Dock or fishing spiders are nothing to fear

Spiders give a lot of people the "willies" and I've never understood why.
You would think the fact that spiders eat insects would make them and people natural allies.
The truth is we all only fear one thing and that is the unknown. Once we learn about something, it isn't fearful any more and can even be fascinating.
Take dock spiders, also known as fishing spiders.
By just about any standard, these are big spiders, with legspans of up to three inches. Their bodies are much smaller, perhaps just 3/4 inch.
They like to hang out under docks and in logs and driftwood at the water's edge.
They catch insects by running them down or lying in wait and pouncing on them. They can sense vibrations in the water surface that indicate prey. They may even go underwater to catch minnows. Air bubbles cling to their furry bodies and provide them with breathing oxygen.
The only web dock spiders build is to hold their young.
Dock spiders have excellent eyesight and almost always see you coming and hide. If you look carefully at a dock before you step on it or its gangplank, you might see a dock spider sunning itself. They scram below the boards as soon as they spot you moving.
Interestingly, they seem to recognize individual humans and can become "tame" for these people. A case in point, I've seen dock spiders that have learned to recognize our staffer who fills the gas tanks. This person comes down to the gas dock several times a day. He or she usually think it's neat to see the big spider and takes care not to harm it. The spider gradually becomes accustomed to this person and will continue sunning itself even while the tanks are being moved around a few feet away. However, when a different person comes down to the dock or one of the boats comes to pick up a tank, the spider is gone in a flash. In fact, most people probably have never seen a dock spider even though they are quite common.
Like all spiders, docks spiders have venom which they use to kill their prey. I have never heard of anyone being bitten by one but it's probably possible. You wouldn't want to pick one up, for instance. You could say the same about many wild creatures. They are neat to observe from a distance but treat them with respect.

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