Spider nest- what would you do?

[winteroversummer]

There's a long legged skinny spider under my console table, and next to her a white round sack of eggs, and next to her and the eggs about 30 TINY baby spiders. What do I do!? I can't cope with spiders, but leave the long legged ones as I read on here once that they eat the big fat ones. Is that true?

I don't want to scare a new mother or take all her children away from her in case spiders feel sad about it- is that possible? My DH wants to Hoover them but I've come here to ask advice first. The babies are too small to trap and get outside without hurting / them all scattering everywhere arghhhh. DS4 thinks they're nice and we should let them stay until they are bigger and then put them in next doors garden

If it's a cellar spider, I would leave. They do eat the big ones. I detest spiders and it's getting to that time of year where I feel very uneasy because of them, but the cellar spiders I leave alone. They generally find a corner and sit and wait for lunch.

Also putting house spiders outside generally kills them anyway.

I am one of the nutters that has lots of conkers in corners and deathlac the perimeter of the rooms.

I hate spiders but I would leave it. On the couple of occasions I've come across a spider nest, I've just left it alone. The baby ones are actually quite sweet if that's possible. We do have several of that type of spider in corners of the house- I just leave them there.

Oh I have a false widow called Marigold living behind my toilet. He’s as good as good, never bitten anyone.

He’s breached our tenancy terms by inviting his girlfriend Harriet to live there too. They might lay eggs, I’m keeping a close eye. Two false widows is fine, 400 are not and Harriet will kill him after they mate. I tried to relocate her but I’m 9 months pregnant and she’s given me the slip. DH is indulging me for now because I cried over the plight yesterday.

Hoover them. You need to ask? They're insects. I never understand people and their weird attachment to spiders. They have damn good PR.
Spiders don't eat flies or spiders in my house because I don't have flies or other spiders. They're straight up Hetty Hoover on sight
Don't be such a wimp.

SmidgenofaPigeon

Marigold and Harriet have been in serious discussions regarding what to do about the humans in their house who have the NERVE to reproduce. Watch your back!

If your spider population is low, leave it
If it’s too many/over populated, Hoover the nest up.

@winteroversummer any chance of a picture? I’d genuinely love to see

Hoover them up woman!

You can't make out much there but I don't want to get any closer lol

Yep. A cellar spider.
I pretty much have one in every corner of every room.

hundreds of mini baby spiders? I'd be setting fire to the house 🤣🤣 I'd settle of dp getting the hoover while I wait outside with my skin crawling 😨😨

Burn the house down & run for the hills OP! 🙈😱🙀

Cellar spiders are one of the least scary as they barely seem to move

@ShinyHappySummers

Burn the house down & run for the hills OP! 🙈😱🙀

This!

I am severely arachnophobic but I leave the cellar spiders be. They eat the big ones.

I’d leave it.

I have a few spiders living in various corners of the house. I will catch them and put them outside, I’d they wander too close to me. Not the long legged cellar spiders though, they eat the horrible looking ones.

I lived in an old house and left a nest of those under my pantry door. Since that point the population of the cellar spiders was crazy - every corner of every room but also under tables, under the sofa, even in kitchen cupboards. Those hundreds of babies have to go somewhere, right?

The amount of times I’d find one hanging under something and freaking me out was ridiculous. Putting my hand round the dryer door and finding one nestling in there was the final straw and up the dyson they started going.

If I had my time over, they’d be gone before it got that far.

And I don’t believe they eat the big spiders either. I mean maybe the very rare one but just seriously? Those big fuckers can run like the wind, and cellar spiders just sit there all passive. You don’t see the big ones sitting quietly in the corners they are always on the move. So in terms of deterrent or aggressor, nah. I’d rather trap and release odd chunky one in a glass than have hundreds of those gits dawdling about.

Either:

Put the table in the middle of the woods... run home!

Get your family out & burn the house down

Move house

Can't do the hoover thing because they might infest the hoover and never leave!

Wrap up table in bubble wrap and brown paper and post to Zoo/arch enemy/Chris Packham?

Leave the poor things alone. They are harmless. They have a right to life just like we do.

www.quora.com/How-exactly-do-cellar-spiders-eat-house-spiders-when-house-spiders-are-so-much-bigger-and-cellar-spiders-are-so-spindly-and-fragile

Interesting video on the above link thread

Ah look at her hovering protectively over her babies . These ones don’t seem to be here in Scotland as much, or is that just me? There were loads in a holiday home in England recently and I think of them as European!! I only just heard about the skinny ones eating the big ones on MN recently. How is that even possible?

Ah cross post, miss marple. Fascinating! Totally agree about their right to life.

@MissMaple82

Leave the poor things alone. They are harmless. They have a right to life just like we do.

One could argue that they have the right to a good quality of life and therefore allowing over-population and the suffering it will cause is inhumane.

Should the op intervene to stop these spiders from eating other spiders because they have a right to life? Why is one spider's life more important than the other?

I think we need to be at least a little realistic about the cycle of life and eco systems.