For those of us who can't stand spiders, the thought of letting one stay in your home is unimaginable - as we'd sooner watch our property burn to the ground than stay in the same room as one.
But if you don't mind the eight-legged creatures, letting them roam free on your walls and ceilings might seem like a great idea, especially if they're going to snack on insects like mosquitos that would otherwise be leaving bites all over your body.
That's the thought process of one woman from Australia, who has been allowing a massive huntsman spider to live on the ceiling of her living room for around two weeks - and has even named him Simon.
Posting anonymously on Reddit, the 26-year-old woman admitted Simon can sometimes freak out her house guests, and revealed she recently had trouble when she invited her friend and his arachnophobic girlfriend over to stay for a few days.
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In her post, she said: "I live in Sydney, where huntsman spiders are our common house spider. I’ve had one (who I’ve named Simon) in my living room in the ceiling corner for about 2 weeks now. He’s hard to reach for me to trap and put outside, and honestly, he doesn’t bother me. He can chill there for as long as he wants so long as he keeps eating smaller bugs and so long as I can see him.
"A couple of weeks ago I had a friend named Ben and his girlfriend Shay stay over for a couple of nights. He lives in Melbourne, she’s from Wales and has only moved here recently. They’re travelling around Australia and Ben asked if they could stay at my place in Sydney as a favour.
"I was happy to do so! But I did warn him that there was a huntsman in my living room since I know foreigners can freak out about them."
The woman insisted she warned the couple about Simon's presence, but her friend's girlfriend was still terrified by the spider and demanded it be killed.
She claimed Shay called her "f***ed up" for keeping a spider in the house, but said she told her friend's girlfriend that she was doing them a favour by letting them stay here - so Simon wouldn't be getting the chop because of them.
She added: "Shay and Ben got here and we were all having dinner and watching TV when Shay notices Simon chilling in the corner. She freaks out and says I need to kill it.
"I said no, I’m not comfortable killing spiders and he’s not hurting you. Apparently Ben hadn’t specified how big huntsman spiders are and Shay didn’t know. Shay kept telling us we needed to kill it. I said I didn’t want to, huntsman spiders are harmless and timid and they actually eat mosquitoes and other bugs you would rather not have in here.
"I asked if she had a phobia of spiders, she said spiders are fine but having one inside the house is f***ed up. I got kind of mad at that because I’m doing her a favour letting her stay for free, cooking for her etc and she’s calling me f***ed up for not killing a harmless creature.
"I said, 'I doubt he’s the only spider, he’s just the only one you can see'. This p***ed her off even more, which I obviously understand so I get I may be the asshole for that."
As a compromise, the woman and her friend ended up capturing Simon in a container and setting him free outside - but Shay was still traumatised by the events and demanded she and Ben stay in a hotel instead.
The woman said: "In the end, Ben and I ended up getting a step ladder, trapping him and putting him outside. She was not happy with this either and said that I should have killed it after putting it outside. She basically called me an a**hole and gave me dirties the rest of the night.
"They ended up leaving a day early to stay in a 'clean hotel' (her words). This again rubbed me the wrong way because my house is clean, it just had a spider in it (ones that clean by eating bugs and not making webs)!"
Commenters on the Reddit post were mostly on the woman's side, as although they acknowledged Shay's fear and discomfort, they also said her comments were unnecessary.
One person said: "I mean, I understand why they freak people out. I wouldn't kill one but I wouldn't want one lurking either."
While another wrote: "I understand her fear but her comments were so unnecessary. How would you even kill a huntsman? They're like the size of dinner plates."
"While I would NOPE out of that house very quickly, she was told about the spider. She could have gotten it herself if she wanted. She also continued to be an asshole after you had done what she wanted. That's not on you", a third stated.
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