Stuff Of Nightmares: Look What This Homeowner Found On Her Electricity Meter [Photo]

Saying “stuff of nightmares” in relation to the pic you’re about to see is no exaggeration.

Even if you’re a person who has no fear of creepy, crawly things, this is a little much. First, some background.

The picture below was posted to Reddit and linked from Imgur with the rather comical but fitting description, “Energy Australia was unable to read your meter.”

The Irish Mirror website filled in some of the details, approaching Rentokil Pest Control about what exactly this is supposed to be — other than a ton of spiders, of course.

Even though the giant mother perched on the electricity meter looks well-equipped for the lead in a monster movie, she is, in reality, just a wolf spider.

Wolf spiders look a lot fiercer than they really are, the pest control service confirmed, noting that they will only inject venom if they feel they are provoked in some way.

While you might expect the venom of these creatures to turn you into a wolf spider, they will only result in swelling, mild pain, and itching.

In other words, even though this is clearly the visual stuff of nightmares, a mosquito or chigger will likely do more to ruin your day with a bite than one of these things.

That fact, however, hasn’t stopped the entire Internet from freaking out about this picture.

Reddit users suggested using variations of a flamethrower to kill this thing and its thousands of offspring.

Some made light of the fact that wolf spiders like this were “mostly harmless,” while one commenter pointed out the following.

“However, they like to hide in bicycle helmets and behind sun visors in cars. They wait until you’re coming to an intersection at speed and then run out, across your windscreen or face (depending on if you’re driving your car or riding your bike)… If the inevitable accident doesn’t kill you, the coronary probably will… Evolution’s a b***h.”

Another commenter confirmed the “harmless” thing, and complained that people “keep tagging me in this on Facebook because I work for an Aussie power distribution company and hate spiders.”

“You’ll find these guys in lots of switchboards,” he said. “They are harmless. Since they shed you’ll find switchboards full of empty skins, so at 3am you get a fright until you realize it’s just their old, empty skin laying there.”

As if this wasn’t already the stuff of nightmares, this particular commenter left everyone with an invitation to look up the “mouse spider,” noting he found one in his work truck. Here, friends, is the mouse spider.

So what do you think is worse: the mouse or the wolf spider pictured above? And would you call this the stuff of nightmares? Sound off in the comments section.

[Featured Image via Shutterstock, Wolf Spider Image via Imgur]