Woman Finds Enormous Pregnant Spider in Her Office: ‘Jumped Out’ and ‘Ran Down My Forearm’

An Australian woman was stunned after she found a giant pregnant spider in her office.

Debbie Ellwood, who lives in central Queensland and works for a small trading company, discovered the arachnid in a ring binder at her workplace on September 18.

“I was on my cell phone when I picked up the ring binder and the spider jumped out when I opened it and went down my forearm and onto my desk,” Ellwood tells PEOPLE.

“We don’t have too many spiders in this area, most of the big dangerous ones are in colder states,” she adds. “But it’s possible they’re hitchhiking the cargo.”

Courtesy of Debbie Ellwood

In photos taken by Ellwood, who was alone when she made the discovery, the creepy crawly can be seen next to a pink paper clip and stapler in her office.

Although surprised by her discovery, Ellwood managed to remove the spider with the help of a colander, a calendar and her laptop.

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According to NewsweekEllwood then took pictures of the spider and sent them to her family to see if anyone could identify it.

When no one else could, Tina Bates, Ellwood’s niece, decided to share the photos on a Facebook group called Australian Spider Identification.

Debbie Ellwood removed the spider using a colander.

Courtesy of Debbie Ellwood

According to the PEOPLE review, Bates asked: “Hi everyone, my aunt found this spider in her office in Mackay QLD. It was moved to safety, outside in a colander so she didn’t have to touch it. Does anyone know what species it is?”

One member of the group, who is a major contributor to the Facebook group, described the spider as “a very serious jungle hunter.” (The word “gravid” refers to pregnancy or egg-bearing.)

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Meanwhile, one of the group’s experts replied, “Species Heteropoda, female, family Sparassidae, as stated by Jacinta.”

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Despite their creepy appearance, hunting spiders are not considered dangerous, according to the Australian Museum.

“As with most spiders, they have venom, and a bite can cause some bad consequences. However, they are quite reluctant to bite and will usually try to run away rather than being aggressive,” the museum said.

Although the encounter upset her, Ellwood said she was “glad I never hurt” the spider.

Still, “it wasn’t easy to be brave,” she said Newsweek.

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Source: HIS Education