This is the most frightening spider statistic ever

The thought of being in the same room as a spider gives most of us the creeps - so imagine finding out they get a lot too close to comfort.

In quite possibly the most terrifying statistic ever to be revealed, it seems huntsmen have a habit of adventuring at night.

“Huntsmen can walk across you and you wouldn’t know,” Michael Tate (aka Ranger Mick) from NSW’s Central Coast Australian Reptile Park told 2UE radio earlier this year.

Nocturnal face wanderings are apparently commonplace for spiders. Photo: Getty Images
Nocturnal face wanderings are apparently commonplace for spiders. Photo: Getty Images

“By the time you’re 35 years old, and if you’re living in Sydney, several huntsmen will have walked across your face during your sleep,” Ranger Mick said.

Cue every arachnophobe vowing never to sleep ever again.

For those who've adopted the bigger is better approach to eyebrows, it seems you've got a bullseye on your face when it comes to attracting spiders.

“It’s very likely that someone may have had prey caught on their face by a huntsman. Bushy eyebrows are the perfect hunting ground for a spider,” he said.

To be honest, if any spider were to walk across our bodies in bed, you’d want it to be the humble huntsman.

Source: Giphy
Source: Giphy

Despite their disconcerting appearance, the hairy, long-legged spider is completely harmless and little do we know, we have a symbiotic relationship with them.

“If you can cope with them, they are actually an asset in your home, and beneficial for taking care of the environment,” said Ranger Mick.

We are oblivious to spiders crawling on our faces while we sleep. Photo: Getty Images
We are oblivious to spiders crawling on our faces while we sleep. Photo: Getty Images

While our homes protect them from being prey outside, huntsmen “can eat quite large food items so they can tackle a cockroach”, so perfect for those who can’t bare to deal with the ugly pest.

If the thought of them wandering over your face wasn't stomach-churning enough, don't even think about the rumour that we swallow up to eight spiders in our sleep.

Huntsmen are beneficial to our homes. Photo: Getty Images
Huntsmen are beneficial to our homes. Photo: Getty Images

However, arachnid expert at Seattle's Burke Museum Rod Crawford claims it's simply an urban legend.

Huntsmen feast off the pests in our homes. Photo: Getty Images
Huntsmen feast off the pests in our homes. Photo: Getty Images

"For a sleeping person to swallow even one live spider would involve so many highly unlikely circumstances that for practical purposes we can rule out the possibility, he told burkemuseum.org.

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