Aussie visitor anything but incy wincy

Mel Jupp says she knew the orb-web spider was not a local and wondered how it had found its way into the back section of her Hamilton home. Picture / Amos Chapple

A huge eight-legged freak has invaded the back section of a Hamilton home, but it is apparently harmless.

The orb-web spider (Nephila edulis) from Australia was discovered by Mel Jupp last Thursday.

Every year thousands of the baby spiders balloon their way across the Tasman but they seldom survive our cold winter.

Ms Jupp said MAF officials had told her the spiders float on the wind to get to New Zealand.

She said when her brother found the orb-web she knew straight away it was not a New Zealand spider.

"I just wondered how it got there."

Her spider, which could grow to a leg span of 24cm, is living in a web nearly 2m wide.

The golden yellow web was renowned for its strength, she said.

The web was full of blowflies and insects, but the spider "just hangs out there - it doesn't move much".