Steve, there is no way on this Earth I'd 'get up close' to a spider. I'd rather eat my own leg. I accept what you say, our friends, essential to the ecosystem and all that. But the very nature of a phobia is irrational and overwhelming. I couldn't even go into a pet shop where they had those giant tarantulas in a tank. Not even in the car park. Not even drive past...
I'm ashamed of this, but can do nothing about it.
In Senegal I have been known to emerge screaming from a primitive toilet shed with my trousers round my ankles, having spotted a MONSTER spider on the wall.