Back before the days of Fire Ants we had lots and lots of them around here. Would see them daily. Still see one from time to time but not near as many as we used to.

Right before a rain you can usually find them out and about. We used to catch them all the time as kids. They're pretty defensive when you first catch them, but calm down pretty quick. We would catch 20-30 on the old FM 455 between Pilot Point and Sanger before they built Ray Roberts. Good Times!!

I have heard of stories of Lots of those up in that part of the world.

ive only seen these in central not here in N. Tx. Im scared now LOL

TX, that is a Texas brown Tarantula.

We went on a trip to Glorietta, NM last year and on our way back we stopped at Carlsbad, NM. There were tons of these on the road on the way back out.

Used to see them like the plague in fannin county, havent seen them in ages though. I wouldve swerved a bit to squish em.........yep.

Seen them all my life, can't believe this is the first one you've seen killer!

Hearing all of these stories im shocked I havent came across one im always in the woods up here.

That's actually a grass spider and not a tarantula. People call them Wolf Spiders, but thank goodness it isn't because a true Wolf Spider can be deadly and we do not have them here. The two stripes on the cephalathorax(back, middle section) gives away it's identity. Mud-daubers and digger wasps both do what Hwy_Man described. Nature is awesome.
And for the record, there is no such thing as a spider that is not venomous, regardless of it's size...provided it's a true spider. That's what sets them apart on the family tree from things like whip scorpions and vinegeroons. The worst thing about a tarantula bite isn't the venom, it's the infection you could get afterwards. It would hurt like hell, comparable to being stabbed by 2 sharpened pencils tied together side by side.

Have them all over my yard every year. There fun to play with.

Build a retaining wall out of rail road ties and you will see them - like to make their homes in the crevices - they can also jump 4' or better - and that is a surprise you will soon not forget

Head out to the trans pecos and up into the guads and you'll see road signs for them just like the deer crossing signs.....pretty cool.

Go out there and play some sand lot ball and they'll start popping up out of the ground in the outfield around dusk....just remember to miss them and the random cow on a pop fly.....the good ole days.

God I miss West Texas.

Yup, looks like a hairy tarantula to me to.

I heard they are not poisonous but will still bite the piss out of you if you jack with em. Anybody know? I know I've seen them out west thicker than fleas at times when the weather is changing. I've seen em all over the highways out there from time to time.

Two years ago had tarantulas in our yard in Ft Worth. Wife is from Ohio and thought it was cool to see; from 25' away!

South of my house?

Yup near the pit

I've seen 3 of 'em in the last week. That's crazy that you've never seen one. Get a flashlight and go out in the backyard at night...walk toward the little reflections.

They really are docile creatures. As long as you don't "grab" them and just let them crawl onto the back of your hand you're good to go.

We used to catch them all the time and let them crawl all over us, but once they start up the neck it will make you pucker up. I usually freaked out and flicked them off at that point... then they were mad and not so docile.

They are very docile and won't bite unless extremely agitated. We used to pick them up and play with them all the time as a kid.

I have seen a couple dozen of them on my ranch in South-Central Oklahoma

man thats scifi stuff there...crazy

When I was a kid growing up in this area we saw em every summer. There would be mass migrations at times. You could hear em popping under car tires.