spider season in NC

just a few of our spider spottings so far...

^ this one is living in our backyard and this was taken a few days after i found her. 6/23/10 she was about 3-4 inches in legspan.

^ being a nature loving nut, i let her stay and help w/our bug control out back. and this is her 7/22/10... she GREW! (that's shane's brave hand)

^ most people tell me to kill her, but i think she's gorgeous!

^ she's a golden orb weaver spider, aka banana spider. they get really big and have huge, golden webs that are stronger than steel, if you were to spin steel that thin.



^ and here's another spider w/a super strong web. this one i did kill though. it was right by our water table on the front porch where the kids play almost every day. not welcome. this is where i found all those baby spiders the next day too. good thing i'd seen her there or i would've let the babies live. and then we'd have a real big problem! as is, this is one of 5 black widows i've killed this year!