there are only a couple of species in the whole world that are dangerous, and I'm pretty sure that what you have isn't one of them. I say let it go so it can eat some of those pesky insects. Who knows? Maybe that particular spider loves to eat mosquitoes.
 
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I am a bit of an arachnophobe myself. Looks like one of those big fat ones like we have around here that spin the big webs that I am always walking in to.
 
It doesn't look like any of the Black Widows, Brown Recluses, or Wolf spiders that have bit me in the last two years I've lived out in the woods. I say let her go.
 
Spiders are our friends. Even more so when they are in your home and/or garden. They kill and dine on all the nasty bugs that we don't want around and don't like. In my house we respect our spiders and give them their space. Outside in the garden we often marvel at their web. Stumbling upon a ground spider while gardening should be expected. If I recall correctly the brown recluse and the black widow are the only ones to be seriously concerned about in the US and you wont find either in the garden.

Yours looks to me to be an Orb Weaving Spider (sourced from my bug-o-holic 9 year old DAUGHTER!!!!)
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Definitely an orb weaver, and completely harmless. Kind of looks like this species here

A good site with lots of info on Canadian spiders. We have lots of little guys just like yours in our garden. Our cat has eaten her fair share of them, and hasn't come to any harm so I wouldn't worry about yours either.

Cute little guys, if you like that kind of thing. Mostly get webs in my hair if I'm not watching where I'm going.:ohmy:
 
Yours looks to me to be an Orb Weaving Spider (sourced from my bug-o-holic 9 year old DAUGHTER!!!!)

You can tell your daughter that I released her very gently where she could hide under some leaves. She was some choked at me though, bracing up and showing some pretty impressive fangs (tell your daughter 2 to 3mm fangs) when I was opening the jar but she scooted quick enough when I opened it up and let her go.

Regards,

- John
 
I feel you, with all the rain we're getting lately my backyard is teeming with life, some of that life includes snakes. Pretty sure they have always been there but this year me and and wife have spotted four between us. I shrieked like a girl though this Monday when I almost stepped on about 18 inches of slithering black and yellow rat or garter snake. And for the most part I like snakes, I'm thinking I like them better behind glass though.
 
AFIK, cat's are immune to most if not all spider bites(I may be totally wrong though, it's in a fuzzy part of my memory)
I'll look it up in a bit to be sure.

Edit: Totally wrong,
 
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We had a large zipper spider in a doorway we never used. I used to throw crickets into its web and watch it bum rush them and wrap them up. I like spiders. Except those meat-rotting little bastard brown recluses.
 
Those are pretty much the most commonly visible spider around these parts. They seem to especially enjoy under the eaves of our apartment building, much to my girlfriend's chagrin.

They make me slightly uncomfortable, but my girlfriend gets seized with panic if she comes near one, which makes walking from the car to the door of the building an interesting experience from July-September...
 
"Seized with panic?" Seems a little dramatic. Unless she has a legit phobia or something. Then it'd be understandable. I knew a girl like that with crickets. No phobia, though.
 
It's pretty close to phobic, the other day we were driving home from buying a tomato plant, she had it on her lap in the car and then saw there was a spider in it. She was borderline in tears, I had to stop the car and deal with the spider. She complained later on that all of her muscles hurt because she was tensed up fully and completely for 15 minutes before I found somewhere appropriate to stop and deal with the spider.

It's only certain types of spiders though, she's got no issues with huge dock spiders (unless they touch her) or tarantulas because for some reason they're closer to hamsters than "evil spiders" or something...

It's only spiders, no other bugs or creepy crawlies, she's an avid camper and not afraid to get dirty, but certain spiders render her near useless in their presence.
 
I believe you should stop with the resources and stomp the heck out of it, with someone else's foot. :w00t: I hate spiders so much I have someone else kill them for me. I always trapped them as a kid, well until I was 30 or so and got married now I make my husband do it.
 
I kinda like the little fuzzy jumping spiders.
They are cute. :001_tongu
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cute...Cute....CUTE! Not so much! Interesting looking when it is a photo but not irl! The fact they jump make them even more...creepy crawly.

I believe you should stop with the resources and stomp the heck out of it, with someone else's foot. :w00t: I hate spiders so much I have someone else kill them for me. I always trapped them as a kid, well until I was 30 or so and got married now I make my husband do it.

We had some really strange spiders around the house when we moved in and they were big and were laying eggs. I discovered that raid works for spiders but you have to spray it right on them and wait a few moments. Sprayed in the air doesn't work for them.
 
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