 sj |
||
|
||
BS: Spiders in the House...
|
|
|
Subject: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Bobert Date: 22 Oct 05 - 06:53 PM OPkay, granted, me and the P-Vine are livin' in a construction site but these danged spiders is everywhere and I'm gettin' just a little tired of capturin' them and takin' 'um back out side... Wouldn't be as bad if they was small but they all seem to be the same species, brownish to black with a light stripe down their back and they are about 1 1/2 inches from end of front leg to end of back leg... Ain't been bit by none though the smller spiders have bites the hound outta both of us... Anyone have any ideas on stuff that will keep them out or at least make the house less attractive to them??? Bobert |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Bobert Date: 22 Oct 05 - 06:57 PM No, no, no... This was sposed to be in the BS section... Wish it were in the obit section, though... Bobert (with bag over head) |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: GUEST Date: 22 Oct 05 - 06:58 PM Cats ? |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Chris Green Date: 22 Oct 05 - 07:01 PM Conkers do the trick apparently. No really! |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Peace Date: 22 Oct 05 - 07:18 PM "All animals have natural enemies. Birds, insects such as wasps, snakes, lizards, frogs and fish eat spiders." Have you considered getting a few dozen snakes? Or a murder of crows? |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Clinton Hammond Date: 22 Oct 05 - 07:52 PM "capturin' them and takin' 'um back out side..." Squash them... easy peasy.... |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: bobad Date: 22 Oct 05 - 08:53 PM Get a gecko. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Peace Date: 22 Oct 05 - 09:12 PM Hell, just say it ten times fast. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 22 Oct 05 - 09:13 PM ... so that when you bring visitors into the house, you can say to them, "Don't shout, there's a gecko in here!" (went over their heads I guess...) |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Rapparee Date: 22 Oct 05 - 09:20 PM It's a sign of a bad winter a-comin'. The spiders are all trying to get indoors where they'll be warm. Gonna be snow and ice and hail and sleet and freezing rain and blizzards and glaciers. Them spiders are tryin' to get out of the path of the southerly migration of the mastodons. Or maybe not. Could be a sign of a mild winter approaching. Has to be one or the other. Has to be. Have you tried insecticide? It's no longer a hangin' offense in Virginia. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Peace Date: 22 Oct 05 - 09:21 PM Nicholas got it, foolestroupe |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Peace Date: 22 Oct 05 - 09:22 PM Nicolas. PARdon me. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Bobert Date: 22 Oct 05 - 09:24 PM Ahhhh, I couldn't kill a spider, Rap... They eat bad bug... Plus, they are cool... Maybe when we get the contsruction finished, they'll stay out... I was kind hopin' fir some miracle herb that when left around the house would make them wanta return to the outdoors... Bobert |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Peace Date: 22 Oct 05 - 09:28 PM Get the Tarlek herb. His suits will drive the spiders away. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 22 Oct 05 - 09:29 PM There are several herbs such as pennyroyal that are reputed to have insect repellent powers, but spiders ain't insects! |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Peace Date: 22 Oct 05 - 10:09 PM "but spiders ain't insects!" Do they KNOW that? |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Sorcha Date: 22 Oct 05 - 10:24 PM I don't have experinces wit dis, but the kids say that the ultrasonic mice repellers that you plug into the wall outlets keep the spiders away (but not the mice) |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Peace Date: 22 Oct 05 - 10:28 PM Here. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Clinton Hammond Date: 22 Oct 05 - 10:33 PM "ultrasonic mice repellers" Will also likely bug the F outa yer pets.... |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Peace Date: 22 Oct 05 - 10:42 PM Wonder if that would work on crabs? Anyone know? |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Janie Date: 22 Oct 05 - 10:50 PM Bobert, Is it a Rabid Wolf Spider ? Janie |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Stilly River Sage Date: 22 Oct 05 - 10:59 PM His description sounds like a wolf spider. They're fast, but interesting. I called the local organic gardening guy on his program one Sunday morning (on a local radio talk show) and asked how to keep the tarantulas outside. He said that cedar mulch is reputed to repel spiders. So you might want to find a few bags and simply run a 12-24 inch strip of it around the house foundation to see if that works. I think it has here. I can find their spider holes in the yard easily enough, but I've only had to catch one in the house this year and none last year (and this year's got in by a fluke, under the bottom of a screen door when the main door was left open for a while). SRS |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: dianavan Date: 23 Oct 05 - 12:09 AM The wolf spider won't hurt you but I'm a little bit worried about your spider bites from the little spider. The little brown recluse gives a nasty bite that can get very ugly. I hope you don't have a sensitive stomach! http://www.angelfire.com/biz4/MastiffBreeder/BrownRecluse.html |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Liz the Squeak Date: 23 Oct 05 - 02:52 AM Should never have watched 'Arachnophobia' yesterday....... Spiders only come into clean houses, they don't like dirt because it attracts entirely the wrong class of fly; but yes, they're coming in because it's getting colder outside and they're looking for a warmer spot to winter in. We've had a couple of the big, brown, hairy legged variety appear, only to be eaten by a cat.... However, the garden has been full of Garden Orb spiders since August - the most amazing webs that have stretched a clear 6ft across the pathway and one that was right across the back door. They've never spun so big that early so I'm expecting a rough winter. And those brown recluses are just downright nasty! LTS |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: dianavan Date: 23 Oct 05 - 02:40 PM I noticed that, too, Liz. The webs this year are magnificent! |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Peace Date: 23 Oct 05 - 03:05 PM I am aware that spiders do lots of good in the world. But I do not want them in the place I live, so I spray with Raid and poison the little f*ckers. Had abput four bites last year and that is four too many. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Ebbie Date: 23 Oct 05 - 03:19 PM The Brown Recluse often gets the blame for some really nasty bites in Alaska, even by doctors, but the experts say that there is no record of a Brown Recluse ever coming this far north and that the culprit is likely the Hobo Spider. Any case, I've seen a couple of really gruesome effects on several people. The area can turn necroptic so that a deep chunk of flesh will eventually fall out. A Chicago friend of mine had that experience in Haines in Southeast Alaska. If I'm not mistaken, the only medication the doctor gave her was Benedryl to combat the itching. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: saulgoldie Date: 23 Oct 05 - 04:02 PM I heard recently (but can't remember where, although it was an authoritative source) that we are NEVER more than three feet from a spider. Remember that all G-d's chilluns got a purpose and a right to live. And spiders are some of those children. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Peace Date: 23 Oct 05 - 04:06 PM I agree with you saul. And here in Alberta where I am, the spiders have a right to live OUTSIDE. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: pdq Date: 23 Oct 05 - 04:11 PM Ebbie sez... "...some really nasty bites in Alaska, even by doctors" Bragging? |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Ebbie Date: 23 Oct 05 - 06:05 PM Durn tootin', pdq- and some of them are HUGE. (Even though some of them are women.) I often torture my sentences, I find. :) |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Peace Date: 23 Oct 05 - 06:10 PM The wind blew over my house today. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: pdq Date: 23 Oct 05 - 06:29 PM It's OK to split infinitives if all those involved are agreeable, but please, dangling participles in public is over the line. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Peace Date: 23 Oct 05 - 06:30 PM Churchill while noting the convoluted English of a bureaucrat was heard to remark, "This is a situation up with which I will no longer put!" |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Deckman Date: 23 Oct 05 - 07:21 PM Being the "Deckman" ... (a deck builder) ... spiders and I have daily contact. Many of my deck projects start with a rotten deck tearout and disposal, and that's AFTER I have to move the old wood pile that's been resting against the rotten posts for years. And being the craftsman I am, I simply cannot wear gloves when I work. I must feel the wood I'm working with. I get bit probably once a month. I've only had one serious bite, and I think it was a black widow. I've seen three brown recluse bites. One was my cousin, he lived, the other two died. Having said that, I still feel gentle toward the creatures. As I'm ripping and tearing out a deck, I see them running and scurrying away. I try to give them time to do just that. After all, I'm the one attacking them. Once in a while I'll run into a very aggresive and large spider that will attack me. He'll leap at me and won't take "NO" for an answer. Then I just use my hammer and move on. But, never take a spider bite for granted. I've seen two men die from them. CHEERS, Bob(deckman)Nelson |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Kaleea Date: 24 Oct 05 - 12:12 AM The ole Piano Tuner from my childhood days always said to sprinkle tobacco behind the kickboard to keep the spiders away. I always did, & I never saw a spider in any Piano I owned--do you suppose it might work in a home? |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Deckman Date: 24 Oct 05 - 05:39 AM There ARE special sprays you can buy to spray the perimiter of your house. Be sure and get all the thresholds as that's where most spiders enter. If you have pets that go in and out, you need to watch them as they'll get it on their feet and then into their bodies. Bob |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Pied Piper Date: 24 Oct 05 - 06:10 AM What you need is a pet Toad. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Pied Piper Date: 24 Oct 05 - 06:11 AM Toad |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Liz the Squeak Date: 24 Oct 05 - 06:59 AM Bob - if the spider is leaping for you, it's probably a female... remember, we're more deadly than the male and enjoy sex and a good meal... sometimes we don't wait until the sex is finished! : ) LTS |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: RichM Date: 24 Oct 05 - 10:59 AM live release spider trap |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Clinton Hammond Date: 24 Oct 05 - 11:08 AM "live release spider trap" What a huge WOMBAT |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 24 Oct 05 - 08:22 PM I seem to remember something from years ago about using nicotine as an insecticide - save the ciggie butts break them up and make a water solution spray. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Deckman Date: 24 Oct 05 - 08:37 PM BEWARE OF LEAPING FEMALES! Actually ... my Father warned me about them years ago. Because he mostly spoke Finn, I guess I didn't learn the first time around. Oh well ... ! CHEERS, Bob(deckman)Nelson |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Bobert Date: 24 Oct 05 - 08:44 PM My borther got bit by a brown recluse on his boat a couple three years ago and ended up in the hospital in the intensive care ward... Thems is the worst of the worst... I beeen bit by the Black Widow an' it weren't nuthin' compared to what he went thru... Almost kilt the boy... I get bit a lot... Seems since movin' to this old farm that I get bit by something justa bout every day... Most the time I don't know what it was... Just too busy scurrryin' 'round whilst thay chewin' nme up... Yesterday, I took a ferw bags of ol' construction material to the landfill and there were like lots of li9ttle spiders on them bags and from the looks of my arms last night, every danged one of them got its teeth into me... Bobert |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 24 Oct 05 - 09:00 PM "My borther got bit by a brown recluse on his boat" OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO that musta hurt, just like when Ceaser got stabbed in the Rotunda... |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: eleanor c Date: 24 Oct 05 - 09:07 PM In my workshop I cleared all the spiders away ( ok ok I got my partner to evict them, I admit) then installed the ultrasonic mouse repeller plug I got off Ebay, 3 weeks ago. So far, no spider has come back in , although it's the time of year they usually come in. Maybe it's working......the dog don't mind it either. No biting spiders in the UK here , the sight of them just makes me feel unwell... |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: GUEST,A Date: 24 Oct 05 - 10:36 PM "My borther got bit by a brown recluse on his boat." That also must have hurt as much as when JR was shot in the bedroom. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 25 Oct 05 - 10:51 AM "My borther got bit by a brown recluse on his boat." Ruth Wallis had a song about a dingy, didn't she? |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: lady penelope Date: 25 Oct 05 - 12:35 PM All spiders bite!!!! We just don't have any particularly poisonous ones in the UK. I've got a doodad that has foot long tube and a small extractor fan at the bottom, you suck up the spider and then throw it out. We only have problems with the really big ones that won't fit in the tube........... I may have a go on the sonic thingy, but what I've found most effective is checking the garden through the summer for nests and egg sacks and relocating them to the dump. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: JennyO Date: 25 Oct 05 - 01:09 PM just like when Ceaser got stabbed in the Rotunda... but probably not as bad as being stabbed in the portico... |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: lady penelope Date: 25 Oct 05 - 04:29 PM Ah, but that's nothing to having your fundament delved into.......... |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: GUEST,Bluesman Date: 24 Sep 11 - 04:09 PM Are British spiders getting bigger? They all just seem rather large this year. This last few weeks I have saw some really big ones around the house. One shot across the floor last night and I thought it was a mouse, it had a bit of speed to it as well. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Gurney Date: 24 Sep 11 - 04:50 PM One of the funny things about spiders; only some can bite you, -get through the skin. Some of those aren't naturally poisonous, but when they have eaten spiders that ARE poisonous, then they share that poison with you. Treat your house with a Pyrethrum fleabomb. That kills most things, including proliferating pot-plants. (A female disease.) |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: GUEST,josepp Date: 24 Sep 11 - 05:47 PM Is this Bobert? |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: GUEST Date: 24 Sep 11 - 06:45 PM Pennyroyal oil spiders can't stand the smell and it is extremely strong smelling. We get alot of spiders comeing in around the time the take the crops out of fields and pennyroyal is the only thing I have found that works. I put some on cotton balls and put them around the house where the animals and grandkids can't get to them mmm1a |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Leadfingers Date: 24 Sep 11 - 06:47 PM I have just a few minutes ago removed a Fair Sized Common House spider from my hovel ! Fortunately I had a good sized glass to hand - Arachnophbia stops me actually touching a spider with a 60mm Leg Span ! This one JUST fitted in my Whisky Glass and was duly (and Safely)deposited outside . |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Bobert Date: 24 Sep 11 - 07:30 PM Danged!!! I've been outed... B~ |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: GUEST,josepp Date: 24 Sep 11 - 10:07 PM Spiders have 8 legs with 6 joints, that means they have 48 knees!! Spiders have claws at the end of their legs. There are more than 40,000 species of spider All types of spiders, except Uloboridae, are poisonous! Males are usually smaller than females. Spiders have fangs, through which venom is ejected. Their bites can be very painful and some can be fatal! Webs get dirty and easily torn - new webs are often made every day! Old spider webs are rolled up and eaten! But not all spiders spin webs. Spider silk is at least twice as strong as steel on an equal weight basis and the strongest material known. The silk is so strong, that it could stop a Boeing 747 dead in the air. Arachnophobia is the term used for fear of spiders. Arachnophobia is one of the most common fears around the world. Spiders eat all different types of harmful insects and pests. The word spider come from an old English verb spinnan, this means "to spin". Tarantula bites are rarely fatal. Some tarantula bites are like bee stings. Some female species of spiders sacrifice their bodies as food for their offspring. Fried spiders taste like nuts! Tarantulas taste like crab--and why not? They're relatives! Spiders have been on the planet for around 350,000,000 years. The most dangerous spider in the world is the Australian Funnel spider. Spiders enemies are humans, weather, frogs, toads, lizards, birds, shrews, hunting beetles, ants, centipedes, parasitic flies, wasps, fungus and other spiders. The largest spider in the world is the Giant Bird-eating spider. One that was found had a leg span of 28 cm (11 inches)! The smallest spider is the Patu Marplesi. You could fit 10 of them on the end of a pencil. As hard as scientists try, they cannot match or copy the silk. The silk is the far more precious than silkworm silk. About 1.3 million egg sacs yields only 2 pounds of spider silk. A shirt made of spider silk would be priceless. Tarantulas, trapdoor spiders and wolf spiders are not considered true spiders but are a relative called mygalomorphs. Mygalomorphs have 6 eyes instead of eight, are hairy (true spiders are hairless), have jaws that move vertically instead of diagonally, have two spinarets instead of 4 and the spinarets are visible unlike true spiders whose spinarets are microscopic. Mygalomorphs produce silk but do not build webs. Mygalomorphs live significantly longer than true spiders: true spiders live 1 to 2 years, trapdoor and wolf spiders can live up to 6 and tarantula males live 10 to 12 years while females live 20 to 25! Spiders and mygalomorphs grow by molting. If every spider on the planet disappeared at this moment, your house would be overrun by insects within a week |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: GUEST,josepp Date: 24 Sep 11 - 11:13 PM Insects destroy about one-third of our crop yields every year. Insects outnumber humans by a 200,000,000:1 ratio. In a woodland or forest, a single acre harbors more insects than there are human beings on the entire planet. Every fourth creature on this planet is a beetle. A single tree in the rainforest can harbor hundreds of species of beetle, many of which have not yet been discovered. There are about 34,000 known species of spider in the world. Entomologists believe this at best only half the species that actually exist since new species are discovered in the rainforests every year. 20 spiders per square meter in a farm field can reduce crop-destroying insects by 90% (of course they might also eat bees). Spiders are the single most important insectivore on this planet and consume hundreds of tons of them a year. Without spiders, we would be doomed and would drown in insects within a few months by which time they would blanket the earth several times over. Black widow venom is 10 times more powerful than rattlesnake venom. Spiders are so perfectly evolved that some have taken to the water without the need to develop paddles or gills. They can even store air bubbles underwater in silk mats that they spin and use those to breathe and remain submerged longer. Brown Recluse spiders often carry the "flesh-eating" bacteria that necrotizes living flesh causing very shocking wounds on people unfortunate enough to be bitten by them. Spiders have almost no muscles. So they can sit motionless for days at a time waiting for a meal to walk or fly by and then snatch it lightning quick. They don't need to "stretch". They also have no bones but rather an exoskeleton. Daddy-long-legs are not super venomous as per the myth. They are essentially harmless to humans. How many spiders do you eat in your sleep? None. It's an internet myth started by some smart-ass. No one has done any research on this. If a spider or any insect tried to crawl down your throat your automatic gag reflex would reject it and awaken you. You do eat insects without knowing it--or rather, you eat insect parts because they are in your food. There is no way to keep them out so the govt has guidelines concerning how many bug and spider parts are allowed in a serving of food. If possible, it is best to leave spiders alone if you find them in your house as they eat insects you don't want to run into. A large population of spiders in your house also means you have a huge bug problem. Mexican red-leg tarantulas have been over-harvested by the exotic pet trade and are now endangered. Don't buy them. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Stilly River Sage Date: 24 Sep 11 - 11:17 PM That video is too funny! He needed a bigger bowl. :) I have a tarantula colony in my yard - they have holes scattered all around, and every so often I see them out moving. They're fascinating and once I got over the shock that they were here and realized that they are quite delicate, I've enjoyed having them around. They eat insects, snails, cockroaches, small things like mice and probably some of the lizards in the yard. And when my kids were younger we'd do flashlight tours to find them in the evening. The kids would have friends over and ask to go see the spiders at night. Mom the naturalist can't refuse the possibility of creating more converts to the beauty and value of these spiders. SRS |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Stilly River Sage Date: 24 Sep 11 - 11:21 PM Just read my old post on this thread - I have trained my neighbors to call me to come remove any tarantulas that get in their houses. I mentioned a call to an organic gardening guru who suggested a way to keep them out. What was funny about that call was that as he hung up and moved onto the next topic he muttered "I wish I had a tarantula colony in my yard!" There are dangerous spiders, just like there are dangerous snakes and insects. Most of them aren't dangerous, though, so spending time learning the toxic ones and leaving the rest along is a good use of one's time. SRS |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: GUEST,josepp Date: 24 Sep 11 - 11:25 PM I've owned tarantulas and they are harmless. They just sit there most of the time not bothering you--just waiting for a meal. At night they prowl but not for you. I'd pick it up and people would ask why it wasn't biting me. Because I'm not squeezing it or looking much like food. Why would she bite me otherwise?? |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: GUEST,josepp Date: 24 Sep 11 - 11:27 PM Speaking of the video, I knew that guy wasn't going to get it with that bowl. That was way too small. Spiders can move like the wind when they want to. Get a brain and buy a butterfly net for Christ's sake. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Little Hawk Date: 24 Sep 11 - 11:55 PM There are always some spiders in a house, in any house, it's an inescapable fact of life, so one might as well get used to it and stop worrying about it. I sometimes catch them and put them outside, because their webs (and the discarded corpses of their prey) are messy. They can generally be caught fairly easily with a wad of kleenex held in the hand and quickly wrapped about the spider. Not sure I'd try that with the one in the video, though. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Stilly River Sage Date: 25 Sep 11 - 12:10 AM I agree with josepp, a butterfly net might have been the best bet. That spider did need to be out of the house, but he needed more room to deal with the speed. We used to joke that the wolf spiders that got in the house (my ex's house) when the kids were little were "Tarrant County racers." They always got away and hunkered under large pieces of furniture. Then when we moved here and had tarantulas, the wolf spiders tended to stay away, or at least, in the turf and the garden. They ceded the house to larger spiders, should they choose to move in. SRS |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Little Hawk Date: 25 Sep 11 - 12:17 AM He might have managed it with a bigger bowl and the slow, gradual approach. Spiders, hornets, and other such creatures react fast to any fast movements, but not necessarily to a very slow approaching movement of a glass or a bowl placed over them. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Stilly River Sage Date: 25 Sep 11 - 12:27 AM That's what works for me. Don't panic the creature you're trying to rescue. The poor little kid who was holding the camera has my sympathy. But I hope he/she laughs at the video as it ends with the camera lying, unattended, on the floor. SRS |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: GUEST,Eliza Date: 25 Sep 11 - 04:34 AM I can say with some authority that darned cats have no interest whatsoever in spiders, and on being instructed by hysterically screaming female owner to "Get it!", they sit down and clean their whiskers. I'm absolutely freaked out by spiders, and yet I love all wildlife. If one is anywhere in the room, I just can't sit in there. Luckily my husband has no fear, and picks them up gently to put outside, while I leap up and down moaning with terror. (You should see some of the West African spiders, hairy, dinner plate size and give a very nasty bite.) Not keen about putting any insecticides or other stuff around the house, as it's probably not good for humans. They come in for some warmth, but also prefer damper places, so airing cupboards are spider-free. Bathrooms are favourite. I'm sure my phobia is instinctive and uncontrollable, but I'm very ashamed of it. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: GUEST,josepp Date: 25 Sep 11 - 11:31 AM I think it was Robert the Bruce who battled the English seven times but could not drive them out of Scotland and who watched a spider one night above his head trying to shoot a thread from one beam to another. He counted the attempts and seven times the spider failed. Instead of giving up, the spider tried an eighth time and succeeded and built its web. Bruce decided it was a sign to him to try again and, of course, this time he too succeeded. He then signed an edict forbidding the killing of spiders in Scotland but, of course, it was a symbolic gesture as there was no way to enforce it. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: GUEST,jsoepp Date: 25 Sep 11 - 11:42 AM Arachnophobia can be extreme and, in such cases, is debilitating to a person and profoundly affects their ability to enjoy life. There are psychiatrists who treat phobias and can cure acute arachnophobia pretty easily. I saw it TV once. A woman was so deathly afraid of spiders that she rarely left her house and had to sit with her legs drawn up for fear a spider might crawl onto her foot. A psychiatrist showed her a tarantula in a jar and she freaked out. He told her that within half an hour she would be holding it in her hand with no fear at all. Of course she said no way. About 20 minutes later, she opened the jar herself and dumped the tarantula onto her hand and let it crawl up her arm. The host asked her how she felt and she smiled and said she felt fine. I saw a guy who had a terrible fear of spiders undergo hypnosis and do the same thing, he opened a jar with a tarantula and dumped onto his hand and then smiled and said, "This is really cool!" "Are you afraid?" asked the hypnotist. "No," he said, "This spider is really cool!" They say it's an easily treatable phobia. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: GUEST,Eliza Date: 25 Sep 11 - 12:04 PM I do love that story about Robert the Bruce, josepp. I can tell you now though, if a psychiatrist had a tarantula in a jar, there'd be a puff of smoke and I'd next be seen on my way to Aberdeen! Crawling up my arm??? I know for sure I'd be dead from heart failure. Even the very idea is making me shiver, UGH. (And yet the poor things ask only a bit of space on this earth to make a web and find a mate. I feel awful about it, but there it is...) |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: gnu Date: 25 Sep 11 - 12:59 PM I would have the tendency to let it out of the jar onto the floor and see how things go. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Little Hawk Date: 25 Sep 11 - 01:23 PM josepp, I have an old friend whose life has been bedeviled by extreme arachnophobia. She seems to find them everywhere she goes...pretty typical of strong phobias...and she can't control her fear of them. I'm glad to hear that there are cures out there for the problem. Perhaps the key is confronting one's fear in a safe way long enough to overcome it...hence the spider in the jar method. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: GUEST,josepp Date: 25 Sep 11 - 02:11 PM Look, he's crawling up my wall Black and hairy, very small Now he's up above my head Hanging by a little thread Boris the spider Boris the spider Now he's dropped on to the floor Heading for the bedroom door Maybe he's as scared as me Where's he gone now, I can't see Boris the spider Boris the spider Creepy, crawly Creepy, crawly Creepy, creepy, crawly, crawly Creepy, creepy, crawly, crawly There he is wrapped in a ball Doesn't notice me at all Perhaps he's dead I'll just make sure Pick this book up off the floor Boris the spider Boris the spider Creepy, crawly Creepy, crawly Creepy, creepy, crawly, crawly Creepy, creepy, crawly, crawly He's come to a sticky end Don't think he will ever mend Nevermore will he crawl 'round He's embedded in the ground Boris the spider Boris the spider Boris the Spider |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: GUEST,josepp Date: 25 Sep 11 - 02:31 PM LH, tarantulas are harmless. They never bite. And no matter what spider you hold in your hand--even a black widow or brown recluse or Aussie funnel web--they can't bite you because you present a flat surface to them and they cannot bite into a flat surface. When people get bitten by spiders, it's generally because they sat on it, donned a shirt or a shoe with a spider in it or picked clothing up off the floor where a spider was resting. In these cases, it gets squeezed and it will either bite in self-defense or its fangs are actually driven into the skin by the cramped situation. But handling a tarantula is easy and they are feather light. People expect them to be heavy but they weigh almost nothing. You can handle wolf spiders and trapdoor spiders as well. They simply don't bite unless squeezed. Spiders are a natural pesticide and we can never have too many of them in this world or we'll be fighting a losing with rapidly expanding insect populations that would make it impossible to live. And if faced with the occasional spider prowling up the wall or across the ceiling or a roach infestation--which would you rather have? |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Stilly River Sage Date: 25 Sep 11 - 02:50 PM Tarantulas can bite and if they do it can hurt, but it isn't venomous. If you approach one that feels cornered they rear up on the back feet and wave the front legs at you. And they can do a surprising jump out of harms way, but overall, they're a fairly ponderous spider (quite a bulky thorax and abdomen) and are best left to walk or climb wherever they want to go. SRS |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: GUEST,Eliza Date: 25 Sep 11 - 03:19 PM Some of the larger African ones can jump. AT you, not away from you. Aaaargh!!! Josepp, I do agree with all you say, they have an important place in the scheme of things, and I respect their value and right to survive. I'm v. ashamed of my silliness! |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: GUEST,999 Date: 25 Sep 11 - 03:54 PM It ain't silliness. The spider (I think) that SRS speaks of are in California--members of the tarantula family called Black Mountain Spiders by the local folks in the Sierras. Had two as pets many years ago. Looked like this--but I suspect this one is quite young. I'd built them an 7' x 3' x 2' screened cage. Fed them grasshoppers and other bugs. They could turn a 3" grasshopper into a cubic cm of leftover and they were very fast. I couldn't have clicked a stop watch fast enough to time a 6' run. But generally they just lazed around. Never found them to be aggressive with me, but I never got between them and their food. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Seayaker Date: 25 Sep 11 - 07:42 PM A few years ago when I took a trip to Alaska, at the end of a wilderness trip in Kenai, my hand swelled up like a bear paw. It didn't hurt and soon went down and other people on the trip said it would be a spider bite. What kind of spider would cause that? I sympathise with Eliza, the british House Spider and anything bigger is out of my comfort zone. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: gnu Date: 25 Sep 11 - 07:54 PM Any spider will bite if it's hungry. And, they carry nasties. You can get an "infection" from such bites. I did. Got cellulitis. Now, I have to treat even a minor scratch with care and attention. The spider bite was simply itchy and painful to scratch. The infection was serious in nature if not treated properly. In any case, I try to get them out the door safely as I do with any animal. If I figure I can't, well, there are lots more. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: GUEST,josepp Date: 25 Sep 11 - 09:39 PM Brown recluse and black widows are not acceptable to have in the house. If you see one, kill it. You cannot afford to be bitten by one. Few others in the States are quite as scary as those. Unless the wolf spider is very large, I would leave them alone. They don't hurt anything except other creepy-crawlies. I know of no tarantulas that can jump very high and have never heard of any that would jump at a person. Spiders don't attack anything bigger than they are--that's suicide. They have a very good sense of self-preservation. I could make mine beg. They do rear up in a defensive posture if you dangle something above them because they think it's a pepsis wasp. So you dangle something and say, "Up, up, up!" and it looks like it's begging. Old trick--like a flea circus. The coolest spiders I've ever heard of are these little red ones that live on the floor of the desert--don't remember which one. The desert floor is pitted with holes and the spider find the right sized hole to use as a burrow. It can't spin a web outside the hole because the winds blow the sands over the floor and will tear a web to pieces in no time. So that the spiders do is gather little pieces of quartz that are all over the place and place them in a ring around the hole. They are careful to make sure all the crystals touch. Then they attach a thread to one crystal, drop it into the hole and then attach the other end to the crystal on the opposite side forming a little sling. Then they sit in it like the man on the flying trapeze. When a bug wanders too close, the spiders can feel the vibrations in the crystals and dart out of the hole and grab the critter and haul back down and eat it. The spiders know the difference between the wind causing the crystals to vibrate and an insect or some other animal. They know how big the creature is, they know where it is around the hole and how far away from the hole it is. It never attacks something too big and never misses when it knabs a bug--that's how exact its knowledge is. But how do these spiders know that crystals vibrate and can function as a makeshift web? How do they know that the crystals have to be touching in order to conduct the vibration? How do they get such an accurate read on the vibrations? |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Little Hawk Date: 25 Sep 11 - 09:45 PM I agree with you 100%, josepp. I've always felt kindly toward spiders. I used to watch them build entire webs when I was a child, and it was absolutely fascinating how well they did it. I became pretty well acquainted with most of the common local varieties of spiders in the process. My favorites were probably the garden spiders that built the very geometrical webs. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: GUEST,999 Date: 25 Sep 11 - 10:41 PM As josepp said, the recluse and widow are very bad news. Another is the hobo spider. I seldom kill spiders, but I make exceptions for those threes. A buddy of mine was telling me that as he was moving some boxes from an attic near Nashville, a gang of them went rushing out from amongst and beneath boxes. As with most creatures, they have migrated and adapted to new environments. This now includes Canada. Nothing to be alarmed about, but something to be aware of. OK, so this sunamabitch ya gotta watch out for, but he's an excepti |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: GUEST,josepp Date: 25 Sep 11 - 11:22 PM That was an absolutely horrible movie called "Giant Spider Invasion" or something like that. They showed it on Mystery Science Theatre 3000 once and it was just rotten. Needless to say, MST3K absolutely shredded it. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: GUEST,josepp Date: 25 Sep 11 - 11:45 PM I can live with spiders easily. I absolutely could not live with this. I'd rather be dead: OMFG |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: GUEST,999 Date: 26 Sep 11 - 12:06 AM I hate roaches, big time. Lived in NYC for about five years. Arrrrrgh! Hate 'em. Never seen an infestation quite as bad as that, j, but even one's too many as far as I'm concerned. That aside, they are fascinating creatures. But certainly not as interesting as spiders. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: GUEST,Patsy Date: 26 Sep 11 - 08:34 AM Luckily in the UK we don't have anything too life threatening to worry about. Pet Tarantulas funny enough I don't have a problem with mainly because of the fact that they are so much bigger and not so much like an insect but the big black house spiders make me go cold. If one so much as crawled across my arm or leg you would hear my screams from one end of the Uk to the other! But I can't kill them, I would rather stay huddled in a corner until it decides to leave on its own accord - eventually. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Little Hawk Date: 26 Sep 11 - 08:54 AM I wonder if (some) spiders are this frightened of people? If so, I think they'd have a good deal more justification for it. That scene with the cockroaches is pretty horrifying allright! |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: SINSULL Date: 26 Sep 11 - 09:33 AM Every year, a spider spins a huge web on my front porch. This year it is in the holly bush. So beautiful when the dew collects on it. I am rather fond of spiders although I get a vicious allergic reaction to bites. I never disturb one found in my house. They kill nasty things like flies. And are polite house guests. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: GUEST,Eliza Date: 26 Sep 11 - 09:54 AM I know cockroaches carry disease and are not to be entertained, but they don't cause the instant Waaaah! reaction in me that spiders do. Our supermarket at Wroxham sells Roach Bacon (just the trade name) which always makes me smile. I was daft enough when teaching to tell my pupils that I couldn't abide spiders. Of course, I had rubber ones, fluffy ones coming down on a thread, photos of spiders put in my Register, and even (the little horrors) the occasional real one in my desk drawer. I always screamed the place down, very gratifying for my eight year-olds! |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Little Hawk Date: 26 Sep 11 - 05:08 PM Good God. Whatever possessed you to give them that piece of information, Eliza? You must have taken leave of your senses. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: gnu Date: 26 Sep 11 - 07:07 PM SINS... that's okay in warm weather. When cold weather comes, do yourself a favour and shoo them outside, even though such might be a death sentence in the end. I do becasue I developed the same reaction you may have. Cellulitis can become necrotizing fasciitis in a matter of hours. I was shocked when my doc explained this to me. So, I shoo them out this time of year. Or step on them if need be. The little bastards don't kick in a dime for my Blue Cross coverage so fuck em. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Jim Dixon Date: 26 Sep 11 - 07:29 PM If you eliminate their food supply, you'll get rid of the spiders. That means you've got to keep insects, especially flying ones, out of your house. That means you've got to caulk up all the cracks. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: JohnInKansas Date: 26 Sep 11 - 11:56 PM I was about to comment that one of the few natural "removers" for spiders would be any of the small snakes common around here, but "she" screamed when she found one of the cats playing with one in the pantry a day or so ago. I didn't pay a lot of attention to what kind it was - just picked it up and tossed it in the grass out the back door, but it was the second similar one I've seen in (or under) the house recently, and a little Googling found a picture that's pretty close at the second one on the page. Both of the ones I've seen were in the 4" to 5" range, and probably too young to have shed more than one skin - but I'm wondering if I should have kept the last one as a pet? ? ? ? ? ? (The comments say they live about 15 years, which is longer than most cats.) John |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Becca72 Date: 27 Sep 11 - 12:55 PM Just reading this thread is making me sick to my stomach. I don't consider myself to be a girlie-girl but bugs in general and spiders specifically cause squeals of terror for me. I can't bring myself to even get close enough to squish them. Often times I will simply vacate the area and let them have it. 9 times out of 10 when I dog-sit at my sister's house there is a spider inside. I have been known to switch bedrooms to get away from the little bastards. Yeesh! Makes my skin crawl. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: gnu Date: 27 Sep 11 - 01:33 PM JiK... rattler = dead snake fer me. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: GUEST,Eliza Date: 27 Sep 11 - 02:32 PM Becca, I know just how you feel. But if I see one and run away, I don't know where it will appear next. So I always get my long-suffering husband to gently put it outside. You're quite right Little Hawk, I was very silly to have confessed my phobia in a weak moment to my class. But they had excellent fun with it, albeit nearly giving me a cardiac arrest on many oaccasions. It's funny, but craneflies (Daddy long legs) don't bother me at all, even though they look a bit spidery. Seeing their wings calms me immediately, and I can put them outside in my hand. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: JohnInKansas Date: 28 Sep 11 - 10:42 AM gnu - I'm not sure our little visitor was a rattler. It was probably too young to have shed more than a couple of skins, and the "rattles" are the leftovers from discarded skins. It looked like it had an ordinary pointy tail, and didn't show any visible fangs. There are a few Massasauga in surrounding areas, but so far as has been reported they'd be extremely rare in the immediate locale. Ours was "spotted" similarly, and the guidebooks on snakes in Kansas don't show any other common ones in the area except for several grass snakes, all of which have stripes, and a few less common ones mostly with solid colors rather than the "splotches" on this one. I'll have to negotiate a more formal introduction if (s)he comes back, or if mommy comes around to see why we kicked her kid out. John |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Bettynh Date: 28 Sep 11 - 10:47 AM John, how about this spotted beauty? |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: VirginiaTam Date: 28 Sep 11 - 02:05 PM I had a spider bite when I was 15 that gave me a horrible infection in my right hand. Had to have hand cut open in 2 places (no anesthetic cheap Army doctors) poison /infection pushed out of the two cuts and then stents put in for a week to let rest drain away. I tell you I shocked my Mom with the swearing. Things I am sure she never heard before. Just 2 weeks ago a spider got between my sports bra and my back. 9 bites. Itched like the devil for few days but nothing worse than that. Spiders in the UK are wimps. If it had been an American spider I'd probably had a serious allergic reaction. Spiders just tend to come indoors in the autumn. It is what they do. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: gnu Date: 28 Sep 11 - 02:55 PM Hehehee... I left my house early this AM without my sunglasses. I keep a cheap pair in the overhead glasses storage compartment in my truck. I popped it open, grabbed the glasses, put them on and that's when the resident jumped on my eyeball. It looked like a blurry giant spider in the movies. I reacted and shut my eyeball and trapped the little bugger. It was squirming to get free and I mushed him on my eyelid. Had to do an eye wash when I got home. Made me think of Becca! Hehehehehe. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Becca72 Date: 28 Sep 11 - 03:08 PM Ewwwww! Thanks a lot, Gnu. I would have crashed my car if that had happened to me. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: gnu Date: 28 Sep 11 - 03:12 PM Nahhhhh... you woulda done what I did... but without all the swearing. Hmmmm... then again, you were taught to swear by a sailor of note so maybe ya woulda? |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Becca72 Date: 28 Sep 11 - 03:22 PM Quite - I am more proficient than many of my peers thanks to years of listening in on home car repairs. :-) |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: gnu Date: 28 Sep 11 - 04:58 PM I understand there is a newly revised cousre in same on the go at the moment regarding a Packard. People should be advised to sign up. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Donuel Date: 28 Sep 11 - 05:05 PM Bobert, I wonder why you never offered a picture of the spiders. It must not be a serious infestation. If the spiders are hairy and grey then it is probably a wolf spider. I have wolf spiders in a shed that measure two and one half inches (which is unusually big) and capable of leaping three feet or more. One thing to NOT do is use a bug bomb. It will kill off the predators of the spiders and allow the spiders an enviorment to quadruple its numbers to thousands of spiders in 3 weeks. They could be hobo spiders which are not particularly poisonous but are very septic when they sink their fangs into peoplem somehwat like the Komodo dragon. Hobo spider bites would cause cellulitis and demand medical attention. The reason why spiders have venom is to paralyze thier prey so they may bind and digest their food with ease. A wonderful spider TV show is called MOnster Wars and is probably available on you tube. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: GUEST,Eliza Date: 28 Sep 11 - 05:51 PM Donuel, please please please tell me you don't live in the UK!!!!! Because if these type of spiders live in UK I'm outa here! |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: JohnInKansas Date: 28 Sep 11 - 11:07 PM Bettynh - The Prairie Kingsnake is very close to our little invader, or at least the last 4 or 5 inches off the tail of the one in the picture looks like ours. The Kingsnake was one of a couple of suspects when I pulled up the references, but for some reason the refs I found showed entirely different looking things under the Kingsnake name. The pictures I found were probably the Chicken Coop (Eggsucker) Kingsnake instead of the Prairie King Snake - they weren't very specific about the details. Either way, I hope it moves on to where the bugs are before I do the fall landscaping, 'cause she landed where I've been planning to do some serious weed control and the Roto-Tiller might make snakeburgers. I did confirm that a mysterious hole in the front lawn, about half way out to the mail box is a spidey hole. It's been there for at least four or five months, and has had obvious increase in diameter, to about 7/8 inch now, smoother walls than when I first noticed it, and some cleanout around the entrance and such, but nothing visible when I looked down into it. A couple of nights ago I aimed a flashlight down in the middle of the night, and got a nice view of some cute little eyes (lots of 'em) lookin' back up at me, on a face that looked a little bit like an extremely tiny little walrus. Could be any of a half dozen kinds that are common here, but it's far enough from the house to be left to her bug control business, unless she starts invitin' the boys over and playin' loud rock music all night. John |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Spiders in the House... From: Becca72 Date: 29 Sep 11 - 09:02 AM LOL, Gnu. I took a class in "cursing out a Packard" many years ago, too. It was just a different Packard. :-) |
