To want my front door back? **Warning: spider pictures from the outset!** title edited by MNHQ

[Tellmealittle]

We have many tube spiders living around the front door.

They terrify me, but I can cope with them when they're in their tubes.

However, Saturday evening I couldn't get in as one was right by the key lock. I had to tap on the window to alert dh to open the door, whilst I hurtled, bent over, through the door.

I've counted 8 large tubes so far. They are growing in numbers!

[Sallyingforth]

As I said above, genuine phobias about spiders can be treated.
I'm not going to repeat all the advice that's repeated in every thread about spiders, but Google will give you plenty.

[WhatALoadOfOldBollocks]

"Does Oman have camel spiders? Now they're evil fuckers!"
Not according to this article on Livescience.com.

There's also another good article on that site about Black Widow spiders, where it says "...this species of spider is most likely to bite when it's pinched along the entire length of its body" and "...In most cases, poking the spider repeatedly with a finger wasn't enough to get the arachnid to bite, the researchers found. Instead, the prodded black widows in the study often ran away, played dead or flicked a few strands of silk at their attackers."
So they are not the fearsome creatures we're lead to believe either.

[CrazyBoo]

[Lj] No, I'm not in the UK - I'm in Australia. You're safe :-)

[Lj8893]

Phew aren't funnel webs one of the most dangerous spiders in the world?
I don't think a phobia of dangerous spiders is irrational!

[differentnameforthis]

Does anyone else remember when we used to call spiders 'loofahs' in thread titles? Yes!!

And I kill spiders. I'm in Oz and often spray certain types. I will not apologise, not when they have the potential to harm my children.

[stolemyusername]

Spider bro above the door a while ago

[TreadSoftlyOnMyDreams]

I'm not phobic of spiders. I would wonder why there are so many of them around your front door and what they are eating though to support so many?

From wiki They hunt nocturnal insects such as moths and cockroaches. Moths I wouldnt bat an eyelid at but if there is an infestation of cockroaches somewhere nearby I'd be throwing your spiders a party

[Sallyingforth]

Phew smile aren't funnel webs one of the most dangerous spiders in the world?

There are many varieties of funnel web spiders around the world. You will find them in any stone wall in the UK, and those are completely harmless.

[Sallyingforth]

I don't think a phobia of dangerous spiders is irrational!
If they are genuinely dangerous then you are right to be cautious. That isn't phobia, it's common sense. But the great majority of spiders in the UK are harmless.

[PinanNidan]

Haven't read all the thread but we had one on our wall the other day like this and it took me 35 minutes to get a screaming dd past the bloody thing.

[hiddenhome2]

Looks like a Segestria florentina. Very pretty. It won't hurt you. It's only waiting for prey insects to pass by.

Somebody once promised to send me one, but they never did

Don't poke your finger in the hole as it will think it's a meal and bite you

[hiddenhome2]

This is my big, black spider

[MooseBeTimeForSnow]

Ooh, if you think supermarkets are bad, I have friends who used to work on ships transporting bananas. Walks in the spaces in the bottom of the hull of those could be quite interesting ...

[Lj8893]

hidden I can't see the picture in full, is that real? What type of spiders is it?

I do have a phobia of spiders but I'm also very interested in them, like a morbid curiosity really. And I am working on my phobia, since I held a tarantula a few months ago I have got much better. Weirdly I'm more scared of the British house spider than a tarantula .

Sally can you suggest some cost free ways of treating arachnophobia?

[AliceThrewTheFookingGlass]

Oh sweet Jesus! I thought I had escaped these horrible little fuckers. We had these at our last house. I thought the holes were vacant until I saw one hanging out of it and it dawned on me that the 10+ other holes probably had occupants too.. I absolutely hated walking in or out of the front door from then on. I dreamt about them and all sorts.

OP we have the wooden beam things too and most of the holes were around that. Coincidence or not it's just confirmed that I will never live in a house with a little over door shelter thing again.

[bringonthetrumpets]

My first experience with a British house spider was when I was 39wks pregnant with #1 and it started crawling across the floor in the kitchen toward my feet. Cue me screeming and jumping up and down and that folks is how you go into labour! DS was born the next morning (oh and that spider met a very unfortunate death by window cleaner spray).

We had another crawl across the living room floor when DS was a couple months old and of course, that one was crawling right toward the poor little soul just playing on a blanket - cue me freaking out again and smashing it with a book. ugh that was disgusting to clean up.

[Glastokitty]

Even the non lethal spiders in Oz can be dodgy. I was bitten by a house spider in my sleep (bastard!) and when it became a big red lump I showed it to a colleague at work, and H&S drove me to the doctor straight away to get checked out. There were lines of red spreading all over my lower arm, it was pretty sore. Oh well, at least it wasn't a white tip, now they are nasty bastards. And I know huntsmen are good spiders that eat the bad ones but holy fucking shit the first time you see the bloody size of them, they are terrifying!

[CrazyCatLady13]

When I was a teenager I went to put a small (1cm) spider out of the window. The bugger bit me! I came up in a small blister. And a couple of years later I got bitten again by an even smaller spider and came up in another blister. I'm in the UK, guess I'm just sensitive to spider venom - I've heard that a lot of UK spider bites are so small that the person doesn't even feel it.

We had a huge spider in the house a few months ago. It ran towards one of my cats, the cat jumped about a foot in the air and ran off!

[UnderTheGreenwoodTree]

Hiddenhome, that is a brute.

My cats ridded the house of house spiders. There were loads of giant ones when we moved in, and I used to come down and find their mangled bodies all over the place. Now we never see them. Poor things, they were just a bit too fun for the cats. We do get the spindly ones in the ceiling corners though.

[PatricianOfAnkhMorpork]

This thread has just put me off my lunch. I'm normally OK looking at pics (not so keen in RL) but these are just far beyond the pale for me!

[hiddenhome2]

Oh, ffs

[Lweji]

People who lose their appetite over spiders need more exposure to spiders.

[DingleberryFinn]

Best watched with the sound off. For the disbelievers!

[DingleberryFinn]

Cute spider makes it better?

[DingleberryFinn]

Image fail! Attempt 2.