An ordinary trip to the sink at work quickly turned into nightmare fuel when a spider ran across a worker's face and headed straight up their nose.
To make matters worse, the spider was later identified as a dangerous brown recluse.
Here's what to know
Writing in a Reddit thread on r/whatsthisbug, the original poster described the situation: "I was minding my business washing my hands at work and he crawled across my face and made a beeline for my nose."
"I got it out by gently exhaling through my nose in short puffs," they explained, adding that the "Spider was safely released back outside, we both seem to be ok!"
Redditors rushed to the comments to identify the spider species.
"It's a Loxosceles, a brown recluse," said one.
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After the spider was identified, the OP noted their surprise at its size.
"I really thought brown recluses were bigger than that oops," the OP said.
Elsewhere in the comments, one Redditor shared a concerning observation.
"Hey so nobody has said this somehow but that brown recluse is pregnant which means you probably have a lot of them," the user warned.
"Make sure to shake out your pants, towels, check bed sheets and blankets. Don't stick your hands in dark places you can't see," they added.
According to the University of Kentucky, brown recluse spiders can be found across much of the Midwest.
"Although brown recluse spider bites are rare, the venom can sometimes cause serious wounds and infestations should be taken seriously," the university's website cautioned.
Brown recluse spiders can survive in challenging conditions, including the cold of an unfinished basement in winter or the heat of an attic in summer. This can make their populations difficult to control.
Where can I learn more?
Plenty of other spider encounters have turned ordinary moments into unsettling ones. These stories include a Kansas home packed with recluses, a spider in a car vent, a doorway scare in Gran Canaria, and other strange finds.
• In Kansas, a family lived with 2,055 brown recluse spiders, and nobody got bitten.
• A driver sought help after spotting a spider in the vent of a car.
• In Gran Canaria, a woman opened her front door and met a huge huntsman spider.
• In Indiana, a homeowner cracked open a wasp nest stuffed with twitching spiders.
• In the Southwest, macro footage captured a camel spider "screaming" while it defended itself.
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