People have been left horrified after seeing a photo of a giant spider who made a traffic lights set its new home.

The terrifying picture made rounds on the internet after it was shared on social media by Joel Hogan, a tradie from Australia who was working on a set of traffic lights when he spotted a giant huntsman spider.

According to Mr Hogan, he was doing his job in Alice Springs when he took notice of the bloated – and possibly pregnant – spider hiding underneath a series of wires connected to the traffic lights set.

After taking a selfie with the critter and sharing it on social media, people were quick to share their opinions about the scary discovery.

“If you tried to hit that spider with a newspaper, it would probably grab it and hit you back,” someone joked.

“Looks like everyone is crashing today. Screw the lights,” another one wrote.

Meanwhile, netizens couldn’t help but compare the large huntsman to a “small dog” and suggest it could be ridden due to its massive size.

While some people suggested that the spider in question was a Goliath birdeater, a member of the Tarantula family, Macquarie University arachnologist Lizzy Lowe eventually confirmed that the critter was actually a badge huntsman.

Like other huntsman spiders, members of this species are known to occasionally seek shelter in buildings and vehicles even though they prefer to reside in secluded, protected areas such as gaps beneath the rocks for example.

While they are not considered aggressive towards humans, they are known to have bitten humans in some instances, whereas their bites can lead to vomiting, nausea, and swelling.

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