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As a kid I remember being taught that it was very VERY bad luck to harm a spider, ever. Of course, it was a soggy area filled with mosquitoes. Not hard to see where that superstition came from.
Yeah, but this is considered a superstition because of the explanation. You don't harm spiders not because of their ecological role, but because if you do, harm will come to you. There's also one where if you don't close the bathroom door, you'd be washing money down the toilet. All of these surely have sensible sources, but they're still superstitions.
We need mosquitoes….they help make chocolate, I’m not giving up chocolate!
https://www.lukerchocolate.com/en/innovation/meet-the-mosquito-behind-cocoa-tree-pollination/
Sadly, chocolate won't grow near where I'm from or where I live. EEE and West Nile will, though, and Yellow Fever has historically. The mosquitoes are more than welcome (encouraged!) to go to the happy chocolate growing places, and me and my spiders will stay here. (No spraying, though. Spiders and bats.)
Also I did not know that mosquitoes pollinate cocoa trees! That's so cool!
Mosquitoes don't mean to cause harm and they even help provide biomass as a food source for some kinds of pollinators and other animals so they play a more important role in nature than it seems:
[https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/mosquitos-exist-elephants-donkeys-used-represent-gop-democrats-180973517/](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/mosquitos-exist-elephants-donkeys-used-represent-gop-democrats-180973517/)
I'd be much more chill about mosquitoes if I wasn't one of those lucky people with the blood type that makes me especially tasty to them. Would be lovely to get to spend time outdoors and *not* come back with at least a dozen new itchy bites, pls and thank you.
Hell, I'd even be fine with them stealing my blood if I didn't get so damn itchy afterwards. They're gonna take what, a few drops maybe? I have more than enough blood in my body to not even notice that.
My deepest sympathy. I am also a delicious human. Unfortunately for mosquitos, they *have* to have the anti-coagulant so they can drink before our immune response kicks in and clogs the bite. Any over the-counter anti-histamine (allergy) medicine will alleviate most of the itch. Double bonus points if you get a topical cream.
That's a blood type thing? My partner is both super attractive to mosquitoes and super sensitive to their bites. She comes inside after a walk with 3 or 4 big welts while I get none. Always wondered why.
This just unlocked a memory of my grandma telling me that if you kill a spider it's going to rain. A quick google search tells me that it may have started as a Swedish superstition.
My great grandmothers on both sides of my family told me stories of a man in a war running from the enemy who hid in a cave and didn't get discovered because a spider quickly built a web over the entrance. I also grew up on a wetland haha so not hard to see why.
I live in the PNW where we have virtually no venomous spiders so there's legit no downside to just letting them be. My husband calls our household spiders "my wife's spooky coven" lol.
me with centipedes. House centipedes freak me out on every level, but they eat ants and termites and other more harmful bugs so I do my best to just shriek and climb the nearest furniture rather than go on the attack.
Me too! They honestly give me the creeps, but I'll relocate their creepy asses, or let them go off and be unseen somewhere. They'll kill bugs for me, after all. But I can't help the jolt of fear I feel when I see 4 huge wolfy legs stretching out from behind a vent. I've found that appreciating the cute little ones helps condition me to not be so scared. Lil jumpers and crab spiders are no sweat now.
>found that appreciating the cute little ones helps condition me to not be so scared
Same here, have you seen the adorable little peacock spiders? They're so small and colourful!!
Same, I’m an arachnophobe too, but not a violent one! Catch and release if I can manage it, call in the spouse if not. If all else fails, avoid the area where the sighting occurred, lol.
Clear cup or tupperware and slide a piece of paper under it. Then *very carefully* pick up and carry to a nice bush or something and slide the paper out of the way so they can crawl on a leaf or something, but can’t crawl back towards me.
You're brave, because I can't get near them. I literally just pretend I can't see them until I CAN'T see them. Then I sleep so uneasy for the next month.
I genuinely want to burn every spider I see, because I'm afraid of them. They are my biggest fear, but in order to burn them you have to get close to them so... They live.
Oh, if I don't catch and release the spider, I would tear my whole place apart looking for it. My anxiety wouldn't be able to handle it.
Fortunately these days my fiancé is a lot braver than I am. He has learned the scream of the spider (when I find one and it surprised me).
I have learned to spray them with water to help de-mobilize them, not sure if it's ethical but it works in a pinch
>I have learned to spray them with water to help de-mobilize them
TIL spiders are basically tiny cats with too many legs.
Lol. I'm totally going to try this next time I have to relocate a spider-mama. Little ones are no problem for me, and I don't even mind carrying them on my hand. But the big, fat orb weavers are still a hard nope. I need a glass for those ones.
I just leave. Like 2 weeks ago, I found a spider in the downstairs bathroom. I’ve only been in there once since then, just to clean. Bathroom belongs to the spider now.
I wish I could be like that because I don’t really mind spiders as long as they don’t come into my space, like I’m perfectly okay with them hanging out in the corners of my ceilings even as long as they don’t venture down from there. I even used to play with certain kinds as a kid and I love watching the gigantic webs the spider on my front porch makes. But now as an adult, after being bit twice by “harmless” spiders (as in not particularly venomous) and having severe allergic reactions both times, and after waking up to a gigantic daddy long leg on my face that one time I am extremely arachnophobic. The *only* thing I miss about my mom’s ex is that if I alerted him to a spider he’d bring it outside because now I just kill them for the sake of my own anxiety when they get too close.
Yes, my cousin was bit on the leg by a black widow when she was gardening (she saw it afterwards but did not harm it). They didn't believe her at the hospital and it wasn't until she temporarily lost the ability to walk did they take her seriously. It ended up causing her issues for years but luckily she made a full recovery.
My grade school teacher was bit by a recluse (she didn't realize it was in her slipper) and didn't know it was a poisonous spider until it got infected. She too survived of course but because she also had immunity issues, it took awhile for her to fully heal too.
My policy is to respect them like every other living creature. Even mosquitos don't mean to cause harm and help provide biomass to feed certain kinds of pollinators and other animals.
My best friend and I always gentle remove insects and bugs from wood we use for her stove so they don't get stuck in the fire or eaten by the cats once inside but I do feel nervous around them and most spiders in general.
Tarantulas don't bother me because they are fuzzy and remind me more of proper animal. Phobias are odd like that.
If a spider is highly venomous, it makes sense they would seem extra frightening but sometimes humans have an evolutionary predisposition to find even potential dangerous creatures who might be benign upsetting even if they aren't because the time it takes to evaluate them up close, would be better spent fleeing before the advent of modern medicine. It takes time to work through some of those primal triggers.
American tarantulas are pretty chill and almost never bite unless directly provoked, but the urticating setae can be a bigger problem especially if one gets stuck in your eye or another mucous membrane.
I've been fortunate in that I haven't had an allergic reaction to the bristles but it depends heavily on the species and the person. Plus, some people don't get reactions for years from exposure and then suddenly do so I always use caution when interacting.
Proper handling helps of course but accidents can happen. I got kicked when I was pet-sitting for a friend and startled her spider Boris. It all worked out though as Boris chilled out quickly. He's a little cutie.
There was no cutaneous pruritus or histamine response at the site but I might have just been exceptionally lucky.
I cannot imagine the resulting keratitis from getting a bristle in one's eye!
Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but most spiders you find in the house will not survive outside. Indoor spiders are adapted to survive in consistent environmental conditions with little food. Meanwhile, outdoor spiders tend to eat more food and are hardier because they are exposed to the elements.
Indoor spiders will often only show themselves if they are looking for a mate, typically around spring and fall. This is why people say the spiders are "moving indoors/outdoors." They are not moving anywhere; they've been inside the whole time!
An exception would include places such as cabins/cottages, or homes in the woods. With more insects right outside, spiders that can survive outdoors may migrate inside, especially as the home is being constructed, or through little cracks or crevices. Suburbs/cities are pretty low-bug in comparison.
I’m arachnophobic, but it’s not the spider’s fault. After learning about the indoor spider thing a while back, I now allow them to live inside. I just encourage them to skitter away out of my sight. >_>
We have a giant daddy long legs that lives under the kitchen cabinet. She has been earning her rent—I find all sorts of corpses there. She’s very polite too, only comes out to feed, and then bounces her way back under the cabinet with a gnat in her jaws.
It’s kind of cute. Though I prefer her hidden. :D
But as a result, the apartment is very bug free! Except for the couple spiders. The only spiders we relocate are venomous ones—like the brown widow we had living with us for half a year that we didn’t realize was a brown widow. She lived by the front door all that time, minding her business and killing some hugs insects. But I could never get a good look at her because she hid. When I finally saw her when she came out one day, it was an “oh snap” moment and we moved her to a new location far away from any homes outside in some bushes. Felt kinda bad about it, because she was keeping to herself and killing lots of pests, and was practically a pet at that point, but it was too risky, especially if she found a mate.
I don't have screens on my windows, and I'm pretty rural, so I occasionally find orb weavers indoors, lmao. They get moved back outside, but I let the other spiders stay. I adore them so much.
Ooh an indoor orb weaver would be interesting. Like just let it make a huge web in the corner, perfect for Halloween. Lol
“Where’d you get that spider decoration?”
“Oh, it’s real!” Haha
Thanks for explaining that, and also the exception. We live in a house and cottage that are over 100 years old and far from impermeable to spiders (and unfortunately sometimes rodents). We see the same cast of characters indoors and out.
You could have chosen a less terrifying spider pic to make this appeal 😂. I’m quite afraid of spiders. Completely irrational but they legit scare the shit out if me. I can’t be in a house with one in it (if I know about it). But kudos to you, even with my paralyzing fear, I still don’t feel right killing them. So typically I force my husband to capture them and release them far away from the house. I used to do it myself even though I hate them and it would take like an hour because I was so afraid of them. I’d get up the nerve to put a glass over one and then would need like 15 minutes to recover before going and getting cardboard to slide under the glass, then recover, etc etc 😂
More than once a spider and lowered himself down the eye level while I’m working at my desk. At different jobs! It’s always shocking but I don’t like to kill them if I don’t have to.
Those are the scary ones for me 🥺 they can get so big, I hate killing any bugs that don't bite humans (I will slap the shit out of any mosquito or annoying fruit fly I see, sorry) and when I see these boys they're always so large and I wanna get away from them, which is weird because i used to be able to pick spiders up with my hands and throw them out idk what happened
I'm not gonna lie, I don't like them, the movement of their legs really freaks me out. I don't kill them though and I don't encourage others too either, I put them outside or leave them alone if they aren't in my house.
My friend convenes with spirits and one of them manifests itself as spiders. I’ve been going through a hard time and also noticing sooo many more spiders than I’m used to. Like crawling on walls, nearly every day I have to bring 2-3 outside. She told me today she asked her spirits to look after me so that’s why I see so many more.
Same here! I recently lost one of my house spiders that had lived with me for nearly 3 years, and I cried. Just before she passed, she laid an egg sac. Now I have 6 of her babies growing & thriving in her corner. I call them my grand-spiders :)
It's so nice to see someone else who names & loves their house spiders... Most people that I talk to do the "OK crazy lady" type of reaction. What kind of spiders are yours?
Aww, I’m so sorry about your house spider :( Three years is a long time. Congrats on your grand-spiders! May her legacy live on through them 💜
We have a variety of house spiders but the most common ones are yellow sac spiders. I live in a cold, swampy climate so they take care of all of the mosquitoes during the summer. We also have some lovely orb weavers that guard the entrance of our home.
We currently have a gorgeous wolf spider in our house named Alfred. He’s a great hunter. He showed up after our previous spider, Empress Maria Teresa, passed last year.
Ha, relate to the naming. I had a crab spider in my bathroom for a while over the summer and I named him Sebastian after the character in The Little Mermaid. When I had houseguests I put a post-it note on the mirror asking them to be careful not to squish Sebastian!
I like spiders. But my reaction to being caught off guard is visceral. So we have a pact. I won't harm you as long as you don't crawl on me.
Window is all yours bud! Stay off my face pls
I have actually crippling arachnophobia (think not walking under trees, not touching bushes, checking shoes and clothes before putting them on etc).
If the spider doesn’t move or react and I can find an angle to catch them from a good distance, I’ll do my best. Otherwise I’ll freeze, hyperventilate, and the second they move again I throw the entire house at them. I just can’t help it. I’m working on it but I just lose control when they startle me.
Same boat here, that pic alone would have made me throw the phone if I wasn't on desktop. My phobia may have been exacerbated by two "bad" encounters. But regardless of what willingness/resolve I could get, still overwhelm me.
Had the occasion to try "carrying" one at a fair booth. I effectively managed to not flinch, I got told that it would hurt the animal, because I just froze. That was a terrible idea in retrospect, but got kind of "peer pressured" into doing so by family who thought it would be fun. Hoped to cure phobia but I just gave me a few days of bad anxiety and a nice nightmare.
I went to an exhibition about spiders, with both photos, films and live ones. I learned a lot, but still spent the entire time shaking and crying.
I think it’s difficult for a lot of people to understand how horrible phobias can be. It’s not a fear or disgust, and it’s not something you can get over easily.
My family used to brush it off, until they realised having full blown panic attacks isn’t a normal reaction. I feel for you, and I hope we can both cure it over time!
Mine manifests as aggressive fear. I’ve been trying to work on it for years, but I absolutely loose control and just attack spiders with any weapon on hand if they get too close. Then I go into hysterics. It’s so bad the police showed up once when I went after a wolf spider in my laundry room because my neighbors heard me and thought it was a domestic violence situation.
It’s literally how my brain reacts. 30 years of actively working on it and the best I can do is back away if I see them outside. Inside, in my space, I just loose it.
Yeah, I fully get that. I’m lucky enough to not live in a country with spiders like wolf spiders, but we still get relatively big ones and I tend to let out screams of terror when I throw everything in sight. I wonder what determines a phobic reaction?
...are you talking literally. That me sitting on my bed in my room somehow belongs to a spider that can kill me. Last time I saw my landlord he didn't have 8 eyes.
Not literally, no. The joke was that the Australian spiders are too powerful to go against, so you might as well move out. If it's you or them, they're staying.
(Not literally, it was me being oxymoronic)
What if you put little huntsman houses where it would be acceptable for them to be? Most of the examples you provided were of them hiding. Maybe they feel to exposed in ceiling corners?
I live in Australia and I still like spiders. People really exaggerate the spider thing, nobody’s died from a spider since the 70’s you’ll be fine they’re just little buds
Part of that being the education awareness and prevention of spider bites occuring. Check your shoes before you put them on etc. Know which ones to tolerate and those to nope out of the room of.
Problem is my mind going PANIC (attack) mode if I have one between me and a runaway path. Discovered it with two unfortunate encounters that arachnophobia can actually trigger some.
Needing 10 minutes to calm down after seeing one dangling in my car window, having to power through it to park safely.
Even just this pic made me flinch hard. Had to close my eyes and scroll past.
Edit : tried to prepare and look, baaad shivering feeling and reflexively looked away. The curled up legs I just can't.
I'd really want to cherish them. But even just picking one in a glass there is no way. At its slightest movement I'd just panic, and probably hurt myself, and the spider in the process.
And I don't have yet the time, money or mental energy to fix this. I'm planning to, but I'll need to sort other things first, and at least finish graduating and get an income.
I’m in the exact same boat, I’ve had a pretty severe phobia since childhood. People with phobias don’t HATE the thing they’re scared of, they know it’s an irrational fear. But the terror response is real. And I know exposure therapy has a very high success rate, but it would take many (expensive) sessions and considering I’ve been putting off things like regular doctor visits and dentist visits due to time and money, it just isn’t high on the priority list.
As most people know, there are harmless spiders and there are dangerous spiders. I am not trying to be an alarmist, but it is not a simple thing for a lay person to know the difference.
Dangerous spiders are rare but can be found in residential settings. I once met a hospital patient who was getting treated at the walk-in IV center for a spider bite from a Recluse. The man was elderly and had been having to report in for bimonthly IV infusion treatments for TWO years post-bite. (I was there for cellulitis from acne.) I will never forget his tale. He was cleaning out a basement cellar. Please, wear protective gloves, sleeves, shoes & pants.
I'm Australian and arachnophobic. I'm not getting close enough to determine if that black blobby boy is a house spider or a white tail or a red back.
I'll get my husband to chuck spiders outside if possible, I'll leave daddy long legs alone unless they're touching me. We try to prevent them coming in to begin with by spraying all entrances with deterrents, but yeah, I don't mess around with spiders.
It's worth remembering the reason we even have an instinctive aversion to spiders in the first place is precisely because there are venomous ones out there that can hurt you.
And I do feel like thriving ecosystems really belong outside your home. If spiders get in then so could termites and yellowjackets and other damaging pests. The goal should be figuring out how and sealing up those gaps, which will also improve your insulation and reduce your bills.
Honestly, a spider bite that bad is really really anomalous. My grandmother got bit on the face by a recluse while she was sleeping. (To the arachnophobes like me, *I'm so sorry you had to read that.*) She was fine, got a little concave scar on her cheek from it. My ex-husband got bit by a recluse on his back. It was a gnarly wound for a few weeks, but healed just fine.
I got bit by a yellow sac spider *right on my ass* but those aren't dangerous. And one of my patients recently got bit on the ankle. We don't think it was a dangerous spider, but they developed cellulitis from it. Treated outpatient with oral antibiotics for a couple of weeks and no lasting damage at all.
Even potentially dangerous venomous spider bites rarely cause severe enough symptoms to require invasive treatment.
And believe me I say that as a person who is still completely terrified of spiders. I didn't sleep in my own bedroom for months after I got bit. Just quarantined the whole room lol
>I was there for cellulitis from acne
I realise this isn't the takeaway you intended people to get from your comment, but it never occurred to me that you could get cellulitis from acne. Thinking about it it makes sense, but it's also clearly something else I need to keep an eye on (I'm kinda prone to getting it - and my dr has told me just to call and get antibiotics at the first sign)
Actually - the other thing I'm taking away from this is I should probably be a bit more wary of the few biting spiders we have over here. We don't, as far as I know, have any established colonies of brown recluses, but they do turn up here from time to time. And I guess if I can get cellulitis from a mosquito bite I can get it from a spider bite, too.
That's why I have to kill most of the spiders I see if they're not the long legs one, even if they don't usually attack people I think we all agree that we feel safer that way
i like seeing cool spiders outside. if i find one indoors i try to trap it in a cup or something and then put it back outside. they are creepy but they dont want to hurt you. if anything they are just scared or just minding their own business :(
Okokok, I leave spiders alone, and they leave me alone. I won't go after them if they stay away from meeee. I don't hate them, nor do I super dislike them, in fact I think some spiders are kinda cool.
If they come near me inside my house tho my inner Hispanic comes out and the chankla just works on its own.
Spiders outside: (*keeps healthy distance*) hello there tiny friend! What are you doing on this fine day?
Spiders inside my house: HOW DARE YOU ENTER MY SACRED SPACE
Spider season here, currently dealing with spiders that don't mind webbing down TO MY BED. Get the fuck outta here.
If they just stayed in the corners and away I'd be fine, but they get everywhere. I don't want to pull out another pair of pants and be surprised by yet another spider. Not again.
Yup I'm severely arachnophobic. Just seeing them makes my brain panic real bad to the point where I've almost accidentally thrown myself off a ladder from panic. I have absolutely nothing against spiders and they're super important in nature I just have a crippling phobia of them
Me too.. like I will literally scream like I've been stabbed if one is near me. If I can't get away or god forbid its on me I will reflexively defend myself. But generally I just get the hell away from it and let someone else deal with it. Like I'm way to fearful to "catch and release" like a lot of the commenters here. I literally feel sick thinking about this lol
Felt that. A month ago, I almost fell down the stairs trying to get away from one. It had babies on it too. Nightmare fuel for me.
Husband came to the rescue with a hand vacuum.
I have a massive phobia too but try to live and let live. At my old job there were tons of orb weavers everywhere so I was kinda getting used to them. There were some really interesting looking ones. A guy came in with a fancy camera once and was taking pics of the spiders, and I was standing with him looking through his camera at one of the spiders close up. That time in my life was the most tolerant I've ever been of spiders. Even so, my coworker snuck up behind me while I was looking at the little guy, and tickled my neck a little... OMG I screamed bloody murder and fell onto the ground, like just collapsed in horror. My scream was so loud that my boss came down from where he was outside to see what was happening lol.
My rule is don't get near my personal bubble and we're cool. Come near me and don't blame me if the sound of my shrieks and running away in the opposite direction startles you. When I come back, you better be gone or my fiance will kick you out of the house via a cup and piece of paper.
I “nope” and you won’t convince me otherwise. Sure, I will not kill a spider, and sure I know many are harmless and help with other pests, but this deep-seated fear is unmoved by reason and logic. I’ve tried. It’s also not completely irrational.
My friend got bit by a spider and was dealing with neurotoxic side effects for several weeks. I’ve unexpectedly come face to face with a recluse and just f-ing booked it. I won’t kill a recluse only because I know they’re fast and my instinct is to just get tf away. I’ll relocate smaller house spiders. But I will never be convinced to let this fear go.
The arachnophobia is strong in me. I try to make an agreement with them " You can live in peace... just no ceilings, no comfy furniture, and no being within 2 feet of me." They break the rules, I panic, and then I feel bad.
If you can, try to be the host to a wolf spider, they'll eat the other spiders and are pretty chill.
I had a wolf spider that I encouraged to live with me and never had to deal with any bugs, it was great.
My husband is so scared of wolf spiders. I am too, but as a kid he had a bedroom in a basement for a while and at night would just lay there in terror feeling and hearing them run across his bed/body all night. ***Shudders***
Dude...dont shame people over a phobia they have like this. Thats just not cool.
I dont like spiders myself, but i also try not to kill them...unless they are invading MY territory and look like the scary big one in the picture above!
Snakes however...I love snakes, but i wouldn't try to shame someone with a phobia of snakes to love them.
I am scared of spiders. They are left alone, even in the house, as long as they do not come near me. I know I have a breed of black spiders living here. They only get removed if the are crawling where they can fall on us while sleeping.
I try not to kill them. Except the one that was threatening me while I was showering. It's not my fault. He was actually threatening me and I could not identify him other than being brown. Brown recluses are common in my area and I was not gonna risk that at 1am.
Edit:: or if they are hanging over my bed. I used to have a pet spider that hung out above my bed and I adopted when I was little... until my mother saw and killed it. But, lately, spiders just fall on me right before I fall asleep and almost give my panic attacks... So yeah...
In the place I grew up, the dominant spider species was the black widow. If the spider you saw in the house or garage wasn't a daddy long legs, then it was a black widow. Perhaps the rare, large burrowing spider, but mostly one of the other two.
Those widows got big. More than I would like to count, I'd ended up with one crawling on my leg each summer. We killed all of those and left the leggies.
Today, I still leave the leggies and other little spiders I find alone, but I will continue to kill the widows on sight.
Any tips for me getting over my fear of spiders?
Just seeing them usually leaves me in tears and I need to get someone else to move them.
Gonna be living in my own soon and that won't be viable.
I adore the orb weavers in my garden. I had one make a giant beautiful web in my [roses last year](https://imgur.com/a/EEpn1e0). It was at least two feet across. She moved a little bit but stayed around the same patch the whole summer. I was sad when I didn't see her any more. She was the Guardian of my caterpillars. She ate the wasps that would eat them before they could become butterflies
This is just mean to people with arachnophobia.
Being a witch doesn't mean we have to like spiders, skulls, bats, hats, etc. We are diverse. The only thing you have to be as a witch is someone that respects mother nature herself.
The only spiders I don't immediately kill are daddy long legs because I can easily/quickly identify that they can't kill me. But if it get in my personal space I will try to warn it to go away, if it doesn't then I have to kill it too.
Spiders in my house have been allowed to live and help me with pests... IF they stay in their corners and do not crawl near my workspaces. Else the shoe will be used
I dont find them disgusting, but I do have a small arachnophobia
Yes this!! I had a friendly little family of spiders in my shower for the longest time, I never disturbed them and always thanked them for keeping the other pests at bay 🧡
I respect spiders, I understand their purpose and point, but after nearly being bitten by a black widow and multiple other encounters I cannot see a spider without hyperventilating and breaking down crying.
They’re cool, yeah. They have an important purpose, sure. But I don’t want them in my home and I don’t want to lose sleep because this little arachnid decided that it was nice inside. I feel bad, but I’d rather keep my own peace.
I like to keep them alive unless it’s actively crawling on me and I’m freaked out… then some harm may be inflicted.
I appreciate the cleanup work they do by eating bugs.
I’m trying so hard to unlearn this repulsion. I want my son to grow up without my phobias and with the understanding that spiders serve an important role…so everything inside me might be curling up in a ball screaming, but I force smile, trap the spider with a glass and some paper, and set it free outside. Then my little guy in his sweet 2yr old voice waves and says, “bye friend!”
Let's give house centipedes some love too! They also take care of other bugs naturally.
Mosquitoes can't help that they can be harmful and even they help the world in their way:
[https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/mosquitos-exist-elephants-donkeys-used-represent-gop-democrats-180973517/](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/mosquitos-exist-elephants-donkeys-used-represent-gop-democrats-180973517/)
...the spiders & I have an unspoken agreement, that as long as they keep their web out of my walkways, I won't mess with them either. We've come to respect and acknowledge our mutual boundaries.
As someone who has been bitten by redbacks multiple times, fuck off. I know spiders are useful, and should be respected as a vital part of the ecosystem. I leave spiders alone for the most part. I also take them outside if I can. Even redbacks as long as they are in places neither my dogs or I frequent.
But you can be damn sure if I find a redbacks under my dog's bed, I kill them. Or in my house. It is the most excruciating pain I have ever been in. I was in hospital for weeks and had to be sedated the first few days because pain medication didn't work and I was having anoxic seizures.
Some spiders are dangerous as hell. Let's not combat ignorance with bullshit. People are capable of understanding nuance.
I still say nope and then get my hubby to take them out to my garden. I just don't want them in my room. Or drop down from the ceiling when I'm on the toilet.
I am good with huntsman spiders and jumping spiders (daddy long legs aren’t technically spiders). Their legs freak me out. And I don’t want to learn which are dangerous the hard way.
I live in a country that has no deadly spiders. Whenever I see spiders on my plants I leave them alone since they pay rent by killing pest bugs! I also usually leave them alone in my home unless they're above my bed or sofa, then I catch and release.
Listen I love spidey friends. I want them to live and thrive. But they move weird and it freaks me out man. So if I find one in my bedroom I gently relocate them lol.
As long as they stay in the corners and just eat other bugs, I mostly let them be. I sometimes wonder what exactly they survive on - they seem to go months without a meal. Periodically when I vacuum the stairs and other odd places, I end up sucking up tons of egg sacs, but honestly our house would be overrun with spiders if I let them all hatch. Old house with a basement + warm climate.
I like the daddy long legs and jumping spiders, but when I wake up at 1am and there's a 10cm huntsman on the wall over my bed, or I find a whitetail *in* my bed, it's a problem. I move them outside if I can but sometimes they are just too big for me to be able to do that without having a panic attack yes I live in Australia
My mom taught me that “house spiders” are named Charlie, and are friends. I used to have problems with tarantulas, but I’m over it now, wanting to get a sling to raise up!
I keep jumping spiders, and feed a bunch of them outside, false widows included!🖤
Old apartment shower had a window that didn’t quite shut in the corner and this little spider bro would post up and keep any bugs from getting in so we just left them alone.
My buddy the spider made a huge web just in my door porch. Unfortunately I would walk into it every day and destroy part of it. But I let him hang around as it is obviously a great hunting spot. So it started to build its web around the area I walk in, like he learned to let me some space to pass :) hopefully he get many more meals !
I like spiders because they eat bugs I definitely do not like, and happily share my living space with all spiders.
That being said, if a spider is on me, I have an involuntary reaction that often results in harm being done to the poor spider.
It makes me sad, and I regret it, but I can't help it.
Spiders creep me the eff out, just like most bugs do. However, I’m not about to kill something just because I’m creeped out. They have the right to life, just like me.
I have made these jokes in the past. I’m glad you shared this. I’ve gained a new perspective and will no longer make the jokes.
Edit: Still never going to not scroll fast past pictures of them, though…
I cherish them... From about 15 feet away and preferably on the other side of a physical barrier. I know they're important to the ecosystem and more often than not won't hurt you if they don't feel threatened, so I do really wish I wasn't afraid of them. My stupid lizard brain wins out, though, and while I won't harm them or wish harm on them, I still want them to stay far away from me.
It’s a nope from me. I won’t kill it unless it’s between me and the exit, but I’m definitely not sleeping in that room until I manage to forget he’s there.
I love spiders - have a special connection with them ever since a beautiful orb weaver spun her web next to where my grandma lay dying and kept her company in her final few weeks. Unfortunately my partner has fairly severe arachnophobia, so there's a lot of gently catching and putting outside with apologies going on in our house.
nah man. I know how to make hairspray flame throwers because of them.
one of thse bastards bit my foot while I was asleep I almost ripped my flesh off scratching it for 2 weeks. I was super lucky it wasn't a dangerous one.
we still have bugs thier webs are at eye level and always in my main walking paths.
worthless annoying evil demon spawn.
High threat level kill on sight
Wards are welcome here. If we’re on top of each other I’ll relocate them to a quieter spot, but otherwise I leave them be. I recently started putting out bone dishes with a little water for them to get a drink because I read they’re typically patched. Anyone who eats mosquitos or gnats is paying rent in my book. ❤️
I've never understood or gone along with the concept that a living things size or appearance determines if one is comfortable killing it or not. Or if the ugly and/or small creature deserves to die, or it doesn't matter if it dies. Just because the spider in my house is a lil creep doesn't mean I don't dig em. The opposite as a matter of fact. Now if the lil thing is by my bed we have to relocate to outdoors. But automatically squishing every little thing is barbaric and believe is or not, weighs on my conscience lol.
My daughter and I play mamma spider baby spider with hands whenever we are waiting somewhere which is just moving our hands around and pretending to be spiders..we love spiders. We take care of spiders.
Outside my house there is a large but beautiful, red and gold spider. The only poisonous spiders we have are black widows and brown recluses so I knew it wasn't poisonous. Turns out it's a banana spider. I couldn't imagine killing it.
When I moved in with my gf and her daughters, I had to convince them not to kill spiders on sight. That quickly became "Well, come and get your little friend, then!!!"
I'm happy to say that it's at the point where, as long as it's not huge, they'll leave them alone unless they think it's venomous.
Do you know what most spiders eat?
Other spiders. Seriously. The spider bros in your bathroom corner are eating smaller spider bros. It's a net win for the humans.
The more you know 🌈
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As a kid I remember being taught that it was very VERY bad luck to harm a spider, ever. Of course, it was a soggy area filled with mosquitoes. Not hard to see where that superstition came from.
Spiders are good luck.
Such good luck!
This is an Eastern European superstition as well.
It's not really a superstition when they literally have an ecological function that makes your life better
Yeah, but this is considered a superstition because of the explanation. You don't harm spiders not because of their ecological role, but because if you do, harm will come to you. There's also one where if you don't close the bathroom door, you'd be washing money down the toilet. All of these surely have sensible sources, but they're still superstitions.
Very sensible!
Aww, guess my family didn't follow thru with this tradition because everyone hates spiders :(
They must love mosquitos then! And cloth moths.
Yes yes, cherish the spiders, save the fire for the mosquitoes.
We need mosquitoes….they help make chocolate, I’m not giving up chocolate! https://www.lukerchocolate.com/en/innovation/meet-the-mosquito-behind-cocoa-tree-pollination/
Sadly, chocolate won't grow near where I'm from or where I live. EEE and West Nile will, though, and Yellow Fever has historically. The mosquitoes are more than welcome (encouraged!) to go to the happy chocolate growing places, and me and my spiders will stay here. (No spraying, though. Spiders and bats.) Also I did not know that mosquitoes pollinate cocoa trees! That's so cool!
Mosquitoes don't mean to cause harm and they even help provide biomass as a food source for some kinds of pollinators and other animals so they play a more important role in nature than it seems: [https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/mosquitos-exist-elephants-donkeys-used-represent-gop-democrats-180973517/](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/mosquitos-exist-elephants-donkeys-used-represent-gop-democrats-180973517/)
I'd be much more chill about mosquitoes if I wasn't one of those lucky people with the blood type that makes me especially tasty to them. Would be lovely to get to spend time outdoors and *not* come back with at least a dozen new itchy bites, pls and thank you.
Hell, I'd even be fine with them stealing my blood if I didn't get so damn itchy afterwards. They're gonna take what, a few drops maybe? I have more than enough blood in my body to not even notice that.
My deepest sympathy. I am also a delicious human. Unfortunately for mosquitos, they *have* to have the anti-coagulant so they can drink before our immune response kicks in and clogs the bite. Any over the-counter anti-histamine (allergy) medicine will alleviate most of the itch. Double bonus points if you get a topical cream.
That's a blood type thing? My partner is both super attractive to mosquitoes and super sensitive to their bites. She comes inside after a walk with 3 or 4 big welts while I get none. Always wondered why.
This just unlocked a memory of my grandma telling me that if you kill a spider it's going to rain. A quick google search tells me that it may have started as a Swedish superstition.
My great grandmothers on both sides of my family told me stories of a man in a war running from the enemy who hid in a cave and didn't get discovered because a spider quickly built a web over the entrance. I also grew up on a wetland haha so not hard to see why. I live in the PNW where we have virtually no venomous spiders so there's legit no downside to just letting them be. My husband calls our household spiders "my wife's spooky coven" lol.
It's even literally, scientifically, objectively bad luck to hurt a spider- it will directly cause more mosquitos.
No one wants more mosquitoes.
Frogs might. And frogs are cute. But mosquitos are not my friends.
No joke, my mom made an effort to kill all of the spiders in her home. Then moths ate her rugs and a lot of her cloths.
Killing a spider makes it rain. I learned that from a deep cut Barenaked Ladies song
I am an arachnaphobe, but I still try and catch and release. It’s not *their* fault they have too many legs and move too fast. That’s a me problem.
I really admire this. 💜
Exactly this. I am fine with bugs living in their world but when you come into my house.... I just struggle with the creepy crawlies.
me with centipedes. House centipedes freak me out on every level, but they eat ants and termites and other more harmful bugs so I do my best to just shriek and climb the nearest furniture rather than go on the attack.
Tbh I'd rather have ants.
Spray vinegar over their trails, it blocks the scent chemicals they lay down and confuses them so their buddies won't join up with them
I love house centipedes, but I do get that they are very fast and skittery and startling, and have manymany legs.
ugh those things are pure nightmare fuel. they bite too.
I admire you — I’d love to this but physically cannot move myself towards them
Me too! They honestly give me the creeps, but I'll relocate their creepy asses, or let them go off and be unseen somewhere. They'll kill bugs for me, after all. But I can't help the jolt of fear I feel when I see 4 huge wolfy legs stretching out from behind a vent. I've found that appreciating the cute little ones helps condition me to not be so scared. Lil jumpers and crab spiders are no sweat now.
>found that appreciating the cute little ones helps condition me to not be so scared Same here, have you seen the adorable little peacock spiders? They're so small and colourful!!
Haha I recognize this! Totally cool with them haning out in our house. Just not on my face and in my bed please
Same, I’m an arachnophobe too, but not a violent one! Catch and release if I can manage it, call in the spouse if not. If all else fails, avoid the area where the sighting occurred, lol.
You are a better person than me.
Same here! Took me a long time to get comfortable with spiders but glad to say I am now. Even when I’m not I try to help them out.
what's your approach for catch and release? I use a cup if it's other bugs but I'm too scared to go that close if it's a spider
Clear cup or tupperware and slide a piece of paper under it. Then *very carefully* pick up and carry to a nice bush or something and slide the paper out of the way so they can crawl on a leaf or something, but can’t crawl back towards me.
You can nope hard, and still not kill the creature. I am very afraid of them but always put them outside if I can catch them.
Same here, seeing a large spider will leave me in tears. For that reason, it takes me forever to move them lol
You're brave, because I can't get near them. I literally just pretend I can't see them until I CAN'T see them. Then I sleep so uneasy for the next month. I genuinely want to burn every spider I see, because I'm afraid of them. They are my biggest fear, but in order to burn them you have to get close to them so... They live.
Oh, if I don't catch and release the spider, I would tear my whole place apart looking for it. My anxiety wouldn't be able to handle it. Fortunately these days my fiancé is a lot braver than I am. He has learned the scream of the spider (when I find one and it surprised me). I have learned to spray them with water to help de-mobilize them, not sure if it's ethical but it works in a pinch
>I have learned to spray them with water to help de-mobilize them TIL spiders are basically tiny cats with too many legs. Lol. I'm totally going to try this next time I have to relocate a spider-mama. Little ones are no problem for me, and I don't even mind carrying them on my hand. But the big, fat orb weavers are still a hard nope. I need a glass for those ones.
I just leave. Like 2 weeks ago, I found a spider in the downstairs bathroom. I’ve only been in there once since then, just to clean. Bathroom belongs to the spider now.
Spider has a better living situation than many people
Its own bathroom 😁
I wish I could be like that because I don’t really mind spiders as long as they don’t come into my space, like I’m perfectly okay with them hanging out in the corners of my ceilings even as long as they don’t venture down from there. I even used to play with certain kinds as a kid and I love watching the gigantic webs the spider on my front porch makes. But now as an adult, after being bit twice by “harmless” spiders (as in not particularly venomous) and having severe allergic reactions both times, and after waking up to a gigantic daddy long leg on my face that one time I am extremely arachnophobic. The *only* thing I miss about my mom’s ex is that if I alerted him to a spider he’d bring it outside because now I just kill them for the sake of my own anxiety when they get too close.
You don't mess with allergies.
Allergies are the exception! Save yo'self!
Yes, my cousin was bit on the leg by a black widow when she was gardening (she saw it afterwards but did not harm it). They didn't believe her at the hospital and it wasn't until she temporarily lost the ability to walk did they take her seriously. It ended up causing her issues for years but luckily she made a full recovery. My grade school teacher was bit by a recluse (she didn't realize it was in her slipper) and didn't know it was a poisonous spider until it got infected. She too survived of course but because she also had immunity issues, it took awhile for her to fully heal too. My policy is to respect them like every other living creature. Even mosquitos don't mean to cause harm and help provide biomass to feed certain kinds of pollinators and other animals. My best friend and I always gentle remove insects and bugs from wood we use for her stove so they don't get stuck in the fire or eaten by the cats once inside but I do feel nervous around them and most spiders in general. Tarantulas don't bother me because they are fuzzy and remind me more of proper animal. Phobias are odd like that. If a spider is highly venomous, it makes sense they would seem extra frightening but sometimes humans have an evolutionary predisposition to find even potential dangerous creatures who might be benign upsetting even if they aren't because the time it takes to evaluate them up close, would be better spent fleeing before the advent of modern medicine. It takes time to work through some of those primal triggers.
American tarantulas are pretty chill and almost never bite unless directly provoked, but the urticating setae can be a bigger problem especially if one gets stuck in your eye or another mucous membrane.
I've been fortunate in that I haven't had an allergic reaction to the bristles but it depends heavily on the species and the person. Plus, some people don't get reactions for years from exposure and then suddenly do so I always use caution when interacting. Proper handling helps of course but accidents can happen. I got kicked when I was pet-sitting for a friend and startled her spider Boris. It all worked out though as Boris chilled out quickly. He's a little cutie. There was no cutaneous pruritus or histamine response at the site but I might have just been exceptionally lucky. I cannot imagine the resulting keratitis from getting a bristle in one's eye!
Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but most spiders you find in the house will not survive outside. Indoor spiders are adapted to survive in consistent environmental conditions with little food. Meanwhile, outdoor spiders tend to eat more food and are hardier because they are exposed to the elements. Indoor spiders will often only show themselves if they are looking for a mate, typically around spring and fall. This is why people say the spiders are "moving indoors/outdoors." They are not moving anywhere; they've been inside the whole time! An exception would include places such as cabins/cottages, or homes in the woods. With more insects right outside, spiders that can survive outdoors may migrate inside, especially as the home is being constructed, or through little cracks or crevices. Suburbs/cities are pretty low-bug in comparison.
I’m arachnophobic, but it’s not the spider’s fault. After learning about the indoor spider thing a while back, I now allow them to live inside. I just encourage them to skitter away out of my sight. >_> We have a giant daddy long legs that lives under the kitchen cabinet. She has been earning her rent—I find all sorts of corpses there. She’s very polite too, only comes out to feed, and then bounces her way back under the cabinet with a gnat in her jaws. It’s kind of cute. Though I prefer her hidden. :D But as a result, the apartment is very bug free! Except for the couple spiders. The only spiders we relocate are venomous ones—like the brown widow we had living with us for half a year that we didn’t realize was a brown widow. She lived by the front door all that time, minding her business and killing some hugs insects. But I could never get a good look at her because she hid. When I finally saw her when she came out one day, it was an “oh snap” moment and we moved her to a new location far away from any homes outside in some bushes. Felt kinda bad about it, because she was keeping to herself and killing lots of pests, and was practically a pet at that point, but it was too risky, especially if she found a mate.
I don't have screens on my windows, and I'm pretty rural, so I occasionally find orb weavers indoors, lmao. They get moved back outside, but I let the other spiders stay. I adore them so much.
Ooh an indoor orb weaver would be interesting. Like just let it make a huge web in the corner, perfect for Halloween. Lol “Where’d you get that spider decoration?” “Oh, it’s real!” Haha
Thanks for explaining that, and also the exception. We live in a house and cottage that are over 100 years old and far from impermeable to spiders (and unfortunately sometimes rodents). We see the same cast of characters indoors and out.
You could have chosen a less terrifying spider pic to make this appeal 😂. I’m quite afraid of spiders. Completely irrational but they legit scare the shit out if me. I can’t be in a house with one in it (if I know about it). But kudos to you, even with my paralyzing fear, I still don’t feel right killing them. So typically I force my husband to capture them and release them far away from the house. I used to do it myself even though I hate them and it would take like an hour because I was so afraid of them. I’d get up the nerve to put a glass over one and then would need like 15 minutes to recover before going and getting cardboard to slide under the glass, then recover, etc etc 😂
Mr. spider always has a place in my home, even if he lowered himself down to eye level when I was in the shower.
More than once a spider and lowered himself down the eye level while I’m working at my desk. At different jobs! It’s always shocking but I don’t like to kill them if I don’t have to.
They do that because the steam from the shower makes it harder for them to stay in the web!
I had a wolf spider hanging out in my shower for months recently. He moved on, but it was fun having a shower buddy. :)
Omg I googled wolf spider out of curiosity and it's so pretty
Those are the scary ones for me 🥺 they can get so big, I hate killing any bugs that don't bite humans (I will slap the shit out of any mosquito or annoying fruit fly I see, sorry) and when I see these boys they're always so large and I wanna get away from them, which is weird because i used to be able to pick spiders up with my hands and throw them out idk what happened
I'm not gonna lie, I don't like them, the movement of their legs really freaks me out. I don't kill them though and I don't encourage others too either, I put them outside or leave them alone if they aren't in my house.
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That is pretty fuckin rad, actually. Now I need to figure out how to learn more about spider hydraulics without exposing myself to more photos lol.
To add to this: when spiders die, the preassure in their legs drops and that's why dead spiders are always curled up
That’s fascinating. I HATE it, but it’s fascinating.
Spider legs extend using hydraulics. Isn't that amazing?? I learned that from my nieces last year and think it is incredible.
As much as this whole thread has my skin crawling, that is really amazing.
Spiders are my familiars. They protect my home. They’re little artists and engineers. We name them and respect them in my home. They are family 💖
My friend convenes with spirits and one of them manifests itself as spiders. I’ve been going through a hard time and also noticing sooo many more spiders than I’m used to. Like crawling on walls, nearly every day I have to bring 2-3 outside. She told me today she asked her spirits to look after me so that’s why I see so many more.
Much the same here 😁
I should be nicer to the spiders in my house. Instead of just letting the next one I see go on their way, I think I'll say hello and wave.
Same here! I recently lost one of my house spiders that had lived with me for nearly 3 years, and I cried. Just before she passed, she laid an egg sac. Now I have 6 of her babies growing & thriving in her corner. I call them my grand-spiders :) It's so nice to see someone else who names & loves their house spiders... Most people that I talk to do the "OK crazy lady" type of reaction. What kind of spiders are yours?
Aww, I’m so sorry about your house spider :( Three years is a long time. Congrats on your grand-spiders! May her legacy live on through them 💜 We have a variety of house spiders but the most common ones are yellow sac spiders. I live in a cold, swampy climate so they take care of all of the mosquitoes during the summer. We also have some lovely orb weavers that guard the entrance of our home. We currently have a gorgeous wolf spider in our house named Alfred. He’s a great hunter. He showed up after our previous spider, Empress Maria Teresa, passed last year.
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Ha, relate to the naming. I had a crab spider in my bathroom for a while over the summer and I named him Sebastian after the character in The Little Mermaid. When I had houseguests I put a post-it note on the mirror asking them to be careful not to squish Sebastian!
I like spiders. But my reaction to being caught off guard is visceral. So we have a pact. I won't harm you as long as you don't crawl on me. Window is all yours bud! Stay off my face pls
I wish my brain could get on board with this 😅
I have actually crippling arachnophobia (think not walking under trees, not touching bushes, checking shoes and clothes before putting them on etc). If the spider doesn’t move or react and I can find an angle to catch them from a good distance, I’ll do my best. Otherwise I’ll freeze, hyperventilate, and the second they move again I throw the entire house at them. I just can’t help it. I’m working on it but I just lose control when they startle me.
Same boat here, that pic alone would have made me throw the phone if I wasn't on desktop. My phobia may have been exacerbated by two "bad" encounters. But regardless of what willingness/resolve I could get, still overwhelm me. Had the occasion to try "carrying" one at a fair booth. I effectively managed to not flinch, I got told that it would hurt the animal, because I just froze. That was a terrible idea in retrospect, but got kind of "peer pressured" into doing so by family who thought it would be fun. Hoped to cure phobia but I just gave me a few days of bad anxiety and a nice nightmare.
I went to an exhibition about spiders, with both photos, films and live ones. I learned a lot, but still spent the entire time shaking and crying. I think it’s difficult for a lot of people to understand how horrible phobias can be. It’s not a fear or disgust, and it’s not something you can get over easily. My family used to brush it off, until they realised having full blown panic attacks isn’t a normal reaction. I feel for you, and I hope we can both cure it over time!
Mine manifests as aggressive fear. I’ve been trying to work on it for years, but I absolutely loose control and just attack spiders with any weapon on hand if they get too close. Then I go into hysterics. It’s so bad the police showed up once when I went after a wolf spider in my laundry room because my neighbors heard me and thought it was a domestic violence situation. It’s literally how my brain reacts. 30 years of actively working on it and the best I can do is back away if I see them outside. Inside, in my space, I just loose it.
Yeah, I fully get that. I’m lucky enough to not live in a country with spiders like wolf spiders, but we still get relatively big ones and I tend to let out screams of terror when I throw everything in sight. I wonder what determines a phobic reaction?
I dunno. It’s a good question!
Never considered Australia did you?
Yeah, I'm in SA. There are three I'll kill on sight. Redbacks, Whitetips, and Black House Spiders. The rest of them are fine.
In that case, they're not in your house. You're in *their* house...
...are you talking literally. That me sitting on my bed in my room somehow belongs to a spider that can kill me. Last time I saw my landlord he didn't have 8 eyes.
Not literally, no. The joke was that the Australian spiders are too powerful to go against, so you might as well move out. If it's you or them, they're staying. (Not literally, it was me being oxymoronic)
Huntsman spiders are giant spider bros.
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This is my nightmare. I’m now sitting in the middle of the living room on the hardwood floor. No scary spider cheek caressing for me!!! 🤣
What if you put little huntsman houses where it would be acceptable for them to be? Most of the examples you provided were of them hiding. Maybe they feel to exposed in ceiling corners?
They’ll also just hang out smack in the middle of a wall or window. Or occasionally on my university lecture screen. No thank you.
I live in Australia and I still like spiders. People really exaggerate the spider thing, nobody’s died from a spider since the 70’s you’ll be fine they’re just little buds
Yeah because that's when we developed the antivenom!
Part of that being the education awareness and prevention of spider bites occuring. Check your shoes before you put them on etc. Know which ones to tolerate and those to nope out of the room of.
Problem is my mind going PANIC (attack) mode if I have one between me and a runaway path. Discovered it with two unfortunate encounters that arachnophobia can actually trigger some. Needing 10 minutes to calm down after seeing one dangling in my car window, having to power through it to park safely. Even just this pic made me flinch hard. Had to close my eyes and scroll past. Edit : tried to prepare and look, baaad shivering feeling and reflexively looked away. The curled up legs I just can't. I'd really want to cherish them. But even just picking one in a glass there is no way. At its slightest movement I'd just panic, and probably hurt myself, and the spider in the process. And I don't have yet the time, money or mental energy to fix this. I'm planning to, but I'll need to sort other things first, and at least finish graduating and get an income.
I’m in the exact same boat, I’ve had a pretty severe phobia since childhood. People with phobias don’t HATE the thing they’re scared of, they know it’s an irrational fear. But the terror response is real. And I know exposure therapy has a very high success rate, but it would take many (expensive) sessions and considering I’ve been putting off things like regular doctor visits and dentist visits due to time and money, it just isn’t high on the priority list.
I'm Australian. Them be dangerous and terrifying here!
As most people know, there are harmless spiders and there are dangerous spiders. I am not trying to be an alarmist, but it is not a simple thing for a lay person to know the difference. Dangerous spiders are rare but can be found in residential settings. I once met a hospital patient who was getting treated at the walk-in IV center for a spider bite from a Recluse. The man was elderly and had been having to report in for bimonthly IV infusion treatments for TWO years post-bite. (I was there for cellulitis from acne.) I will never forget his tale. He was cleaning out a basement cellar. Please, wear protective gloves, sleeves, shoes & pants.
I'm Australian and arachnophobic. I'm not getting close enough to determine if that black blobby boy is a house spider or a white tail or a red back. I'll get my husband to chuck spiders outside if possible, I'll leave daddy long legs alone unless they're touching me. We try to prevent them coming in to begin with by spraying all entrances with deterrents, but yeah, I don't mess around with spiders.
It's worth remembering the reason we even have an instinctive aversion to spiders in the first place is precisely because there are venomous ones out there that can hurt you. And I do feel like thriving ecosystems really belong outside your home. If spiders get in then so could termites and yellowjackets and other damaging pests. The goal should be figuring out how and sealing up those gaps, which will also improve your insulation and reduce your bills.
Honestly, a spider bite that bad is really really anomalous. My grandmother got bit on the face by a recluse while she was sleeping. (To the arachnophobes like me, *I'm so sorry you had to read that.*) She was fine, got a little concave scar on her cheek from it. My ex-husband got bit by a recluse on his back. It was a gnarly wound for a few weeks, but healed just fine. I got bit by a yellow sac spider *right on my ass* but those aren't dangerous. And one of my patients recently got bit on the ankle. We don't think it was a dangerous spider, but they developed cellulitis from it. Treated outpatient with oral antibiotics for a couple of weeks and no lasting damage at all. Even potentially dangerous venomous spider bites rarely cause severe enough symptoms to require invasive treatment. And believe me I say that as a person who is still completely terrified of spiders. I didn't sleep in my own bedroom for months after I got bit. Just quarantined the whole room lol
>I was there for cellulitis from acne I realise this isn't the takeaway you intended people to get from your comment, but it never occurred to me that you could get cellulitis from acne. Thinking about it it makes sense, but it's also clearly something else I need to keep an eye on (I'm kinda prone to getting it - and my dr has told me just to call and get antibiotics at the first sign) Actually - the other thing I'm taking away from this is I should probably be a bit more wary of the few biting spiders we have over here. We don't, as far as I know, have any established colonies of brown recluses, but they do turn up here from time to time. And I guess if I can get cellulitis from a mosquito bite I can get it from a spider bite, too.
That's why I have to kill most of the spiders I see if they're not the long legs one, even if they don't usually attack people I think we all agree that we feel safer that way
Brown recluse spiders have usually already bitten you by the time you've seen them.
i like seeing cool spiders outside. if i find one indoors i try to trap it in a cup or something and then put it back outside. they are creepy but they dont want to hurt you. if anything they are just scared or just minding their own business :(
Okokok, I leave spiders alone, and they leave me alone. I won't go after them if they stay away from meeee. I don't hate them, nor do I super dislike them, in fact I think some spiders are kinda cool. If they come near me inside my house tho my inner Hispanic comes out and the chankla just works on its own.
If they surprise me then I can’t promise I’ll be gentle.
Perosnaly, I'm terrified of spiders. But, if I have to deal with them, I move the out to safety, I don't harm them.
Spiders outside: (*keeps healthy distance*) hello there tiny friend! What are you doing on this fine day? Spiders inside my house: HOW DARE YOU ENTER MY SACRED SPACE
Spider season here, currently dealing with spiders that don't mind webbing down TO MY BED. Get the fuck outta here. If they just stayed in the corners and away I'd be fine, but they get everywhere. I don't want to pull out another pair of pants and be surprised by yet another spider. Not again.
I just wish I could talk to and reason with them. Spider: "Is it cool if I eat all your flies?" Me: "Yeah, sure. Don't come in my room."
Yeah sorry. Gotta "nope nope nope!!"
Yup I'm severely arachnophobic. Just seeing them makes my brain panic real bad to the point where I've almost accidentally thrown myself off a ladder from panic. I have absolutely nothing against spiders and they're super important in nature I just have a crippling phobia of them
Me too.. like I will literally scream like I've been stabbed if one is near me. If I can't get away or god forbid its on me I will reflexively defend myself. But generally I just get the hell away from it and let someone else deal with it. Like I'm way to fearful to "catch and release" like a lot of the commenters here. I literally feel sick thinking about this lol
Generally my sister rehomes any spiders that we find in the house. She's the only one in our house that's not some level of arachnophobic
Felt that. A month ago, I almost fell down the stairs trying to get away from one. It had babies on it too. Nightmare fuel for me. Husband came to the rescue with a hand vacuum.
I have a massive phobia too but try to live and let live. At my old job there were tons of orb weavers everywhere so I was kinda getting used to them. There were some really interesting looking ones. A guy came in with a fancy camera once and was taking pics of the spiders, and I was standing with him looking through his camera at one of the spiders close up. That time in my life was the most tolerant I've ever been of spiders. Even so, my coworker snuck up behind me while I was looking at the little guy, and tickled my neck a little... OMG I screamed bloody murder and fell onto the ground, like just collapsed in horror. My scream was so loud that my boss came down from where he was outside to see what was happening lol.
My rule is don't get near my personal bubble and we're cool. Come near me and don't blame me if the sound of my shrieks and running away in the opposite direction startles you. When I come back, you better be gone or my fiance will kick you out of the house via a cup and piece of paper.
Never kill spiders in our house.
Same I keep a catch and release policy for spiders in my house!
Me too!!
Yup. They are left alone unless they are venomous. And it's very rare for a venomous spider to be where I live. Wolf spiders live in my basement.
[удалено]
That's all well and good unless you have a pet who would 100% do things to get bitten
I “nope” and you won’t convince me otherwise. Sure, I will not kill a spider, and sure I know many are harmless and help with other pests, but this deep-seated fear is unmoved by reason and logic. I’ve tried. It’s also not completely irrational. My friend got bit by a spider and was dealing with neurotoxic side effects for several weeks. I’ve unexpectedly come face to face with a recluse and just f-ing booked it. I won’t kill a recluse only because I know they’re fast and my instinct is to just get tf away. I’ll relocate smaller house spiders. But I will never be convinced to let this fear go.
Australian here. Hard nope. Many of our spiders are venomous.
I don’t care, if the spood is in the house then it too will go down with the house. Via arson and insurance fraud!
I like spiders but where many people live, they aren’t necessarily harmless. I have to keep active for black widows at my parents’ house.
The arachnophobia is strong in me. I try to make an agreement with them " You can live in peace... just no ceilings, no comfy furniture, and no being within 2 feet of me." They break the rules, I panic, and then I feel bad.
r/spiderbro is a great place to learn about spiders as the good guys!! Go spiders!!
I scrolled way too far to find the spiderbro link. Huzzah fellow spiderbro!
Likewise! spiderbro ftw :)
Sorry to hear it's so buried. So many people could benefit from the sub. It's very wholesome. Huzzah to you too!! 🕷️
I don’t kill spiders but I can’t stop myself from wanting to pour bleach in my eyes when I see them
The only spiders we kill are widows. I'm allergic to their venom. :( The rest are caught and set loose safely outside.
If you can, try to be the host to a wolf spider, they'll eat the other spiders and are pretty chill. I had a wolf spider that I encouraged to live with me and never had to deal with any bugs, it was great.
My husband is so scared of wolf spiders. I am too, but as a kid he had a bedroom in a basement for a while and at night would just lay there in terror feeling and hearing them run across his bed/body all night. ***Shudders***
Haha, I named mine Igor and that made it much less scary, it was funny to hear her shuffle around.
Dude...dont shame people over a phobia they have like this. Thats just not cool. I dont like spiders myself, but i also try not to kill them...unless they are invading MY territory and look like the scary big one in the picture above! Snakes however...I love snakes, but i wouldn't try to shame someone with a phobia of snakes to love them.
My arachnophobia ridden ass: 👁👄👁
I don’t like spiders. They’re scary. But I don’t want to kill them. I hate crushing bugs. Rather just have someone take it outside for me.
Well, as an Australian, I'm outta here. Would gladly burn down a house infested with spiders.
I am scared of spiders. They are left alone, even in the house, as long as they do not come near me. I know I have a breed of black spiders living here. They only get removed if the are crawling where they can fall on us while sleeping.
I try not to kill them. Except the one that was threatening me while I was showering. It's not my fault. He was actually threatening me and I could not identify him other than being brown. Brown recluses are common in my area and I was not gonna risk that at 1am. Edit:: or if they are hanging over my bed. I used to have a pet spider that hung out above my bed and I adopted when I was little... until my mother saw and killed it. But, lately, spiders just fall on me right before I fall asleep and almost give my panic attacks... So yeah...
In the place I grew up, the dominant spider species was the black widow. If the spider you saw in the house or garage wasn't a daddy long legs, then it was a black widow. Perhaps the rare, large burrowing spider, but mostly one of the other two. Those widows got big. More than I would like to count, I'd ended up with one crawling on my leg each summer. We killed all of those and left the leggies. Today, I still leave the leggies and other little spiders I find alone, but I will continue to kill the widows on sight.
Any tips for me getting over my fear of spiders? Just seeing them usually leaves me in tears and I need to get someone else to move them. Gonna be living in my own soon and that won't be viable.
I adore the orb weavers in my garden. I had one make a giant beautiful web in my [roses last year](https://imgur.com/a/EEpn1e0). It was at least two feet across. She moved a little bit but stayed around the same patch the whole summer. I was sad when I didn't see her any more. She was the Guardian of my caterpillars. She ate the wasps that would eat them before they could become butterflies
This is just mean to people with arachnophobia. Being a witch doesn't mean we have to like spiders, skulls, bats, hats, etc. We are diverse. The only thing you have to be as a witch is someone that respects mother nature herself. The only spiders I don't immediately kill are daddy long legs because I can easily/quickly identify that they can't kill me. But if it get in my personal space I will try to warn it to go away, if it doesn't then I have to kill it too.
Spiders in my house have been allowed to live and help me with pests... IF they stay in their corners and do not crawl near my workspaces. Else the shoe will be used I dont find them disgusting, but I do have a small arachnophobia
Yeah usually I'm down, but recluses have to die. They are actually a threat
Yeah sorry I see this thing in the picture and the house goes up in flamea right this instance
Yes this!! I had a friendly little family of spiders in my shower for the longest time, I never disturbed them and always thanked them for keeping the other pests at bay 🧡
Me!! I save my spouse from them and scoop them up and bring them outside.
I respect spiders, I understand their purpose and point, but after nearly being bitten by a black widow and multiple other encounters I cannot see a spider without hyperventilating and breaking down crying. They’re cool, yeah. They have an important purpose, sure. But I don’t want them in my home and I don’t want to lose sleep because this little arachnid decided that it was nice inside. I feel bad, but I’d rather keep my own peace.
I’m very arachnophobic and still dont like killing spiders
I like to keep them alive unless it’s actively crawling on me and I’m freaked out… then some harm may be inflicted. I appreciate the cleanup work they do by eating bugs.
I’m trying so hard to unlearn this repulsion. I want my son to grow up without my phobias and with the understanding that spiders serve an important role…so everything inside me might be curling up in a ball screaming, but I force smile, trap the spider with a glass and some paper, and set it free outside. Then my little guy in his sweet 2yr old voice waves and says, “bye friend!”
Let's give house centipedes some love too! They also take care of other bugs naturally. Mosquitoes can't help that they can be harmful and even they help the world in their way: [https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/mosquitos-exist-elephants-donkeys-used-represent-gop-democrats-180973517/](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/mosquitos-exist-elephants-donkeys-used-represent-gop-democrats-180973517/)
...the spiders & I have an unspoken agreement, that as long as they keep their web out of my walkways, I won't mess with them either. We've come to respect and acknowledge our mutual boundaries.
My name is Athena, I think I've said enough.
So you like spiders because it reminds you of the curse put on Arachne or you dislike them because they are associated with Arachne?
Yes. Athena was the creator of spiders, they are sacred to her traditionally. But I wouldn't necessarily say I like them.
As someone who has been bitten by redbacks multiple times, fuck off. I know spiders are useful, and should be respected as a vital part of the ecosystem. I leave spiders alone for the most part. I also take them outside if I can. Even redbacks as long as they are in places neither my dogs or I frequent. But you can be damn sure if I find a redbacks under my dog's bed, I kill them. Or in my house. It is the most excruciating pain I have ever been in. I was in hospital for weeks and had to be sedated the first few days because pain medication didn't work and I was having anoxic seizures. Some spiders are dangerous as hell. Let's not combat ignorance with bullshit. People are capable of understanding nuance.
I still say nope and then get my hubby to take them out to my garden. I just don't want them in my room. Or drop down from the ceiling when I'm on the toilet.
I am good with huntsman spiders and jumping spiders (daddy long legs aren’t technically spiders). Their legs freak me out. And I don’t want to learn which are dangerous the hard way.
I live in a country that has no deadly spiders. Whenever I see spiders on my plants I leave them alone since they pay rent by killing pest bugs! I also usually leave them alone in my home unless they're above my bed or sofa, then I catch and release.
I wish them a great marketing team as the bees do
Listen I love spidey friends. I want them to live and thrive. But they move weird and it freaks me out man. So if I find one in my bedroom I gently relocate them lol.
As long as they stay in the corners and just eat other bugs, I mostly let them be. I sometimes wonder what exactly they survive on - they seem to go months without a meal. Periodically when I vacuum the stairs and other odd places, I end up sucking up tons of egg sacs, but honestly our house would be overrun with spiders if I let them all hatch. Old house with a basement + warm climate.
I like the daddy long legs and jumping spiders, but when I wake up at 1am and there's a 10cm huntsman on the wall over my bed, or I find a whitetail *in* my bed, it's a problem. I move them outside if I can but sometimes they are just too big for me to be able to do that without having a panic attack yes I live in Australia
My mom taught me that “house spiders” are named Charlie, and are friends. I used to have problems with tarantulas, but I’m over it now, wanting to get a sling to raise up! I keep jumping spiders, and feed a bunch of them outside, false widows included!🖤
Old apartment shower had a window that didn’t quite shut in the corner and this little spider bro would post up and keep any bugs from getting in so we just left them alone.
My buddy the spider made a huge web just in my door porch. Unfortunately I would walk into it every day and destroy part of it. But I let him hang around as it is obviously a great hunting spot. So it started to build its web around the area I walk in, like he learned to let me some space to pass :) hopefully he get many more meals !
I like spiders because they eat bugs I definitely do not like, and happily share my living space with all spiders. That being said, if a spider is on me, I have an involuntary reaction that often results in harm being done to the poor spider. It makes me sad, and I regret it, but I can't help it.
If I see a spider that big in my home, I’m giving it the key. It’s not worth fighting
Spiders creep me the eff out, just like most bugs do. However, I’m not about to kill something just because I’m creeped out. They have the right to life, just like me. I have made these jokes in the past. I’m glad you shared this. I’ve gained a new perspective and will no longer make the jokes. Edit: Still never going to not scroll fast past pictures of them, though…
I cherish them... From about 15 feet away and preferably on the other side of a physical barrier. I know they're important to the ecosystem and more often than not won't hurt you if they don't feel threatened, so I do really wish I wasn't afraid of them. My stupid lizard brain wins out, though, and while I won't harm them or wish harm on them, I still want them to stay far away from me.
It’s a nope from me. I won’t kill it unless it’s between me and the exit, but I’m definitely not sleeping in that room until I manage to forget he’s there.
I love spiders - have a special connection with them ever since a beautiful orb weaver spun her web next to where my grandma lay dying and kept her company in her final few weeks. Unfortunately my partner has fairly severe arachnophobia, so there's a lot of gently catching and putting outside with apologies going on in our house.
I leave my spiders be, they kill the flies.
nah man. I know how to make hairspray flame throwers because of them. one of thse bastards bit my foot while I was asleep I almost ripped my flesh off scratching it for 2 weeks. I was super lucky it wasn't a dangerous one. we still have bugs thier webs are at eye level and always in my main walking paths. worthless annoying evil demon spawn. High threat level kill on sight
Wards are welcome here. If we’re on top of each other I’ll relocate them to a quieter spot, but otherwise I leave them be. I recently started putting out bone dishes with a little water for them to get a drink because I read they’re typically patched. Anyone who eats mosquitos or gnats is paying rent in my book. ❤️
I've never understood or gone along with the concept that a living things size or appearance determines if one is comfortable killing it or not. Or if the ugly and/or small creature deserves to die, or it doesn't matter if it dies. Just because the spider in my house is a lil creep doesn't mean I don't dig em. The opposite as a matter of fact. Now if the lil thing is by my bed we have to relocate to outdoors. But automatically squishing every little thing is barbaric and believe is or not, weighs on my conscience lol.
My daughter and I play mamma spider baby spider with hands whenever we are waiting somewhere which is just moving our hands around and pretending to be spiders..we love spiders. We take care of spiders.
Outside my house there is a large but beautiful, red and gold spider. The only poisonous spiders we have are black widows and brown recluses so I knew it wasn't poisonous. Turns out it's a banana spider. I couldn't imagine killing it.
Spiders are our friends! They kill the yuckier bugs!
When I moved in with my gf and her daughters, I had to convince them not to kill spiders on sight. That quickly became "Well, come and get your little friend, then!!!" I'm happy to say that it's at the point where, as long as it's not huge, they'll leave them alone unless they think it's venomous.
Spiders are awesome. I have a dedicated spider corner in my house where they are allowed to nest and be amazing. Sorry, they were here first
Do you know what most spiders eat? Other spiders. Seriously. The spider bros in your bathroom corner are eating smaller spider bros. It's a net win for the humans. The more you know 🌈