A man trying to kill one wolf spider was taken by surprise when it appeared to transform into dozens upon impact.

The man grabbed a broom when he saw the female wolf spider scuttling across his kitchen floor in Hallet Cove, Australia.

If he'd looked a little closer before bringing the broom down, he might have noticed the spider had an egg sac attached to her abdomen.

At least the wolf spider's eggs burst over the floor; these babies are a little harder to reach.

The critters came crawling out and quickly spread in all directions.

"Oh look at the babies come out of it," he said on camera.

A woman in the background could be heard yelling: "Kill it!"

With a few more whacks of the broom, he had it under control.

"It's dead," he said.

The name wolf spider encompasses a large family of spiders which are agile hunters with excellent eyesight. They are named for their wolflike habit of chasing and pouncing on prey. They don't tend to build webs.

Most are dark brown, with stout legs and a hairy body. They live almost everywhere in the world - including New Zealand - and are especially common in grasslands.

After laying several dozen or more eggs, a female wolf spider will create a silk egg sac which is then firmly attached to her abdomen. She will continue to carry the spiderlings for a week after they hatch.