A spider the size of a dinner plate has terrorised a Queensland family after it became "angry" when they tried to use their barbecue.

Lauren Ansell from Mount Coolum returned home on Sunday to find the giant spider sitting on the sliding glass door to her patio.

Ms Ansell said the creature, which she quickly named Aragog, was as large as a grown man's hand and very "unhappy," The Sunshine Coast Daily reported.

View photos A spider the size of a dinner plate has terrorised a Queensland family More

View photos Ms Ansell said her boyfriend tried to squash it in the door. Photo: Supplied More

"(The spider) was preventing us from using our BBQ," she said.

"We made it unhappy as we tried to move it so we could cook".

Ms Ansell said her boyfriend tried to squash it in the door, but it instead fell off and scurried off into the garden.

Shocking photos show the enormous spider perched on the door. Ms Ansell's boyfriend even held the cat up near the spider to show its size.