An inspector of Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) was called out to deal with the tarantula in Hampshire in southern England.
The woman had reported seeing a spider "the size of her hand" hiding in a downstairs cupboard, the BBC reported.
Inspector Nikki Denham was prepared with gloves and nets to trap the spider, but after shining a torch in the cupboard saw it was plastic.
Denham said the householder in Alresford had closed all doors to prevent the spider's escape before she arrived.
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"It was dark under the stairs, but I could see legs behind a vacuum cleaner that certainly were tarantula size. However, as I shone light in I could see that it was in fact a toy plastic tarantula," she said.
Denham said the toy was shown to the woman's young son who confirmed it was his "with an angelic innocent face".
A RSPCA spokeswoman said the organisation was called on to rescue 275 genuine tarantulas in 2016.
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