Suggestions that work for dealing with big spiders when home alone due to a severe spider phobia

[Noshadelamp]

I had a bad experience with a massive spider last year and since then I have a terrible phobia of spiders.
I tried hypnotherapy last year but it didn't work.
It's causing me so much anxiety, panic attacks and OCD behaviours.
I feel like I've lost my mind!

I'm fine leaving smaller ones alone or removing them myself but the bigger ones are my problem. I can't get close enough to them to use a container or even spray them.

My DH is going away for work soon and I will have to deal with any spiders myself.

Any suggestions for effective removal at a distance or instant killing as a last resort.

I've seen the long handled catchers on Amazon but some reviews saying not big enough or cut off their legs, wtf! I don't want them to suffer.

I feel you. I have a sort of electrified tennis racket from Amazon. Good for wasps, too.

Not sure I can help much on the immediate side. I have always liked these critters but I think a can of bug spray would be completely reasonable in these circumstances.

Please look into EMDR. You shouldn't have to live in this much fear. It sounds a bit woo, but DD's was done by a consultant psychiatrist and in 3 sessions it has made a huge difference.

A cat. They're just 8 legged nice to her

Have you got a friendly neighbour to turn to whilst dh is away? Ive done that in the past as i cant deal with the big bastards either!

could you hoover them up?

I try to catch them in a beaker and release, but where they are really big and scary or very high up I do resort to the vacuum hose instead.

I use the Dyson and it's extension and suck them up. Dogs and cats help, too. Raid, if you're not adverse to spraying poison. Screaming and running helps when all else fails.

The long handled catchers work well. I deposit them outside still alive and it doesn't damage their legs.

Advice on here a while back was to spray Raid where you think they might come in. I wouldn't dream of using it normally but I too have big issues with them and if you're spraying the door frame it's just a preventative (hopefully).

Make sure skirtings and door frames are sealed all the way round.

There are long handled pet hair rollers from Home Bargains, they are good if you can't get to the vacuum cleaner in time, but then you need to deal with peeling the paper off but that can be done by someone else later if necessary. The thing stuck to the paper can be scraped off outside on a kerb edge.

Allow the cellar ones to stay, they feed on the problem ones.

Do you mind letting me know what type you have?
There seems to be some that have a brush inside and others that have a sliding door to capture them.

Thank you for your kindness. My DH is fairly patient but keeps telling me I need to deal with it, like it's something I can fully control and makes me feel worse.

I'll look into EMDR.

The screaming comment made me laugh, thank you
I do feel like screaming the whole time, even catching the smaller ones in a container I'm resisting the urge to go full on horror scream😱

Nice neighbour? Cat!? I’m terrified too but having 3 cats really helps as i never get chance to worry before they’re caught by 1 of them!

I came on to suggest EMDR - it helps you reprocess the trauma so you can detach the emotional response from it. You’ll have to pay for it privately but hopefully will be worth any penny.

As for the spiders… what about a long handled fly swatter so you can bash it from a bit of a distance?

I could never catch one, the thought of it running at me or falling and me then not knowing where it is.. I tend to just scream and look at new houses on rightmove

I have a spider hoover from Lakeland. It’s battery operated and about 2 foot long. You take the stopper off and it sucks them in. You then hold it upright so they fall to the bottom due to gravity. You can either then put the stopper on and take them outside to release them or shake them out of the window. I don’t like big spiders so this helps massively.

Hoover is good for getting them from a distance as long as you hoover for 5 minutes afterwards to make sure they're definitely dead in there. Otherwise, hit them hard and fast with a slipper.

I have also found that when I sprayed the place with Nope, it kills pretty much anything that crawls on contact for months. I haven't had a spider in over a year.

I have a spider catcher from Amazon and it’s amazing. Never known it to not fit or cut a leg off

@Balloonheartsshe said she didn’t want it to suffer

It won't if you hit it hard enough.

Sliding door

We have a long handled spider catcher with the brush to catch the spider, generally it works pretty well - it's actually better on the bigger spiders! We also have peppermint spray which is supposed to discourage them coming in if you spray it around window and doorframes - not sure if it actually works but worth a try. I bought these 2 items to help my daughter who was very phobic of spiders, it's helping a bit as she feels she has a bit more control - she's now willing to have a go at catching the smaller spiders which is a big step forward for her.

Love it!!

Before her husband retired my next door neighbour used to ask me to deal with mice she caught in her mousetraps. On one occasion she had DH go around with the air rifle because there was a "huge rat" under her bird table - it turned out to be a brick in the flowerbed!
(No neighbour has a cat, we live on a main country road and when new people move in their cat's average survival is a fortnight.)
So why not ask a neighbour to help with spiders? They might tease you but inside they will be feeling pleased with themselves to have come to your rescue 😁

I buy spider spray on Amazon. I'm terrified of them and I live alone. If it's a choice between him and me, I chose me every time.

We used to get huge house spiders. I spray my whole house two or three times a year (especially around September which is breeding season) with Indorex spray and that keeps them away for the most part. Focus on corners and thresholds although I tend to do the entire floor surface to be on the safe side.