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Original poster

Arachnophobia

50 replies

Spider12345666666 · 27/09/2021 20:46

I have a severe phobia of spiders and as it’s spider season I’m finding quite a few in my house and to top it off I looked up at the ceiling today and there were around 50/100 baby spiders grouped together that must of hatched in my room!!!!! It was horrific and I cannot relax at all tonight all I’m thinking is where are the mum and dad and are the more babies🙈 Is anyone else suffering with this and how are you coping ?

I find people laugh at me or tell me I’m ridiculous when I explain how scared I am, if I see one on the floor I freeze and my heart starts pounding and I feel sick. I will scream the house down if I’m alone but force myself to squash it with a slipper otherwise i know it will escape in the house and I won’t be able to stay here. Now I have a child I have to pretend I’m not scared because they absolutely love spiders ! I’m finding it so hard not to show my fear.

I feel silly saying all this and wish I wasn’t like this but it’s started to affect my life quite abit , if I need to go downstairs I will check every step for a spider before I step on it and will be checking all the floors while I’m walking around , any tips on how to cope ? I’ve bought nets to put on the windows to stop them getting in and sprayed repellent but there still getting in and the fact I had baby ones in here is making me think have i got an infestation?!

OP posts:
JellyNo15 · 27/09/2021 21:15

I completely understand. Buy Indoorex from Amazon. It is anti flea spray but it works on spiders. Spray your whole house, two cans will be more than enough. I haven't seen a live spider in my house for years now.
I do this every four months. But make sure you ventilate while using as it is quite strong. I usually spray the house before going out for a few hours. Indoorex has changed my life. I have seen a few outside this season but none inside.

Shehasadiamondinthesky · 27/09/2021 21:20

I get my house fumigated every 2 to 3 years professionally and it really does help a lot.

Original poster
Spider12345666666 · 27/09/2021 21:27

Oh wow that sounds amazing ! How will it work with a child around will I have to make sure there out for the day ? @JellyNo15

Going to look into that now @Shehasadiamondinthesky how much is it roughly if you don’t mind me asking ?

OP posts:
Original poster
Spider12345666666 · 27/09/2021 21:27

meant to add- thank you!

OP posts:
whosaidtha · 27/09/2021 21:31

Could you try some sort of therapy. Really don't want to pass a phobia on to a child.
But don't be hard on yourself. Fear of spiders is likely genetic as it's quite wise to be scared in some countries that have dangerous spiders.

Hugoslavia · 27/09/2021 21:31

Raid is your friend. The red can of cockroach killer. It's the novichok of the spider world. One drop and they're dead. You can spray them with a new can from 3-4 m away. It doesn't matter if they try to slowly scuttle off, they won't get further than a few feet before they curl up and die. It's also the gift that keeps on killing. You can spray it into gaps and it will keep on working for around 4 weeks. I have a good spray round twice a year before we go on holiday. We also got a mastic man in (a professional gap filler) who filled in every nook and cranny that I could find with sealant. Spiders don't like plastic boxes, they like damp cardboard and piles of fabric. I bag up extra toys etc and put in plastic storage boxes in cupboards. I have six cans of raid, 1 in each room so that I can access them quickly in an emergency. I still loathe spiders and am petrified of them, but at least, if I was on my own I'd be able to tackle one.

Wizzbangfizz · 27/09/2021 21:34

I've found my people! I second indorex and also flea bomb twice a year. You have my sympathies OP I'm totally on edge at this time of year and it can feel really debilitating Sad

MadeForThis · 27/09/2021 21:51

Googling indoorex. I've never found anything that works.

Zeal · 27/09/2021 23:39

The babies will be of the spindly type am I right?

In which case leave them. They will disperse to most corners around the house. At night they come out and track down the thicker ones and devour them.

OrangeJuiceAndNoodles · 28/09/2021 00:09

This thread is giving me hope!

namechanged42day · 28/09/2021 03:27

I bomb my house every spider season with a flea bomb. So once in match once in September! At first I always have extreme panic attacks as I always see one within a few days after I bomb (this year it was huge and I had an horrendous panic attack) but after I've done the bomb I don't see as many as I used to (touch wood). I also have the can of raid too incase if emergencies. My phobia is really bad and even reading this thread made my toes curl and made me feel sick so I do feel for you OP. My advice: bomb your home. And do it twice yearly. It's been a life saver for me!

namechanged42day · 28/09/2021 03:28

*March not match Hmm

Etsylicious · 28/09/2021 03:41

@Zeal 😨😨😨

BunnytheFriendlyDragon · 28/09/2021 06:26

I'm scared too OP.

I can tolerate the thin spindly ones in the corners and do so as I've heard they eat the big ones but I too am a bit in edge at the moment. DH is away so I'm m home alone with a small baby. I have good neighbors I could call but not really in the middle of the night.

It has been warm and I haven't wanted to open the windows.

I spray a repellent in the corners from time to time, mainly in the beer room, but not sure how effective that is. It smells of mint.

Intrigued as to whether indorex or raid will help but have a small baby to consider so safety is important.

BunnytheFriendlyDragon · 28/09/2021 08:01

So with indorex do you spray around corners etc or basically the whole house and then leave for half an hour before opening windows?

Does it leave a residue on paintwork and floors?

Says it works for up to 2 months 😄

JellyNo15 · 28/09/2021 10:58

I spray skirting boards, doorways and window edges then a blast to the middle of the room. I think it lasts twice as long as the two months it says, probably want you to buy more 😀

QueenOfDuisburg · 28/09/2021 11:09

I'm with you OP (and others in the same boat). Nobody understands how deep my fear is until they see me confronted with a spider! I find myself constantly on edge when in the house from late July until early November - it's real anxiety. Plus I spend a lot of the time leading up to the late summer/autumn worrying that it's almost spider season! I have done some very stupid things to try and get away from them too, putting myself and other in danger.

One thing I've read a few times now (I saw it on Autumn Watch last year too!) is that the thin, spindly spiders that like to hang in the corners of ceilings and walls actually kill the giant house spiders that are around now, so this year I have tried to embrace those as they are the lesser of two evils! I couldn't have one too close to me or touch one but I don't mind letting them stay in far corners of rooms. So far they seem to have been working (and I actually saw a house spider dead in the web of one in our porch a couple of weeks ago)!

I will look into these sprays though,

OliveHenry · 28/09/2021 11:13

I too have ridiculous arachnophobia, and live in fear of seeing them.

Logically I know my house is full of them (it's an old house), but as long as I don't see them I can pretend they don't exist.

Thankfully, my two cats seem to help me with this - I haven't seen one for months (and I really hope I haven't jinxed myself by saying that!)

JellyNo15 · 28/09/2021 11:24

It really is awful when you can't relax in your own home. Many other phobia you can just avoid.

RightOnTheEdge · 28/09/2021 11:31

I get you OP.
I have got better over the years with small and medium spiders but those giant house spiders fill me with terror.

It gets very tiring people saying its silly to be scared of them and they are harmless because I already know that, I'm not stupid. It's not something you can control.

I agree with the other posters about Raid and Indorex. I usually hoover them up now if I see them. I worry about people saying the can crawl back out so I sometimes spray a bit of Indorex into the hoover bag when I change it and hope that helps.

It all makes me feel really guilty but there's just no way I could catch one or live knowing it's in the house somewhere.

HesterShaw1 · 28/09/2021 11:40

OP I was the same for years. I could just about cope with smaller, spindly or outside garden spiders, but there was no horror like the giant house spiders. I was never a fan, but there was an incident when I was in the shower washing my hair and I opened my eyes to find an absolute monster a few inches from my face on the shower curtain. I totally lost control of my phobia after that, though I could never kill them. That crunch for a starters

Three things happened. My marriage broke up and my cat died (both of them resident spider catchers) so I had no choice other than to deal with my fear alone. And then someone bought me a spider catcher like this one. Yes I was terrified using it the first few times, but I'm managing. It really works and it helps you to face your fears, but at a bit of a safe distance.

IamJuliaJohnson · 28/09/2021 11:43

Please stop filling your homes with harmful chemicals and learn to live with the spiders. I have been afraid of them my whole life, and still hate bigger ones but have learned to live with others, especially the spindly ones as they eat others.

We need biodiversity in this world, we need to stop killing insects.

Ashleighz88 · 28/09/2021 11:51

You all need a cat, a Maine Coon cat to be precise, I used to get soooo many spiders and even considered selling my house due to the fields at the back. I've not seen any in the 3 years since having him, except the dead ones he didn't fancy eating . Every night he literally patrols the perimeter. My absolute hero.

HesterShaw1 · 28/09/2021 11:56

@IamJuliaJohnson

Please stop filling your homes with harmful chemicals and learn to live with the spiders. I have been afraid of them my whole life, and still hate bigger ones but have learned to live with others, especially the spindly ones as they eat others.

We need biodiversity in this world, we need to stop killing insects.

And arachnids Wink