Are you an Arachnophobe?

There are probably trillions of spiders on the planet. I recently saw an article which said that most people are never more than 3 or 4 feet from a spider, no matter where they live. If I see one in our house, I "get rid" of it, but otherwise I just ignore them. I often see webs in my workshop, and there are usually dozens of other bug "remains" nearby, so I just sweep it all up. So long as it's not a poisonous spider, I'm not concerned.
 

Shero said:
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How do you manage in the bush?
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You don't often see huntsmen in the bush because they hide under loose bark on the trees. Orb weavers are more scary in the bush because they are quite big spiders with a habit of building large webs that you can walk into at night. They are also harmless but if you walk into a web they tend to panic. A panicky spider moves fast and throws out a lot of web.

When camping out and going for a whizz at night always have a strong torch and carry a stick in front of you to break up any webs. I don't mind the occasional orb weaver in the garden or the fernery. I always apologise when I mess up their webs.
 
Warrigal said:
You don't often see huntsmen in the bush because they hide under loose bark on the trees. Orb weavers are more scary in the bush because they are quite big spiders with a habit of building large webs that you can walk into at night. They are also harmless but if you walk into a web they tend to panic. A panicky spider moves fast and throws out a lot of web.

When camping out and going for a whizz at night always have a strong torch and carry a stick in front of you to break up any webs. I don't mind the occasional orb weaver in the garden or the fernery. I always apologise when I mess up their webs.
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Great information Warrigal, thank you!
 

Most of the spiders I see don't bother me and I let them be. Occasionally I will see a larger one and get a little scared. Saw one in the bathroom a few years ago and it was by the shower. I opened the drain and left the room shutting the door behind me. I went back in there a few hours later and it was gone.
 
Shero said:
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How do you manage in the bush?
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I rarely see them.
Though, thinking about it, I have seen plenty of Orb Weavers in webs, stretching between trees. I give them a wide berth.
When walking through the bush I always carry a stick in front of me, moving it up and down so as not to
walk into an unseen web.
They are well hidden and to see one I would have to go looking for them.
Lifting bark on trees, lifting logs on the ground. Not something I am likely to do.
I also come across scorpions in the bush.
 
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When I was just a kid living in Hawaii, there was a huntsman spider in the bedroom I shared with my brother in our quonset hut. How big was it? To a little kid, the size of a horse. It was probably "only" about a foot across, but it was big enough that my dad shot it with a 22 rifle. No kidding! Made a big, big mess. We lived in civilian housing that was owned by the government, but fortunately my dad wasn't charged with discharging a firearm on government property.

Since then? I can deal with a daddy long legs but that's it. I don't care how tiny or unthreatening a spider might be. If it's in my presence, it will wake up dead.
 
What kind of spider was that in a posting a few years back ..... that was eating a small possum in a motel room ? ...... LOL, in the accompanying story it was stated that the motel gave the visitors a different room........No thanks ! ......... I'm leaving town !!!
 
Don M. said:
There are probably trillions of spiders on the planet. I recently saw an article which said that most people are never more than 3 or 4 feet from a spider, no matter where they live. If I see one in our house, I "get rid" of it, but otherwise I just ignore them. I often see webs in my workshop, and there are usually dozens of other bug "remains" nearby, so I just sweep it all up. So long as it's not a poisonous spider, I'm not concerned.
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My feelings too! Most i 'relocate' without harming. But we have two deadly species here: Black Widows and Fiddlebacks (Brown Recluse), as long as they are not in the house i'm ok with them if i see them inside i will kill them won't risk people or pets. We have other nonpoisonous ones who dispatch annoying flies etc so i leave them alone.
 
Not at all...as a kid i often would 'play' with Daddy longlegs--i was fascinated with how they coordinated all those long oddly to the human mind jointed legs. Would get one on hand/arm and alternate hands in their path so i could watch them move. Tried not to stress them by doing for too long and always put them back where i picked them up.
 
When I was much younger, my sister told me spiders bring good luck and I actually believed her and was never really frightened by them, but Tarantulas used to sort of creep me out..... until I took a really close-up look at a dead one and saw how beautiful it was...
 
Serenity4321 said:
When I was much younger, my sister told me spiders bring good luck and I actually believed her and was never really frightened by them, but Tarantulas used to sort of creep me out..... until I took a really close-up look at a dead one and saw how beautiful it was...
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Some cultures do believe that they are lucky, and certainly they help dispose of flies and other insects in summer.
But there are also various legends, mostly Eastern European about Spiders and Christmas Trees. (Search spiders/Christmas, lots of results) and some even make spiders of bead and wire to adorn their trees--i bought one at craft fair long ago and it came with short folk tale printed on a card, but with religious overtones of most you'll find in a search left out.
 
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