Serious problem with spiders

Cyclamen

I feel for you.

I really struggle with a spider phobia.. it got silly last year after findinga few large one sin the shower and i decided to do something about it.

I spoke to a local chap who does 'tropical workshops' for kids parties, snakes, spiders, lizards and so on. I stated i knew it was irrational and that i just needed some help.

He came round the next day to save me winding myself up, answered loads of questions and basically explained the science and anatomy of them.. it sounds strange but this really helped.. i am still very scared of them.. but I know what they can and can't do and have looked at them closely in tubs (he had a collection of Brittish spiders with him).

By the end of the visit he had his tarantula in my hands.. there were plenty of tears, silly questions, squeals, jumps and general silly panic.. not very proud of it but the chap was really into his nature/wildlife and educating people and didnt mind.

Anyway.. i am slowly trying to expose myself to spiders a bit more. I am not cured, far from it but i can froma safe distance admire there beautiful markings and comment on them. I try to watch them on telly (life in the undergrowth/attenborough), my long suffering husband brings them into the house in a sealed (with air holes) tub and i name them and sit and watch them, i am now more used to this but still find it hard.

desensitisation is a long an dslow process.. but well worth trying.. I was never that comfy with the hoover idea..

It might be worth a quick google to see if someone can help you to.. it didn't cost very much and was well worth it.. I will be inviting him back again when i have saved up a bit to keep trying.

By the way the conkers thing.. may not be that scientific.. he showed me a picture of his tarantula sat on a stack of them.. maybe you need concentrated oils.. but i'm fairly certain spiders will live in horse chestnut tree's.

tanith

Conkers has worked in our house for the last three years.

graceandfavour

I hate the little nasties too.

MoneyMate

:beer:

bazster

Don't understand this thread at all. Spiders will not hurt you. We have some in our house that have been living in various corners for weeks, even months (and yes we do clean, but we clean around the spiders and occupied webs, waiting until the spiders have vacated or died). We give them names and chat to them, although they are not great conversationalists themselves.

Big ones on the floor have to be rescued and put outside though, otherwise the moggy will indeed scoff them.

Gloomendoom

nikki2804 wrote: »

I did also go to the doctors with what I thought were infected midgie bites, he informed me that they were house spider bites :eek: Non poisonous obviously but apparently some people are allergic to their saliva.

I was under the impression that all spiders were venomous, it's just that some are more venomous than others.

My grandfather had an interesting experience in Africa after sleeping under his lorry. He woke up with a large and very painful horseshoe shaped sore on his face. He went to the doctor who confirmed that the most likely cause was that one of the local giant spiders had been licking his face while he slept. Apparently, they squirt out digestive juices onto their food before they eat it.

bazster

nikki2804 wrote: »

I did also go to the doctors with what I thought were infected midgie bites, he informed me that they were house spider bites :eek: Non poisonous obviously but apparently some people are allergic to their saliva.

Uneducated guesswork by the Doc I would suggest. "House spider" could mean anything, it's not a species it's just a spider in your house. And why on earth would they bite you once, let alone multiple times? Unlike various rather more unpleasant creatures spiders don't feed on humans, and if they feel threatened they either run away or curl up into a ball.

FWIW the missus and I have been scooping up spiders in our bare hands and shoving them out the door before they become cat food for decades, including the big black monsters you can actually hear scuttling across the floorboards. Never been bitten once.

rooflover

My wife and I moved into a cottage in the country and on the day we moved in there was 3 or 4 massive house spiders in each room! My wife couldn't enter the house until I "removed" them! My wife then discovered spider traps. They are strips of cardboard with glue in the middle and you simply cut them to fit your door threshold. All spider lovers, I apologise! They simply stop the spiders from moving around the house and get stuck to the strips of glue.

The result of having them throughout the house is now we just don't get them. It seems by stopping them coming in they don't lay the eggs and create more! In the early days we would have at least two or three massive ones caught in the night and slowly over time we have eliminated them.

We have also sealed up areas around the bathroom eg to the soil pipe and other potential areas from the roof down. The spidertaps are available on line and I couldn't recommend them enough.

50Twuncle

rooflover wrote: »

My wife and I moved into a cottage in the country and on the day we moved in there was 3 or 4 massive house spiders in each room! My wife couldn't enter the house until I "removed" them! My wife then discovered spider traps. They are strips of cardboard with glue in the middle and you simply cut them to fit your door threshold. All spider lovers, I apologise! They simply stop the spiders from moving around the house and get stuck to the strips of glue.

The result of having them throughout the house is now we just don't get them. It seems by stopping them coming in they don't lay the eggs and create more! In the early days we would have at least two or three massive ones caught in the night and slowly over time we have eliminated them.

We have also sealed up areas around the bathroom eg to the soil pipe and other potential areas from the roof down. The spidertaps are available on line and I couldn't recommend them enough.

Spiders are unable to get through the soil pipe unless they can hold their breath - there is a water bath / lock to swim through !!