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To be scared about the spider season this year

136 replies

Whatever555 · 18/07/2026 18:38

Had a bad time last August-October. I lived alone back then in a very old house which was riddled with giant house spiders, on the worst night I had 4 palm-sized ones in the house in the same evening, they'd just run out across the room. It was horrible coming home and seeing them every single evening and having nobody to help me out.

I ended up paying someone
from pest control to come round and fumigate the house, they found a nest in my kitchen. It worked for the rest of the season as I didn't see any more living ones. I also went around with sealant and eliminated every gap I could find. I didn't see a single one again for 6 weeks after that before I moved, but it made me anxious for a while. It sounds dramatic but I had frequent nightmares, I hated being there alone especially at night and I was constantly inspecting rooms.

No longer live alone and not had any huge ones here, just a couple of smaller ones which I can manage better. I've got some Indorex which I spray round every month, I have looked into the London zoo spider course but it's always booked up.

I've used apps to try and improve things but I don't think it'll ever fully go. Even if I can get spider catchers or whatever your home is meant to be your safe haven, and it doesn't feel like that when they're around. Anyone else feel this way, or got any tips?

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AstonUniversityPotholeDepartment · 18/07/2026 18:59

I don't have any advice, but I want to offer my sympathies, as I lived in a house like that for a couple of years when I was a child. It gave me a lifelong phobia of spiders.

You had to leave the lights on when you went out, otherwise you'd come back to huge spiders on the walls. None of our next homes were like it, thankfully. Which I suppose is a useful piece of advice in itself.

Whatever555 · 18/07/2026 18:58

ClaredeBear · 18/07/2026 18:56

Oh dear. I’ve gotten used to so many spiders but those huge house spiders are too much.

Yes, they're so fast too. I can tolerate smaller ones, even cellar spiders at a push but the GHS are horrific

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ClaredeBear · 18/07/2026 18:56

Oh dear. I’ve gotten used to so many spiders but those huge house spiders are too much.

KaitlynFair · 18/07/2026 18:54

It's a lot easier to wash uninvited bath guests down the plughole if you haven't got any kind of hair catcher or similar in there. I keep the plug on the side and just put it in when I want to have a bath.

Whatever555 · 18/07/2026 18:51

KaitlynFair · 18/07/2026 18:50

I recommend a Henry Hoover: gets you quite far away from them and can reach to most ceilings. Hetty Hoover and I sit together from July to September on an evening and I have yet to find one she can't handle.

That's a great idea. It's horrible when they're in the bath too, I think it's because they stand out more against the white

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Whatever555 · 18/07/2026 18:50

MagpiePi · 18/07/2026 18:47

Palm sized spiders in the UK? How cool is that?!!
The biggest I’ve had are about an inch, maybe an inch and a half.

Is this in the UK? I've had multiple which were the same span as a chocolate digestive biscuit sadly

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KaitlynFair · 18/07/2026 18:50

I recommend a Henry Hoover: gets you quite far away from them and can reach to most ceilings. Hetty Hoover and I sit together from July to September on an evening and I have yet to find one she can't handle.

MagpiePi · 18/07/2026 18:47

Palm sized spiders in the UK? How cool is that?!!
The biggest I’ve had are about an inch, maybe an inch and a half.

Whatever555 · 18/07/2026 18:46

susiedaisy1912 · 18/07/2026 18:45

I completely understand I’m the same. We’ve got a cat and it’s been a lot better. I just find dead ones on the floor when I get up in the mornings instead now.

That's great to hear! My cat last year just completely ignored them. However got a second cat now who constantly chases bugs so hopefully this will help.

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susiedaisy1912 · 18/07/2026 18:45

I completely understand I’m the same. We’ve got a cat and it’s been a lot better. I just find dead ones on the floor when I get up in the mornings instead now.

Whatever555 · 18/07/2026 18:40

I thought it was just me, but at the time I'd ask friends/colleagues if they got this many or this big and most of them would say 'Oh I hardly get any/I never get any that big, why do you get so many that's not normal'

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