Wildlife Spotting

This spider looks like one of the fishing spiders. Likely Dolomedes tenebrosus https://bugguide.net/node/view/2011 They are not dangerous even though they are very large spiders. Almost all species of spiders have venom, but very few pose any danger to humans or animals. There are many easy ways to evict unwanted critters without touching them or harming them (like cups and paper, butterfly nets, and similar). Spiders view us as predators and will flee at any threat from us (biting of people or pets are usually due to a spider trapped in fear of death). I understand your concerns for safety of your family. With a bit more understanding of the creatures in your new home, hopefully everyone can live more peacefully. :-)

Hello Julie36 and Welcome to the Project Noah community! We hope you like the website as much as we do. There are many aspects to the site and community. The best way to get started is to read the FAQs at http://www.projectnoah.org/faq where you can find all the tips, advice and "rules" of Project Noah. You, like the rest of the community, will be able to suggest IDs for species that you know (but that have not been identified), and make useful or encouraging comments on other users' spottings (and they on yours). There are also "missions" you can join and add spottings to. See http://www.projectnoah.org/missions . A mission you should join is the http://www.projectnoah.org/missions/2165776002 to chose the best wild photo of 2018,only the spottings added to that mission are eligible.Note that most missions are "local". Be sure not to add a spotting to a mission that was outside of mission boundaries or theme :) Each mission has a map you may consult showing its range. We also maintain a blog archive http://blog.projectnoah.org/ where we have posted previous articles from specialists from different geographical areas and categories of spottings, as well as wildlife "adventures". So enjoy yourself, share, communicate, learn. See you around :)