Wolf Spider

A man from California attempted to kill a spider using a torch lighter on Sunday, however, things didn’t go to plan and it caused a fire at his apartment.
Lyndsey Wisegarver, a caregiver for one of the men living in the apartment, said one a man tried to kill the spider in an upstairs bedroom.

‘It was a huge wolf spider,’ Wisegarver said.

The spider ran to a nearby mattress, which very quickly caught on fire.

Fire officials said they tried to douse the flames with a garden hose, but it didn’t work.

Pitt said the fire spread to a closet in the bedroom, but firefighters were able to keep it from spreading to neighboring apartments. The blaze was extinguished in less than 20 minutes.

No one was injured, however, the fire did cause about $11,000 in damage.

The residents in the apartment, Wisegarver, and the two men are going to have to find another place to live as the place is uninhabitable, Pitt said.

Apparently, Wisegarver said they’ve been thinking about moving for a while. ‘We’ll make it work,’ she added.

Wolf spiders are not poisonous, and although they are typically non-aggressive, they will bite if they feel provoked.

They should be considered dangerous to humans and the bite may be very painful.

Currently, there are about 200 species of wolf spiders in North America – they are common in California.