Too much of a good thing

I freely admit that it took me a while to get used to the huge huntsman spiders we found inside the house from time to time. At first I was pretty freaked out and used to worry about having one on me, and possibly being bitten. After a while, though, I came to realize that they are pretty benign, even helpful (no need for bug spray in our house, the spiders keep the insect population in check). I've only met one person who claims to have been bitten, although EVERYBODY has had one in the house from time to time. Huntsman encounters are fairly common here.

I still don't want them to be on me (and that has not happened so far), but I'm actually pleased when I find one. They normally stay up high on the walls or even on the ceilings. If they see you coming, they generally try to skitter away. They aren't the least bit aggressive and, again, they're helpful. We live in the middle of a forest, so insects would overrun the place without the huntsmen.

So OK. One or two 8-legged wonders is a good thing.  But you can have too much of a good thing.

It's spring here, and lots of critters are nesting, raising a family. We've spotted a couple of tiny little baby huntsmen in the kitchen and upstairs hallway - to which I say "Hi, there!  Welcome, Junior!"

But a couple of days ago I walked into the foyer and found a baby spider on the wall only about a meter from the floor. Hm.. that's not normal. I wondered why he was way down there. Then I looked up...

Oh, my....

...arachnids in abundance...

I started counting.... 24 babies in the foyer. One in the kitchen (only one?!?!). Then I went into Stephen's office and gasped. In total I counted 63 huntsmen on the first floor. Momma Huntsman must've been taking fertility drugs.

Thank heavens they are just tiny little babies.  If we had that many full-grown "Wolfgangs", I think I might end up with a terminal case of the "willies".