The Itsy Bitsy Spider...?

As a kid I used to be deathly afraid of spiders.
I'd find them suspended above my bed, just over my pillow.
Daddy-Long-Legs with their long, thready legs, gave me chills and nightmares.

My brother, Michael, and I would go on a spider hunt, flashlight in hand.
Evenings were the best time.
Black Widow Spiders dotted the concrete wall along the sidewalk by our house.
Michael captured them, dumping them into a glass jar.
Thinking back on our spider escapades, I'm surprised that
Michael came away--ALIVE.

Today, I live in a subtropical climate.
Everything thrives here.
Bugs are super-sized--and that includes spiders.
Hanging dead center from a huge web draped across the Royal Palm tree out front was a Trap Door Spider.
It was the Biggest, the Blackest and Scariest spider I'd seen yet.
Right out of a Stephen King novel!

Fangs, fur...orbs as big as marbles.
I stood there, transfixed, fear settling in my spine.
My childhood chills had come back.
Grabbing a broom, I broke the web.
'Trappie' dropped down, dangling...
I flung it out to the street.
I haven't seen one since.

Wolf Spiders are just as fearsome.
Recently, one was sitting on the edge of the pool.
Big as a golf ball, and very hairy.
I pool-netted him, and sent him flying into the woods.

Bugs Beware...Approach--if you dare!